NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee rules De Sousa eligible for 2019-20 season
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee has determined that Kansas basketball player Silvio De Sousa can play for KU next season.
“Kansas men’s basketball student-athlete Silvio De Sousa is eligible to play the upcoming season after sitting the 2018-19 season due to NCAA rules violations,” the NCAA statement said. “Kansas appealed the NCAA staff decision of a two-season withholding to the Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, which determined additional relief was appropriate.”
“I’m so excited to be able to come back to Kansas to play and to continue my education,” De Sousa said. “It’s an amazing feeling. I want to thank the NCAA committee for the opportunity to do what I really want to do. All those days and nights wondering what would happen…this makes it all worth it. I also want to thank everyone at Kansas for working so hard to make sure I can follow my dream. Jayhawk Nation, I can’t thank you all enough for the unconditional support and for sticking around throughout this. I tried to turn the year off into a blessing. I got to work on my game and my academics, and now I’m going to make the most of this opportunity.”
De Sousa did not play during the 2018-19 season, but did practice with the Jayhawks.
“I am extremely happy for Silvio, and very appreciative of Jeff Long and our athletic department personnel who have worked so hard on this,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self. “Our chancellor, school attorneys, Scott Tompsett (De Sousa’s attorney) and David Reed (Senior Associate Athletics Director, Compliance and Student Services) have spent so many hours on this matter. Silvio has been unbelievably upbeat and patient throughout this process – far more than I could be if I were in his shoes. And he has been a tremendously positive influence on me, our team and everyone he has touched since getting the initial ruling. Silvio is the type of student-athlete that college athletics needs. He wants to be a student and contribute to representing this university on the court. This moment belongs to Silvio and I am proud to be his coach. I know he’ll be more motivated than ever, which will be very exciting for all Jayhawk fans to watch next season.”
“I am thrilled by the decision of the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee to reinstate Silvio,” Kansas Athletics Director Jeff Long said, “and I am thankful that Silvio has the opportunity to continue his academic work and play basketball for KU. He is an exceptional young man, and I am so happy that he gets to do what he truly wants to do, which is study and play basketball at KU.”
De Sousa joined the Kansas team from IMG Academy in Florida after the fall 2017 semester. He appeared in 20 games in KU’s run to the 2018 Final Four, averaging 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. His last game for KU was in the 2018 national semifinals, when he scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds.
A native of Luanda, Angola, De Sousa posted a career-high 16 points in KU’s 2018 Big 12 Championship title game victory against West Virginia. In the semifinals of that event, De Sousa pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds in KU’s victory against Kansas State.
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