Memphis basketball's Penny Hardaway on Damaria Franklin eligibility: 'Just sign the paperwork'
Memphis basketball transfer Damaria Franklin’s eligibility status for the 2022-23 season remains in question, coach Penny Hardaway said Friday.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Tigers’ exhibition game against Christian Brothers University (4 p.m., Sunday) – the first of two before the team opens the regular season at Vanderbilt (Nov. 7) – Hardaway acknowledged Franklin and fellow transfer Jahmar Young Jr. will be the only players unavailable.
Franklin, who utilized his one-time transfer waiver to play last season at Illinois-Chicago (UIC), where he became the Flames’ leading scorer and an all-Horizon League honoree, initially intended to leave his hometown program after graduating in December. NCAA rules stipulate graduate transfers have immediate eligibility no matter how many times they’ve previously transferred. Shortly after he informed his former head coach Luke Yaklich, his scholarship was terminated. Franklin subsequently transferred to Memphis in August.
Typically, when a player’s scholarship is terminated, a “no participation opportunity” (NPO) form is signed. Also known as a “run-off waiver,” it most often results in guaranteed immediate eligibility approval by the NCAA. But, to date, the UIC program has balked at signing off on Franklin’s NPO.
MEMPHIS BASKETBALL: Why Memphis basketball transfer Damaria Franklin believes UIC is blocking his eligibility
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Hardaway is holding out hope the matter gets resolved amicably.
“If you really care about a kid and it didn’t work out at your spot, you don’t hold a kid up,” said Hardaway. “You’ve just got to go ahead and drop your ego and just sign the paperwork and just say, ‘OK, he’s not coming back, we can sign off on it.
“I think that’s what needs to happen.”
Franklin’s father, Johnnie, told The Commercial Appeal that Yaklich verbally agreed to sign his son’s NPO form this summer. Since then, according to Johnnie Franklin, Yaklich has been avoiding him, his son, Hardaway and other members of the Memphis athletic department.
“You gave us your word you were gonna sign his waiver and now you turn your back on him,” said Johnnie Franklin. “You block our calls. You’re blocking everybody from Memphis – all the assistants, Penny Hardaway. That’s a coward move to me. Like, what’s the problem?”
In an interview with The Commercial Appeal last week, Yaklich declined to comment on the termination of Franklin’s scholarship, as well as Johnnie Franklin’s contention that he promised to sign the NPO form.
Franklin averaged 17.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game at UIC last season. If UIC sticks to its guns and doesn’t sign Franklin’s NPO, there are other ways to obtain immediate eligibility, such as a hardship waiver or a mental health waiver. But that process could take weeks to resolve.
“Our (athletic directors) have signed off on at least eight of those for guys. I mean, I’m just saying. And some guys went to teams in our conference and we still signed off on them,” said Hardaway, referencing former Tigers Tyler Harris and Landers Nolley II, specifically.
Young, a center who made the move to Memphis after spending the past few seasons at SMU, is in a similar situation. SMU has not signed his NPO form, either. If and when that happens, he will still not be eligible until after the fall semester for academic reasons.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Penny Hardaway urges UIC to release Damaria Franklin
