Diaz not enrolled, may still come for spring

Though not surprising, considering the lack of news on Tuesday, but 7-foot NU Hoops Recruit Jorge Diaz was not admitted in time to be eligible for games in the fall.

Tom Shatel has an interesting take on this, and I have to say I agree with him.  If Diaz ends up at Kentucky (which may happen) because we couldn't get him admitted in time, it's another blow to our chances of keeping our coach long-term.  The plus side is that, should Diaz decide that the prospect of having less competition for playing time at Nebraska is worth the wait, he could easily be eligible for the spring.

Also, the schedule has been finalized.  There's three non-conference road games -- at Arizona State, at Oregon State, and at TCU, and some solid (but not spectacular) home opponents with Creighton & Saint Louis, plus some representatives from one-bid leagues that could end up in the tournament.  Right now, I'd have to say that a 12-1 non-league mark is essential with this schedule for Nebraska's NCAA hopes, and the game against ASU in Tempe is, though not "must-win," is the Husker's best chance in the non-conference to show they belong (or not) in the postseason.

Edit: 11:40 AM, 9/5/08:  Apparently, the administration offered Diaz an opportunity to take an English proficiency exam in Lincoln as part of an official visit, but the athletic department (for reasons undisclosed) declined.  However, HuskerExtra blogger & Journal-Star Basketball beat writer Brian Rosenthal still believes that Diaz will likely join the Huskers in December, which would be good news for conference play.