Miami Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga says junior forward Dewan Hernandez deserves to be declared eligible by the NCAA because he unwittingly became entangled in a college basketball corruption case when he was duped by an AAU coach.
Hernandez has sat out the first 16 games of the season awaiting a ruling on his eligibility, which could come before Miami's game Saturday against No. 13 North Carolina .
"He has made a lot of sacrifices," said Larranaga, who spoke at length about the case for the first time Friday. "He deserves to be back playing.