Oregon Basketball’s N’Faly Dante Receives NCAA Decision on Eligibility Appeal, Report

Oregon basketball’s N’Faly Dante has likely played his final game as a Duck.

The NCAA denied Oregon’s request to grant Dante an additional year of eligibility just a couple weeks ago. The Ducks appealed that decision, and today the NCAA came back with another denial, according to a report from Jon Rothstein.

Dante suffered an ACL injury during the 2020-21 season, appearing in only six games. He also appeared in 12 games the season before, then 32 as a junior, 31 as a senior, and 22 last season.

In his now final year as a Duck, Dante was All-Pac-12 First Team and named the Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He averaged 17 points and 9.2 rebounds for coach Dana Altman.

Had Dante’s appeal been approved, he still would have needed to make a decision on the NBA. The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is coming up on June 16, but now that will have to be his path forward.

Last month, Dante performed at the 2024 NBA Draft combine in Chicago, Illinois. His ceiling would likely be in the second round, though getting picked up by a G League team is also a possibility.

The loss of Dante hurts the Duck‘s as they head into the rugged Big Ten Conference this year. The league is known for its more physical play, especially from bigs like two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey at Purdue.

In an exclusive interview with Oregon SI’s Olivia Cleary, Dante said, “I think it’s time for me to go be great.”

Read that full story at Oregon Ducks on SI.

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