NCAA Says No to Cal on Sensley

Cal got some bad news this week. The NCAA informed the Berkley, CA, school on Thursday that it denied the school's petition for an initial eligibility waiver for recruit Julian Sensley.

Sensley, a 6-9, 230-pound power forward from Kailua, Hawaii, achieved the necessary high school GPA, but fell just short of attaining the required SAT score, making him a partial qualifier under NCAA rules. Part of the basis for the appeal was that Sensley has a diagnosed learning disability.

And since Cal does not accept partial qualifiers, that means Sensley can't enroll for the fall semester. He had been enrolled in Cal's Summer Bridge program this summer.

But Sensley said he intends to file a personal appeal with the NCAA. If his appeal is approved, Sensley could become eligible to play as early as Dec. 21 against Mount St. Mary's.

Cal head coach Ben Braun said, "Julian has not wavered on his commitment to Cal and he intends to pursue his options to become a full qualifier."

The student newspaper, The Daily Californian, points out in today's report that Sensley's "... case is similar to that of junior guard Donte Smith, who had two appeals turned down after failing to achieve the required scores on the SAT. Smith also had achieved the required GPA and was a partial qualifier. Smith was later cleared to play and enrolled in the spring of 1999, redshirting the 1998-99 campaign."

Sensley, one of the top prospects in this year's class, prepped at St. Thomas More School in Connecticut. He committed to Cal as a junior and signed a National Letter of Intent during the November 2000 signing period.

Braun signed two other recruits for this season:

Jamal Sampson, a 6-11, 240-pound center, from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA. Sampson is a second cousin of former NBA star Ralph Sampson.

Erik Bond, a 6-7, 195-pound wing from Seattle, WA.