CBSSports.com: Fifteen guys for 13 spots: Indiana’s delicate scholarship situation
Two players who want to play for Indiana next season will not be playing for Indiana next season, unless one or two guys give up their scholarships and pay out of pocket to wear cream and crimson. The controversy around this issue is with fifth-year senior Matt Roth, though. Roth finds himself most likely out of a gig wearing the candy pants because he’s not only graduated, he has his master’s from IU as well. There is no school left for him — he merely has a year’s worth of eligibility to use. He was honored at IU’s Senior Night last winter.
With what’s likely to be the final year of competitive organized basketball he’ll ever play, Roth would rather not leave his alma mater for another school with not nearly the chance of reaching the Final Four that Indiana has.
Roth’s case is intriguing because there’s a lot of loyalty tied to his scholarship. He signed with Indiana before Crean was the coach, back when IU was just seeing the flames of its grease fire start to spread and mutilate the program. Despite the unrest, Roth didn’t ever seek to transfer, has been a very good student and ideal teammate for the Hoosiers. He suffered a foot injury two games into the 2009-10 season, so he sat out, and because of that, he’s earned a final year on scholarship, getting a fifth year to play out four seasons — standard NCAA protocol. Roth could leave IU and transfer to another school without a one-year wait. But after doing what he has at the school and potentially being part of a title-winning team, who has a desire to leave? Of course, the choice will be made for him.
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