Dez Wells Wins Appeal, Cleared by NCAA To Play for Maryland

Watch out, Kentucky. Dez Wells is coming to a Barclay Center near you. In a shocking turn of events, the NCAA actually did something right for a change, reversing their previous ruling that denied a waiver request by Maryland to allow Wells to play immediately, rather then sitting out a season as is the case in standard transfers between schools. Maryland appealed the initial ruling, but most, myself included, weren't sure if the NCAA would reverse course and when an announcement would come down, as no timetable was given.

The waiver will allow Wells, who is a sophomore guard/forward, to play immediately for the Terps. Maryland will likely use Wells at the 2 spot on the court and I'd imagine he'll start as soon as Friday against Kentucky. Initial scouting on Wells this season at practices had analysts and reporters raving about Wells' abilities, many saying that if Wells could play this season, Maryland should be considered a Top 25 team.

This has been a long and winding road for Wells, who was dismissed from Xavier earlier this year following a premature rush to judgement by the school after he was believed to be involved in an incident that violated the school's code of conduct. A few months later, he'll likely be starting for an ACC team that now has the potential to do some very good things this season.

We'll have more on how Wells' ability to play will impact Maryland this season. Until then, enjoy some good Maryland Athletics news for once and dream about how awesome Friday's game against Kentucky is going to be.