Wednesday has been a big news day for Fighting Illini basketball! In a fairly stunning decision, the NCAA has granted a sixth year of eligibility to senior center Mike Thorne Jr. as part of a medical hardship request. That means Thorne, who missed huge segments of the 2015-16 season with setbacks to a knee injury, will stay on scholarship and return for another year.
Again, this is a fairly uncharacteristic decision from the NCAA because Thorne's waiver claim was a bit unique. The big man originally suffered an injury to his left meniscus on November 28 against Iowa State and, after completely removing the ligament, he returned on January 19 to face Indiana.