Arizona basketball: Keanu Pinder granted second year of eligibility

Pinder was originally deemed ineligible to play in the 2016-17 season

Arizona Wildcats forward Keanu Pinder, a junior college transfer from Hutchinson Community College, has been ruled eligible to play in the 2016-17 season and will have two years of eligibility in Tucson.

While this always seemed to be the case, as Pinder was listed is a junior on Arizona’s official roster, apparently it wasn’t.

It appears as though the 6-foot-9 forward was originally deemed ineligible for the 2016-17 season, and was on track to have just one year of eligibility at Arizona, which he presumably would’ve used in 2017-18.

Great day http://pic.twitter.com/aF4c6pZDNp

— Keanu Pinder (@KeanuPinder28) October 19, 2016

But, as you can see above, Pinder received good news Tuesday night, as the NCAA granted him the second year, which the Australian forward described as getting his “full college career back.”

From the outside, nothing has really changed as it was assumed — and listed — that Pinder was going to play in the upcoming season and be at Arizona for two years. And now that Pinder is officially in the fold, he’ll continue to fight for a spot in Arizona’s rotation.

Pinder, the fifth member of Arizona’s unsettled front court, has been a “pleasant surprise early on” for the Wildcats, impressing the coaching staff with his rebounding and defensive ability.

“Keanu sometimes is the forgotten man because he came from Hutchinson Junior College,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said. “But he’s someone else that’s really been invaluable...He’s someone that is in the mix because he gives us something that we really lost from last year’s team (rebounding).”

Pinder averaged 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Hutchinson Community College — the same school UA guard Kadeem Allen attended before transferring — and was the Jayhawk Defensive Player of the Year.

In Arizona’s Red-Blue scrimmage last Friday, Pinder grabbed six rebounds in 22 minutes.

Pinder and the Wildcats return to action Tuesday, Nov. 1 when they host College of Idaho in an exhibition game. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT.

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