Nov 3, 2009

West Virginia Loses Freshman Forward For First 20 Games

Mountaineers' Kilicli Suspended For Violating Amateurism Rule

The NCAA has suspended West Virginia freshman forward Deniz Kilicli for the first 20 games of the regular season because of an amateurism rule that the NCAA discovered that Kilicli violated. A spokesperson for West Virginia announced on Friday that the NCAA determined that Kilicli played on a Turkish basketball team during the 2007-2008 season which had a professional player on the roster. The NCAA clearly prohibits any amateur player of participating on a team under those circumstances, and as a result, they were forced to suspend Kilicli for the infraction.

Although Mountaineers' coach Bob Huggins declined to comment on the NCAA's ruling, he is a sure bet to be extremely upset by the outcome of ruling and the negative impact it will have on his basketball team this season. West Virginia was the sportsbook's betting line favorite to win their conference, and they were also ranked 8th in the preseason top 25 polls prior to Kilicli being suspended. Though Kilicli was only entering the program as a freshman, Huggins felt he had tremendous potential and that the forward would make immediate positive contributions to the team. With Kilicli out for the first 20 games of the season, the Mountaineers lose quality depth at the forward position and the betting odds of their ability to be as successful during his absence will certainly decrease.

By Bryan Jackson
Staff Writer
Betsportsweb.com
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