Kentucky Basketball: Rice Transfer Arsalan Kazemi Chooses Oregon over UK

Bob Clark of the Register-Guard reported today that stand out Rice transfer Arsalan Kazemi has enrolled in classes at the University of Oregon and will seek a hardship waiver to begin playing there immediately. Andy Katz of ESPN.com cited a source close to the situation as stating that if Kazemi could not obtain a waiver, than he would sit out a year rather than declare for the NBA Draft or head over seas.

The 6-foot-7 forward had reportedly narrowed his choices down to Oregon and the University of Kentucky, but ended up going with the Ducks due to the fact that their fall session starts on Monday, September 24 (classes at UK and most other school have already begun).

While it's always disappointing to miss out on a talented senior, John Calipari and his Wildcats weren't in desperate need of a small forward this season. As my esteemed Bleacher Report colleague/man crush Matt Overing points out in this excellent article, UK is loaded with long, athletic players who also have obscene amounts of talent and scoring ability. 

A veteran presence like Kazemi would have been a very nice bonus this season, but Calipari has already proven that he is more than capable of taking very young roster and molding it into a dominant force.

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