NCAA grants senior Ali Ali eligibility to play for Akron Zips men's basketball team
The NCAA granted senior transfer Ali Ali eligibility to play for the University of Akron men's basketball team for the remainder of this season.
Ali was told Friday that he is eligible to play in Akron's next game at Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
Ali has missed the first eight games of Akron's season after he played last season at Butler. Ali played for the Zips for three seasons from 2019-22 and scored 675 points in 88 games (66 starts).
Akron coach John Groce had remained optimistic the NCAA would let Ali play even after he was denied eligibility twice.
"Today is a great day for Ali Ali and his family, as well as Zips Nation, as the NCAA has granted Ali his waiver here this afternoon," Groce said in a statement Friday.
"We want to thank our administration as well as the NCAA for their collaborative efforts. We look forward to moving forward with Ali Ali on the court playing for the Zips."
More Akron Zips coverage: Enrique Freeman powers University of Akron Zips to men's basketball win over Bradley
The 6-foot-8 Ali was named second-team All-MAC for the 2021-22 season after he led the Zips (24-10) in minutes (34.2 per game), scoring (13.9 average), 3-point shooting (40.7%) and assists (2.6). He played at Butler last season and made 18 appearances with 12 starts, averaging 27.4 minutes and 6.5 points after missing the first 11 games because of injuries.
Akron is 5-3 this season with a core rotation of eight players: Enrique Freeman, Mikal Dawson, Sammy Hunter, Greg Tribble, Nate Johnson, Shammah Scott, Tavari Johnson and Kaleb Thornton.
Mid-American Conference coaches picked Akron as the top team in its preseason poll. Freeman and Ali were tabbed by MAC coaches in the preseason to be first-team All-MAC.
ESPN, Basketball Almanac, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, The Athletic, Athlon Sports and CBS Sports also had Akron as the preseason top team in the MAC.
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: NCAA grants Ali Ali eligibility to play on Akron men's basketball team
