Maryland "plans to aggressively pursue" options to make former Xavier forward Dez Wells eligible for the 2012-2013 basketball season, The Washington Post reported.
Normally transfers are required to sit out a year by NCAA rules, but Maryland will file a waiver to forgo that period of ineligibility. The hope is that the NCAA finds that Xavier, who expelled Wells in August, did so unjustly. Wells was kicked out after suspicion of sexual assault, but there was not enough evidence to charge him, with a prosecutor calling the expulsion "fundamentally unfair" and "seriously flawed." Testudo Times explained the situation in detail, including how many feel Wells was a scapegoat to help the university cover for a larger inquiry into the schools' handling of sexual assault cases.The blog explains why it seems unlikely that Wells will play immediately.
That seems unlikely to NCAA experts, particularly as it would require admitting that Xavier - one of its member institutions - made a mistake in expelling Wells, but stranger things have certainly happened coming from that four-letter organization.
Jeff Goodman of CBS also tweeted that sources said Maryland's waiver would likely not be successful. If that's the case, Wells would sit out and be eligible to play in 2013-2014.
For more on Maryland basketball, head over to Testudo Times and continue to check out SB Nation DC.