Carton gets waiver to play at MU this season
The Marquette men's basketball team will have guard D.J. Carton on the court next season.
Carton, who transferred to MU in April after one season at Ohio State, had his waiver for immediate eligibility approved by the NCAA on Wednesday.
He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
“He's very excited,” MU head coach
Steve Wojciechowski said. “Thankful for all the hard work that went into it. Was very pleased with the NCAA decision.
“He’s ecstatic. The opportunity to play next year was not a given.”
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Carton averaged 10.4 points, 3.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 20 games as a freshman for the Buckeyes. He stepped away from the team in January to focus on his mental health, then decided to transfer. That made him a good candidate to receive the waiver to play next season. But the NCAA is not transparent about the waiver process and there is expected to be a high number of waiver requests this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. So Carton getting a waiver in June was a bit of a surprise.
“We’ve been on top of it since the beginning,” Wojciechowski said. “I think D.J. had a strong case. He had the support of the people from Ohio State. I think all of those things played a role.
“We wanted to get it in as soon as possible, before the football waivers. Our compliance staff did a great job. D.J. and his family did a great job. Ohio State was really good to work with.”
Carton is an explosive athlete who gives MU the dynamic perimeter player that it needs next season after losing all-time leading scorer Markus Howard.
“He’s got some things from a physical standpoint that you just can’t coach,” Wojciechowski said. “He’s got some gifts. He’s very good in the pick and roll. He’s a very unselfish player. He’ll make the guys around him better.”
The Golden Eagles will also return backcourt players Koby McEwen, Greg Elliott and Symir Torrence. Dexter Akanno could also be in the mix for playing time after redshirting his first season at MU.
With Carton’s waiver, Wojciechowski has a clearer idea of what his team will look like next season.
“A lot of times with the waivers, you don’t know until the season has started with practices and games right around the corner,” he said. “This gives us a summer to have the team we’re going to have working together under the rules and guidelines of the coronavirus protocol.”