St. John's Babacar Sane stays eligible as legal fight with NCAA continues
St. John's Red Storm forward Babacar Sane dunks against the Monmouth Hawks in the second half of an NCAA men’s basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Nov. 2. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
St. John’s forward Babacar Sane will remain eligible to play for the 13th-ranked Red Storm for a minimum of seven more games, including those against a loaded field of ranked opponents at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas at the end of the month. The athletic but unpolished 6-7 forward could also remain eligible for much longer than that.
Sane has been eligible so far this season on a temporary restraining order he received as a result of his lawsuit against the NCAA. Following witness testimony and oral arguments (similar to closing arguments) in what was viewed as a critical hearing in the case – attended by the entire Red Storm team – Judge Karina Alomar kept the TRO in place, requested that both parties file “memos of law” – persuasive documents citing laws and precedents that support their positions in the case – by Nov. 30, and set Dec. 3 as a final deadline for all submissions.
She stated that she will then “fully consider” how to rule. There is no official timetable for her decision, and both sides are expected to appeal a defeat.
Sane played professionally in Germany last season and, like many former overseas pros now in college basketball, went through the NCAA’s reinstatement process, which initially granted him two years of eligibility. The NCAA later deemed the Senegalese 23-year-old ineligible because of professional experience that included signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the NBA's Utah Jazz, prompting his lawsuit. Both sides stipulated early Monday that the sole issue in the case is the signed contract, not his professional play in the G League or overseas.
Sane and St. John’s coach Rick Pitino both gave extensive testimony and were subject to NCAA cross-examination. The NCAA called no witnesses.
“Today went well,” said Sane's co-counsel Eliott Abrams, a nationally recognized advocate for student-athletes. “We brought our witnesses. We told a story of a young man who deserves to play. The NCAA brought no witnesses (and) did nothing to justify why he shouldn't play. So, I think it went well.”
Sane testified he signed the Exhibit 10 with the Jazz after going undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft—which secured him a visa—but was waived before training camp and offered a small bonus to play in the G League. Following his season in Germany, he committed to St. John’s, where he will be paid $1 million this season and “substantially more” next year, Pitino testified. Pitino added that Sane’s “potential is so much higher” than other players, though he is not yet close to being an NBA player worthy of an NBA contract.
Abrams and co-counsel Kareem Vessup argued that the Exhibit 10’s NBA letterhead does not make it a standard NBA contract and that the document's own wording states as much. They also asserted that the NCAA’s policy against signing an Exhibit 10 is arbitrary, unstated in its public bylaws, and that the NCAA has yet to explain why an Exhibit 10 triggers ineligibility.
NCAA attorney Taylor Askew countered that the organization deems players ineligible if they sign with a pro team in a league with a guaranteed minimum salary (like the NBA). Askew noted an Exhibit 10 can be converted into a two-way contract and then a guaranteed NBA deal without requiring another signature, adding that the Jazz paid Sane's G League bonus.
“Their argument is that he was paid by the Utah Jazz, but there’s absolutely no evidence of that,” Vessup said. “They didn’t offer any.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
