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Two weeks after suffering foot injury, Columbia’s leading scorer withdraws from school

Alex Rosenberg

Columbia’s hopes of contending in the Ivy League took a hit back on October 24, when senior forward Alex Rosenberg suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot. The expectation at the time was that Rosenberg, who averaged 16.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season, would miss six to eight weeks with the goal being to be healthy for the start of conference play in early January.

That will not be the case however, as according to a report from the Columbia Spectator the first team All-Ivy League selection has decided to withdraw from school. With the Ivy League not allowing graduate students (you can redshirt), this move could be the first step towards Rosenberg ensuring that he plays a full senior season.

The key for Rosenberg, should that be the case, is to receive a waiver from the Ivy League that would grant him an extra season of eligibility.

Student-athletes can request a leave of absence to extend eligibility to a fifth calendar year, but need to meet with an academic advisor to demonstrate that such an action would be in line with academic and career goals, and is not the result of pressure from coaches or other athletics staff. The student-athlete would then need to get a waiver approved by the conference.

Even with a healthy Rosenberg, returnees such as Grant Mullins (11.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.4 apg), Corey Osetkowski (7.5, 3.9) and Luke Petrasek (5.3, 3.2) were expected to contribute more alongside guard Maodo Lo (14.7, 3.8, 2.1) as the Lions look to overtake Harvard atop the Ivy League.

Now that there’s no longer the possibility of Rosenberg returning in 2014-15, those players become even more important for Columbia.

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