NCAA grants J’mison Morgan waiver to play at Baylor without sitting year after leaving UCLA

Morgan eligible to play right away for Baylor

WACO, Texas — Former UCLA player J’mison Morgan has been granted an NCAA waiver that will allow him to play at Baylor immediately without sitting out a season.

Baylor coach Scott Drew said Monday that the 6-foot-10 junior center from Dallas will be eligible to play once he completes the necessary NCAA paperwork. Morgan is already enrolled in classes at Baylor and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Morgan was dismissed from UCLA’s team in March after being suspended a game for missing a team meeting and didn’t play in the Bruins’ two Pac-10 tournament games. He also missed seven games recovering from a partially torn quadriceps.

In 40 games as a reserve his two seasons at UCLA, Morgan averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds a game.

Morgan transferred to Baylor to be closer to his ill grandmother, who is his legal guardian.

Baylor applied for Morgan’s waiver request following his transfer in April. He enrolled in the school’s first summer session before taking fall classes.

The addition of Morgan could be a boost for Baylor, which lost two starting post players after making it to the NCAA South Regional final last season before a loss to eventual national champion Duke.

Ekpe Udoh bypassed his senior season at Baylor for early entry in the NBA draft, and the 6-foot-10 power forward was the sixth overall pick by Golden State. Udoh averaged 13.9 points and 9.8 rebounds and set a Big 12 record with 133 blocked shots during his only season playing for the Bears. Josh Lomers, a 7-foot center, was a senior last season.

Before going to UCLA, Morgan played at South Oak Cliff High in Dallas, where as a freshman (2004-05) he was a teammate of former Baylor player Kevin Rogers.