UW Basketball | Overton cleared to play in '07-08

Washington freshman guard Venoy Overton was declared academically eligible Tuesday and cleared to enroll in school and officially join the team.

Overton's status was in doubt while his transcripts, including some online summer-school courses, were reviewed by the NCAA Clearinghouse. With school starting today at UW, Huskies coaches were hopeful of a resolution this week and got it Tuesday afternoon.

Overton, a 6-foot guard from Franklin High who led the Quakers to the 2006 Class 4A state title, averaged 21.1 points and 5.7 assists per game last season.

The news about Overton answers the last question about UW's roster. The Huskies will have a full complement of 13 scholarship players, including all four players who signed letters of intent last year. The other incoming freshmen are center Matthew Bryan-Amaning, forward Darnell Gant and swingman Justin Holiday.

It's a recruiting class that isn't as heralded as the class a year ago that featured Spencer Hawes, who left after one year and became a lottery pick of the Sacramento Kings. But it's one UW coach Lorenzo Romar predicts can do big things.

"They are not spoiled in any way," he said. "They want to come in, they want to work. They don't feel like the game owes them anything. That's a great thing to have. They just come in and want to be part of a team situation and give you all that they have."

The Huskies are doing daily conditioning and individual workouts the next three weeks before practice officially starts Oct. 12. Romar said the Huskies will not conduct a public Midnight Madness celebration to mark the beginning of practice.