Tishman still waiting on NCAA clearance

Florida’s search for another point guard took a favorable turn when the school admitted Israeli standout Nimrod Tishman last week.

But for the 6-foot-6 Tishman to wear a Gator uniform, he must first get through the NCAA Eligibility Clearinghouse.

Though more international players are coming overseas to play college basketball, the process is not routine. The Clearinghouse faces a tougher task evaluating international players because the club system overseas is different from the high school system in America.

“At times, there are also issues with salaries, contracts, age, pro teams, etc ... that have to be evaluated,” said NCAA spokesperson Gail Dent. “Due to all of those factors, we can’t estimate a typical time-frame to clear as it is going to vary from athlete to athlete, depending on the factors involved.”

The NCAA does not comment on individual clearance cases due to student privacy laws. Tishman played for the club team Maccabi-Tel Aviv throughout his high school years. This summer, Tishman played for the Under-18 Israeli national team at the European Basketball Championships.

“We take into account when they register, number of teams played on, competition, past high school, etc. ..., in determining their eligibility status,” Dent said. “We’ll also look at the presence of non-domestic teammates as well as domestic teammates, whether teammates have/had agents, history of some teammates, etc.”

Dent said that the NCAA processes cases in the order of season completion. Football cases are evaluated ahead of basketball cases.

Tishman would be allowed to enroll at Florida if he’s academically cleared before the start of the semester on Aug. 24. But Tishman would need his amateur status cleared in order to play in Florida’s season-opener against Stetson on Nov. 15.

International cases have come through the NCAA’s desk more frequently this decade. Florida signed former guard Christian Drejer from an amateur club program in Denmark in 2002. Drejer’s injury-riddled UF career ended when he decided to leave for a professional contract in Spain midway through his sophomore season.

Vanderbilt currently has four international players on its men’s basketball roster, center A.J. Ogilvy (Australia), forward Jeffery Taylor (Sweden), forward Steve Tchiengang (Cameroon) and center Festus Ezeli (Nigeria.)

“We’re more educated on what to look for, what is out there that we have to deal with in terms of clearance,” Dent said. “We have established better contacts along the way with the process. We have a specific amount of institutional knowledge regarding specific international leagues, too.”