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Former Old Dominion guard Donte Hill signs a contract in ... Kazakhstan

George Mason Old Dominion Basketball

Old Dominion’s Donte Hill, right, drives against George Mason s Marko Gujanicic during an NCAA college basketball game on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Hyunsoo Leo Kim)

AP

Donte Hill caused a minor uproar across the college basketball world when the NCAA denied his appeal to play for Old Dominion this season.

Hill played eight minutes in a secret scrimmage for Clemson back in 2010, but decided to leave the program and transfer to ODU afterwards. The NCAA ruled that those eight minutes constituted a year of eligibility, which means that instead of playing as a senior this season Hill was no longer a collegiate athlete.

There were folks in the media pushing to get the ruling overturned, but alas, that saga is now over.

Hill’s gone pro. He signed a contract with Barsy-Atyrau, a team in Kazakhstan. A school spokesman confirmed the news to NBCSports.com.

There’s something to be said for accountability, and it’s certainly not a good look for Hill to walk out on his team like that once the season has begun. But it’s tough for me to wrap my head around the idea that eight minutes in a secret scrimmage that the schools are not even allowed to acknowledge exist could cost a kid a year of eligibility. Suspending him a couple of games or a semester would have made more sense.

Hopefully he finds his footing as a pro, but starting your career as a 22 year old heading to live in Kazakhstan doesn’t exactly sound ideal.

Follow @robdauster