Idehen signs with Western Kentucky, but NCAA eligibility remains in question

Robinson Idehen has signed with Western Kentucky, but whether he steps foot on the Division I campus this fall remains uncertain.

Idehen’s former high school coach confirmed that questions about Idehen’s international transcripts prolonged his recruitment and will require Western Kentucky officials to make a compelling argument to the NCAA.

No further detail was provided.

“He did really well academically with us,” Modesto Christian coach Richard Midgley said of the 6-foot-9 forward, a native of Spain. “His international transcripts, though, that’s why this thing has played out forever – and it’s still going to play out. Western Kentucky is going to try to help him out.”

Idehen returned to Europe following graduation from Modesto Christian, where he led the Crusaders to back-to-back CIF State Open Division Northern California finals in his only two years.

“My time at Modesto Christian has been the best time of my entire life so far,” Idehen wrote in an email to The Bee. “It was always about family and will always be about family. My teammates pushed me every single day at practice. Whenever things weren’t going the way I expected them to go, they were always there to step up.”

With a 7-foot, 3-inch wingspan, elite bounce and a relentless work rate, Idehen blossomed into one of the top high school players in Northern California. He was named to Cal-Hi Sports’ All-State Large-School first team and All-State Elite second team.

Idehen averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots as a senior, sharing The Bee’s All-District co-Player of the Years honor with teammate Christian Ellis, who signed with Southern Illinois Edwardsville in April.

Ellis’ signing put Idehen’s recruitment in the spotlight. As it stretched into May and June, speculation reigned. Where would he sign? Would he choose to go to a prep academy, following the path of Manteca High’s Kenny Wooten, another high-profile local recruit?

Midgley said several schools, including Pacific-12 Conference programs, were scared off by the questions surrounding Idehen’s international coursework. However, Idehen’s potential was just too much for first-year Hilltopper coach Rick Stansbury to pass up. Stansbury first saw Idehen play as an assistant at Texas A&M.

“It has been a really long process,” Idehen wrote, “and thanks to my family (at Modesto Christian) I’ve learned how to be patient with this recruiting process.”

According to the Bowling Green Daily News, Idehen is the first front-court player signed by Stansbury. The three-star recruit immediately headlines a class that includes Tobias “T.J.” Howard of Georgia, Marty Leahy of Australia, Damari Parris of North Carolina and transfers Que Johnson (Washington State) and Junior Lomomba (Providence).

“His potential is higher than any athlete I’ve ever coached,” said Midgley, who has four former players currently on a Division I roster, including three at Pacific (Anthony Townes, Ray Bowles, T.J. Wallace) and one at Sacramento State (Jeff Wu). “It’s really how far he wants to take it.”

Idehen chose Western Kentucky over Wichita State, Memphis and TCU.

“I believe WKU is a really good program for me, especially now that they have a new coach and coaching staff,” Idehen said. “The head coach has been recruiting me for over a year now when he was at Texas A&M, so he knows where I’m at and how I can become the player that I want to be in the future. I picked WKU because they needed players like me to play right away and get better.”

Idehen also had offers from Houston, Nevada, Pacific, Rice, San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, according to Scout.com. Nebraska, Saint Mary’s and Oregon State also were reportedly in the mix.

“It’s been a long process for him, and he ended up having a lot of options,” Midgley said. “Throughout the whole thing, at least for him, it was about finding the program he had a comfort level with and fit him well; a program that would let him develop and reach bigger goals.”

If Idehen is deemed ineligible by the NCAA, Midgley said the long and lanky defensive specialist likely would spend the next two years at a national junior college that provides tuition and living assistance.

“It’s going to play out for a while,” Midgley said, “but he should be good.”

Idehen admitted that having to go to a junior college would be disappointing, but he’s prepared for whatever path he must take.

“I don’t really want to think about other routes, but yes, I’ll be a little disappointed,” he said. “If that’s what God’s will is (I) can’t change it. All I know is that it’s another way of making my dreams come true.”

He remains confident Western Kentucky’s compliance department and the NCAA will resolve the issue in a way that will allow Idehen to become a Hilltopper in the fall.

“I believe everything will work out perfectly,” he said. “I’m trying my best to not worry about all that stuff. It might be frustrating at times, but I leave it all to God.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Idehen signs with Western Kentucky, but NCAA eligibility remains in question."