Minnesota’s men’s basketball team has welcomed back its wayward son. But that might not be good enough for the NCAA.

Minnesota coach Dan Monson announced Wednesday that Moe Hargrow has rejoined the Gophers men’s basketball team. But whether he suits up this season depends on a pending decision by the NCAA.

Hargrow, a St. Paul native, played for the Gophers for three years before transferring to Arkansas in January of last season. He spent the spring semester practicing with the Razorbacks, but he did not play in any games because of NCAA transfer rules.

This summer, Arkansas granted Hargrow a release, and he decided to enroll at Minnesota in the fall with hopes of rejoining the Gophers – if the team allowed.

Hargrow cleared that hurdle yesterday. But he must wait for a decision from the NCAA on whether he can play this season, or wait another year.

If the NCAA denies Hargrow’s appeal, he will redshirt this season and still be granted the remaining scholarship the Gophers have this season.

Hargrow played 77 games for Minnesota before leaving, averaging 9.3 points per game.

He averaged a career-high 13.2 points his sophomore season, but that dropped to 11.4 his junior year before he transferred.

In a press release Wednesday, Monson said Hargrow has gone through “tough times” throughout his departure and return.

Monson said he, the staff and the players thought Hargrow was sincere in his desire to play for the Gophers again. Monson said he still knew Hargrow was a good kid.

In the same release, Hargrow said he was simply happy for the second chance.

“I want to thank coach Monson and my teammates for allowing me to come back,” Hargrow said. “I made a mistake by leaving, and I realized that soon after I left. Sometimes you can’t appreciate how special a place is until you leave it.

“I hope I can play my way back into the hearts of Minnesota basketball fans, and they understand, as much as my teammates did, that people make mistakes.”