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NCAA denies Maryland wing Dez Wells’ eligibility waiver request

spt-120320-dezwells

Mike Miller

While there weren’t many people who expected the NCAA to grant Maryland guard/forward Dex Wells immediate eligibility, there was some hope amongst the Terrapin fan base that the former Xavier Musketeer would be allowed to play this season.

Those hopes were shot down however, as it’s been reported that the NCAA has denied the request for an eligibility waiver.

Maryland plans to appeal the ruling, and if denied Wells would have three years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2013-14 campaign.

Wells, who hails from Raleigh, was expelled from Xavier in August for a violation of the student conduct code. That case centered around a sexual incident, but the Hamilton (OH) County prosecutor refused to pursue the case.

Joe Deters, in discussing the case, called the expulsion process “fundamentally unfair” and said that his office would not prosecute someone based on the information they received.

But removing that aspect of the situation and focusing solely on basketball Wells did play in 32 games for the Musketeers last season, finishing with averages of 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

Maryland returns key contributors such as guards Nick Faust and Pe’Shon Howard, as well as forward James Padgett and center Alex Len.

The Terrapins also welcome a five-member recruiting class (led by Noah Allen, Shaquille Cleare and Charles Mitchell) and Albany transfer Logan Aronhalt, who averaged 14.2 points per game and was a third team All-America East selection in 2011-12.

Wells would have given Maryland a nice boost on the perimeter in regards to both skill and athleticism, but the appeal was a longshot in the eyes of many.

Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.