Dee Bost is applying for reinstatement to Mississippi State

As is the case every season, we saw quite a few kids make questionable decisions regarding the NBA Draft. But perhaps the most curious case was that of Mississippi State's Dee Bost.

Bost is an above average point guard in the SEC, averaging 13.0 ppg and 5.2 apg for the Bulldogs as a sophomore. That said, he isn't an NBA prospect yet and likely would go undrafted this season.

I knew that. The Mississippi State coaching staff likely knew that. Bost's advisors likely knew that. Yet he still decided to keep him name in the draft past the May 8th deadline to withdraw. Further complicating the issue, Bost didn't even tell head coach Rick Stansbury of his decision until the next day.

Mississippi State will likely still need a replacement for Bost.
(photo credit: daylife)

It appears that Bost has finally come to the conclusion that entering the draft was a poor decision, because he has enrolled in summer classes at Mississippi State, according to Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger. He plans on applying for reinstatement to the NCAA.

Now lets be honest. Its a longshot that Bost gets reinstated. The NCAA generally doesn't grant waivers for listening to the wrong people.

That said, I cannot think of another situation where a player waited until after the deadline to withdraw from the draft and then tried to regain his eligibility. (If you remember, Randolph Morris, a center for Kentucky, declared for the NBA Draft in 2005 after his freshman season and went undrafted. He was allowed to return to school, but since he could not enter another draft, he was legally a free agent. Five days after Kentucky was eliminated from the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Morris signed with the New York Knicks.) Bost does have an argument -- the NCAA's deadline to withdraw gave players just 10 days to determine their status, something that myself and many other writers argued against.

But the reason that the deadline was implemented was so that coaches would be able to know who was on their teams for the upcoming season before the late signing period ended. If the NCAA clears Bost, it only opens the door for other players to do the same next season. Doesn't that, technically, eliminate the deadline?

Its a slippery slope, and a door that the NCAA likely won't open.

Good luck in Europe, Dee.