Arizona transfer Alex Barcello cleared to play immediately at BYU

As the Arizona Wildcats wait for a decision on Kentucky transfer Jemarl Baker Jr., one of their former players got some good news.

Friday, ex-UA guard Alex Barcello received a waiver from the NCAA that will allow him to compete immediately for the BYU Cougars rather than have to sit out a year and debut in 2020-21.

Barcello appeared in 30 games for the Wildcats last season, so the Tempe native may have seemed like a long shot to receive a waiver, but sources told KSL Sports that “Barcello’s waiver request stemmed from the off-the-court issues in the Arizona basketball program that includes FBI investigations.”

That should bode well for Emmanuel Akot at Boise State. The former Wildcat is still waiting to hear if he can suit up in 2019-20.

As for Baker, his impetus to file for a waiver is not clear—he did not want to go into detail at local media day—but he appeared in 28 games at Kentucky last season, so it seems more likely than not that he will have to wait until 2020-21 to play.

Of course, the NCAA is inconsistent with these kinds of decisions, so nothing would come as a surprise.