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Report: Top Oregon recruit denied admission to school

Dana Altman

Oregon head coach Dana Altman reacts in the final minutes against Washington in the second half of an NCAA men’s college basketball game Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014, in Seattle. Washington won 80-76. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

AP

A tough offseason for Oregon just got tougher, as Ray Kasongo has been denied admission into the university, according to reports.

Kasongo is a 6-foot-7 forward from Canada who spent last season at Faith Christian School in Arizona. He initially picked Oregon over UConn, but it was a process, as he announced his decision two different times back in October.

It’s unclear why Kasongo was not allowed to enroll in the school, as Adam Zagoria is reporting that he qualified.

Whatever the case may be, Kasongo immediately becomes the best front court player available in the Class of 2014. Teams that are thin along their front line will be lining up to get a shot at landing him.

Kasongo is the fourth player that Oregon expected to have on their roster that will not be allowed at school for the 2014-2015 season. The other three -- Brandon Austin, Dominic Artis and Damyeon Dotson -- were accused of sexual assault by a female student. The Ducks already looked like they were going to be thin this season, and losing a big body like Kasongo certainly won’t help.

The Ducks will be left with just nine scholarship players on their roster, if you include Jalil Abdul-Bassit. Joseph Young and Elgin Cook are the only two that played significant minutes this past season. Even without Kasongo, Dana Altman has landed a promising incoming class of six players -- JuCo transfers Jordan Bell, Michael Chandler and Dwayne Benjamin along with freshmen JaQuan Lyle, Ahmad Rorie and Casey Benson -- but those are a lot of new faces to blend into a program in one season.

But here’s the other concerning part of this: Lyle, a top 25 recruit and the jewel of this class, has reportedly not yet been admitted, according to DuckTerritory.com. If he doesn’t get in, Oregon is going to be in for a tough season.

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