Gophers guard Malik Smith's transfer waiver has been approved by the NCAA and he will be eligible to compete during the 2013-14 season, the team announced in a release Wednesday.
The six-foot-two-inch transferred from Florida International, where he played under new Gophers head coach Richard Pitino last season, in the spring and signed his tender with the Gophers in May.
“Once I learned Coach Pitino wanted me [with the Gophers], I just definitely dropped everything else,” Smith said after practice yesterday.
FIU is ineligible for postseason play for next season due to its low APR scores, making Smith's waiver possible.
"Man this has been a great day for me and my family. Just got my NCAA waiver to play immediately God is good!" Smith tweeted from his Twitter account today.
Smith, a Boston, Mass. native, averaged 14.1 points and shot 8.3 three pointers while shooting 36.2 percent from beyond the arc in 32 games last season for the Golden Panthers. He was named third-team All-Sun Belt for his efforts.
“We are certainly excited that the NCAA has approved the waiver for Malik,” Pitino said in a release. “He is a great addition to the roster given his skills and invaluable knowledge of how we run our program.”
It will be interesting to see how Smith's game transfers to the Big Ten next year. He only has one year of eligibility remaining.
“I think if I work hard enough," Smith said yesterday, "then everything will go smoothly."
