The good news is that Steve Alford is starting to get some pretty good players to come to Iowa to play basketball. The bad news is that they seem to be having trouble getting the credits taken care of to be eligible.
Jamie Vanderbeken, the 6′ 10″ center from Canada failed to get all of the core credits the NCAA requires. Coming from a different country often presents credit challenges. Vanderbeken will play two years at Tyler Junior College in Texas and then try to transfer to Iowa. Hopefully, the problem really is just the different requirements between the different countries. I guess we’ll find out two years from now.
It looks like there might be trouble with another recruits academics, too. Malik Perry, from Philadelphia, is still waiting for an eligibility ruling. Anytime you are still waiting 17 days before the semester begins to find out a players eligibility, it’s probably not a good sign.
Trouble seems to refuse to leave Alford alone during his stay at Iowa so far. Keep your fingers crossed that he meets the requirements and the paperwork can be completed in time. Alford could really use a season with as few distractions as possible.