Enosch Wolf admitted to UConn ... for the spring semester

Well, this is a bit of a good news/bad news bit of information. The good news? Enosch Wolf, a 7'1" German center has been granted admission to UConn, according to the Courant. The bad news? That admission is for the spring semester, which means Wolf, won't be available until the end of the first semester on Dec. 18.

The Huskies have a bit of a mixed history with players joining the team mid-season. In 2006, Marcus Williams was suspended for the first semester, but came back to lead the Huskies to the Elite 8. Of course, Williams was re-joining the team, which probably made the transition easier. Of course, the most recent example of someone suiting up for the first time in the second semester is the recently-departed Ater Majok, who didn't exactly light the world on fire. Speaking of Majok, his departure has left UConn thin in the front court and it was hoped Wolf would be able to fill at least part of that void, so the delay certainly won't help on that count.

I have two big questions with all of this. First, what do NCAA rules say about non-students at practices? Does this mean Wolf won't be able to do anything with the coaching staff until December? Or will he just be kept out of games or limited in some other manner. Obviously the latter scenario is much better for the Huskies, but I fear it may be the former. I'll look into it and get back to everyone.

UPDATE: I just looked over the NCAA D-1 handbook, and my (admittedly amateur) understanding leads me to believe that until he is enrolled and taking classes (which by the NCAA's definition means the end of the first semester), Wolf won't be able to practice with the team. That is obviously not good, and unless he turns out to be a super-duper stud, I wouldn't expect too much from Wolf's 2010-11 campaign.

Second, Wolf announced his intention to play for UConn in July, so why is he just being accepted now? That couldn't have been fast-tracked somehow? Admittedly, its a non-issue, because Wolf hasn't even been able to get in the country yet, but still.

UPDATE: This is from the Journal-Inquirer, who reported that Wolf was denied admission for the fall semester:

Wolf’s issues are not thought to be with the NCAA clearing house or visa-related, but his non-admittance was a UConn admissions office decision.

That is strange to say the least. It wasn't an NCAA clearing house issue, so I assume that means Wolf is in general qualified to play college ball, which makes rejection for one semester and acceptance for the following one pretty strange.