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From SMUMustangs.com:

Patsevich To Make Mustang Debut Jan. 26 At Tulsa
Junior Cleared By NCAA

Jan. 5, 2011

DALLAS (SMU) - SMU junior guard Aliaksei Patsevich will make his debut for the Mustang basketball team on Jan. 26 when the men play at Tulsa. Patsevich was cleared to practice by the NCAA beginning Dec. 22 after resolving issues relating to his amateur status.

"I'm happy for `Losh' that he can move past this and start his career on the Hilltop," said SMU Head Coach Matt Doherty. "We greatly appreciate the NCAA's assistance and communication during this process. Now our focus will be on integrating Losh into our rotation and keeping the positive momentum our team has right now."

SMU has won have won five straight and eight of the last nine games overall.

"Losh will bring added scoring and size to our backcourt," Doherty continued. "At 6-4, he is a terrific outside shooter that has a great feel for the game. We're excited about him getting on the floor in C-USA play."

Patsevich played in 28 games last season at Collin County CC, averaging 10.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range.

SMU (9-4) faces Ole Miss (11-3) tonight at Moody Coliseum. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

Good news in a so-far forgettable season.

Those were Doh's comments from the radio pre-game show on 770 AM.

Interesting nickname - just one letter away from Lush. Hope he can contribute quickly and make some difference late in games (or during the inevitable lull that seems to be plaguing the Ponies in the second half). Not that it would have helped much tonight.

Another body will definitely help. Let's hope he's a slick shooter as all Euros are.

I hope this is a case of Pats really wants to play, eligibility be damned, and not Doh burning a year of eligibility for 12 games in a effort by Doh to save his job.

The original report I heard was that Pats would get three years, instead of four, including his year at Collin. Which, if accurate, would make next year his last year if he plays this year.

edit: I just re-checked, and I don't have any reason to doubt what I describe above as "the original report".

So 12 games plus next year. Make em count, Pats

If you notice Pats will be almost 23 years old when he plays his first game for SMU. He can't redshirt under NCAA Rules because you have only a limited number of years after your high school class graduates and you start your timeclock to complete your eligibility. Note he is listed as a Junior not a Sophomore as some might expect from him spending only 1 year at Collin County JC. So it looks like we'll only get 1 full year out of him.
http://smumustangs.cstv.com/sports/m-ba ... sei00.html

Stallion wrote:If you notice Pats will be almost 23 years old when he plays his first game for SMU. He can't redshirt under NCAA Rules because you have only a limited number of years after your high school class graduates and you start your timeclock to complete your eligibility. Note he is listed as a Junior not a Sophomore as some might expect from him spending only 1 year at Collin County JC. So it looks like we'll only get 1 full year out of him.
http://smumustangs.cstv.com/sports/m-ba ... sei00.html

which makes its even more pathetic that Doherty is talking up the guy (not a kid) in a post game press conference after getting waxed at home.

Ponies need all the help they can get; however, his stats at the CC were modest and certainly not exciting. We keep hearing he is a great outside shooter, but he only hit 35% from the 3 point line last year. I wish him well and hope he does make a considerable contribution to Mustang success.

we absolutely need all the help we can get and another scorer is critical to being competitive in CUSA play. Haynes has had some decent games recently and Clink has scored in flashes. Another gunner would be a big plus

When are Leslie Smith and Vilde going to get to play???

Pony Fan wrote:When are Leslie Smith and Vilde going to get to play???

Next Season

How has Patsevich looked in practice?

Reportedly very good. Let's hope.

Forgot to ask -- Why was Jan. 26 determined to be this date for his return. If he got everything cleared on the Dec. 22 like the release indicated, what penalties/safeguard is working here so that he could not have started playing immediately or Wednesday against UAB when the second semester starts?

Thanks in advance.

Losh received a 4 game suspension for playing on a pro team in Europe. The rest of the 'suspension' isn't for public consumption, but it could have been worse.

FWIW, he plays the rest of this year, gets next year, and immediately petitions for a 3rd. They seem pretty sure that he'll get a 3rd, but as we saw this year regarding eligibility, nothing is guaranteed