PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas – The college basketball landscape changed dramatically the day before Thanksgiving with the news that Kansas forward Cheick Diallo has been cleared by the NCAA to participate for Kansas Jayhawks. He accompanied the team to the Maui Classic but will not be eligible to play until Dec. 1 against Loyola of Maryland.

At least, the 6-9, 220-pound Diallo, who can run the floor and finish, WILL be eligible, giving Kansas the type of length, front court athleticism, rebounding and rim protection that should transform the already loaded Jayhawks from an already very good team to a national contender in March.

Diallo, a McDonald’s All American with a seven foot four inch wing span, arrived at Our Savior New American in Centereach, L.I. in 2012 from Mali and played three for three years. He was a starter on the imposing international front line as 6-10 Ben Simmons of LSU and 6-11 Skal Labissiere of Kentucky at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon. But Our Savior was placed under NCAA review after Diallo enrolled, which had the potential to nullify his core courses. Diallo was suspended by the NCAA clearing house while it investigated his background — asking, among other things, for sixth grade transcripts from Mali–and inquiring about his relationship with his guardian.

The player was never told why. Neither was Kansas.

Diallo, for the record, was an honor roll student in prep school who speaks multiple languages and had an A and B in his summer school courses at Kansas. He was open to speak with the NCAA about his both grades or his guardian. But sadly– and wrongly– there is no due process for student athletes where the NCAA is concerned and no control of the pace of an investigation.

Kansas hired representation for Diallo. Recently, his guardian, Tidiane Drame, also hired Alabama-based attorney Don Jackson.

But the player was stuck in limbo.

Kansas coach Bill Self, frustrated with the lack of cooperation and information from the NCAA,  hit the roof last weekend during a teleconference with ESPN and CBS Sports line. He said Kansas had not been given the details of Diallo’s situation until earlier this month.

Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger sent a scathing six page letter Nov. 10 to Oliver Luck, the NCAA’s executive vice president in charge of regulatory issues, as well as NCAA president Mark Emmert detailing the Jayhawks’ opinion that the organization mishandled the Diallo case. In the letter obtained by ESPN on Saturday night, Zenger was hard fast in his belief that, “Cheick Diallo should be eligible immediately, because when reviewing the totality of this situation, it is clear the NCAA has failed both to put forth an open-minded best effort for a student-athlete and to uncover facts supporting eligibility. All of which the University of Kansas did.”

Zenger said Kansas’ investment in investigating the case is “approaching six figures on all levels.” He indicated in his letter the money was well spent because of the number of “serious and legitimate misrepresentations attributed to NCAA process, unfounded verbal statements and inadequate professional standards.”

Among the criticisms: Kansas staff visited the school six times, but the NCAA did not visit, even with an invitation to accompany Kansas. The NCAA told Kansas on Sept. 2 that it would give the school information after a review of Diallo’s case, Zenger said. The AD wrote that that the NCAA eligibility center said on Nov. 5 that it had the information needed at the start of the process.

Kansas argued that there is additional information that should be considered but the NCAA did not seek it out. One of the problems cited with Diallo’s high school record was attendance, Zenger said, but Kansas’ investigation found Diallo had exceeded the 85 percent minimum attendance required.

Self hit the roof last weekend during a teleconference with ESPN and CBS Sports line. He said Kansas gave two separate independent reports to the NCAA last Friday night that refute the organization’s claim that the majority of Diallo’s core courses at Our Savior are not eligible.

Finally, after four lingering months, the NCAA  investigation concluded that based on the independent review and reports from its own investigators, Diallo would be given a waiver. The investigation also revealed Diallo “received a limited amount of extra benefits” and ruled that he should be suspended for five games, including the four he had already missed.

The same day as the decision on Diallo came down, the NCAA also cleared St. John’s freshman forward Kassoum Yakwe, another Mali-born student from Our Savior.

As we’ve seen before, the NCAA wheels of justice turn slowly where international players are concerned.

Ask Tacko Fall, a 7-foot-6 freshman at Central Florida, who was finally cleared to play Feb. 13, a day the team’s opener against Davidson. Fall, who had a 3.6 GPA his final two years of high school and was prepared to sue the NCAA if he doesn’t win a last-ditch academic waiver, his guardian told ESPN.

Amanda Wettstein has been Fall’s guardian since he arrived at Liberty Christian Preparatory School in Tavares Fla. following his sophomore year from the African country of Senegal. She said Liberty Christian,  which has been in existence for 25 years, has been placed under an extended evaluation status by the NCAA for a minimum of two full academic certification cycles.

The NCAA informed Central Florida that it is only accepting 7 1/2 of his core courses. It also told UCF that Fall is no longer allowed to practice with the team. Fall is majoring in engineering and has A’s and B’s in all his courses this semester. He sends much of the money he receives from cost of attendance stipend back home so his younger brother can attend school– which is not free– in Senegal.

There has to be less bureaucracy and more common sense in this eligibility decisions.