SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State men’s basketball coach Dana Ford announced late Wednesday that junior forward Tulio Da Silva, a transfer from South Florida, has been cleared to play by the NCAA. He will make his debut with the Bears in Saturday’s game at Murray State.
“We are excited for Tulio and for our team,” said Ford. “It was a very emotional process for him to go through the waiver and appeal with the NCAA, but we are glad he will get to return to the court and help us this season.
”I want to thank the administration — Casey Hunt, Kyle Moats and others — for their tireless efforts on Tulio’s behalf.”
Da Silva (6-8, 211, Formiga, Brazil) played in 19 games at USF last season with 12 starts and averaged 8.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He snagged a career-high 17 rebounds against FIU on Dec. 11. As a redshirt freshman in 2016-17, he finished second on the Bulls’ squad in scoring with 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game with 20 starts in 30 games. He broke USF’s freshman rebounding record (203) in his inaugural season in Tampa.
The four-star recruit out of Arlington (Fla.) Country Day High was a member of Brazil’s 17-and-under national team.
The Da Silva announcement is the last piece of the Bears’ eligibility puzzle for the 2018-19 season. Jarred Ridder (F, Springfield, Mo.) will join the team at the end of the first semester
and will be eligible for the Dec. 15 game at North Dakota State. Fellow Division I transfers Tyrik Dixon (G, Bentonville, Ark.) and Josh Hall (G/F, Houston, Texas) will both redshirt this year.
Ford and the Bears (3-2) kick off a three-game road swing Saturday at Murray State (2-0) for a 7 p.m. tipoff at CFSB Arena. The excursion continues at Air Force (Nov. 28) and Oregon State (Dec. 1) before a home matchup with Western Kentucky on Dec. 5 at JQH Arena.
