Eligibility fight overshadows historic Gophers-Tommies meeting

Last week’s historic meeting between St. Thomas and Minnesota in men’s basketball also featured in The Barn’s press conference room a clear pro-Gopher media scrum in their postgame questions, including unfairly pitting one player against the other. Minnesota’s Cade Tyson and the Tommies’ Kendall Blue are both 2022 high school graduates, and each filed suit against the NCAA’s new “five-in-five” eligibility rule in two separate cases. Blue joined other players in a state lawsuit filed in California, and the judge recently granted an injunction allowing the 6-6 guard to play this season. Tyson joined others in a federal class-action suit in hopes of playing this season, but on Nov. 6 a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the NCAA, a decision that for the time being keeps Tyson from playing for Minnesota this season. Asked about the situation, Gopher Coach Niko Medved bemoaned, “The fact that Cade Tyson, who is the best kid and best teammate, has to watch Kendall Blue play is crazy to me. I think it’s unfair. It’s an embarrassment that some kids get to play and some kids don’t.” Only MSR asked Tommies Coach Johnny Tauer to speak on his fifth-year player. “He has been a wonderful teammate,” the coach said of Blue, who played three years at St. Thomas before transferring to Nebraska last season. “The NCAA can fix this real quick if they want,” stressed Medved, and I concur with the second-year Gopher coach. But I can’t agree with throwing Blue under the bus in supporting his player Tyson, who in some eyes is now an unfortunate victim, while Blue, in those same eyes, is seemingly getting unfair treatment. Medved has every right to be upset with the confusing state of college sports, a state that the NCAA itself created decades ago. This latest legal mess is the governing body’s doing, not Blue’s or Tyson’s. We strongly suggest that Medved be more Norman Dale and less Matlock when it comes to legal matters. His postgame remarks took away from the historic moment of the first-ever meeting of the University of Minnesota and St. Thomas as fellow Division I members, a 76-62 contest won by the host team and attended by more than 10,000 people Nov. 6. “It was a good experience, my second time playing here,” said Blue after the game. He scored six points, grabbed five boards and had an assist in nearly 16 minutes off the bench. “I thought I should have played more. That’s a coach’s decision. I’m glad to be back, blessed to be here.” Said Tauer, “I think Kendall will continue to get better and better.” “We are so thankful for him to have yet another opportunity to join the team and participate in something like this,” Kendall’s mother, Lisa Lissimore Blue, told MSR at halftime. “I’m glad that Kendall was a part of this experience.” Both coaches were asked whether last week’s game could be the beginning of an annual get-together on the court in a similar vein as Iowa-Iowa State. “We don’t dwell on the schedule. Scheduling is tough. We would like to play (Minnesota),” reiterated Tauer. Medved, however, rambled about how his team can’t always play a mid-major such as St. Thomas because of the NCAA NET rankings, which are used to determine postseason seeding. He hopes the Gophers will qualify for the postseason later this season. “I have so much respect for them,” he said of the Tommies. “I thought (the game) was great for the Twin Cities.” Lissimore Blue said the same thing: “I think it’s wonderful that there’s this crosstown rivalry. This type of rivalry is good for basketball overall. I hope it continues.” Hoops history will repeat itself in a few weeks when the two schools’ women’s basketball teams play each other for the first time as DI members Dec. 2. FINALLY … Project B, the new women’s basketball league that will start play in January 2027, last week announced it had signed four players, including Nia Coffey of the Lynx. “Throughout my career, I’ve seen how much women’s basketball has grown and how much more potential there is,” she said in a press release. “We’re building a roster that showcases the depth of talent in women’s basketball around the world,” added Project B Chief Basketball Officer Alana Beard. Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at [email protected] . Copyright © Charles Hallman Your Might Also Like