ESPN Wrote:Majok ineligible to play until end of '09
Associated Press
Updated: January 21, 2009, 11:05 PM ET

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Ater Majok, a 6-foot-10 forward and former refugee from Sudan, has been partially cleared by the NCAA to enroll at Connecticut.

The clearance, announced by the school Wednesday night, means Majok can begin classes immediately and can practice with the team, but won't be eligible to play until the end of the 2009 fall semester.

Majok signed with UConn last spring, but his enrollment was held up by questions about his academic qualifications.

Majok spent several years in a refugee camp in Egypt before becoming a citizen of Australia through a United Nations program.

"In my wildest dreams I never expected to be here," Majok said after the No. 3 Huskies beat Villanova (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) 89-83. "I'm really happy to be here because a lot of people don't get the opportunity. Right now I've just got to concentrate and put the work in the classroom."

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said Majok spent over three years in the refugee camp, learning Arabic in the morning and doing manual labor in the afternoons. He speaks several languages and scored well on the SATs, he said.

"It's a great human interest story," Calhoun said. "He's just an absolutely wonderful kid. If I stop coaching tomorrow, the fact that he's at UConn, enrolled tomorrow morning, I couldn't be happier."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press