Men’s basketball junior forward Ricky Lindo Jr. will use the 2020-21 season to practice, despite the NCAA Division I Council granting a blanket transfer waiver, head coach Jamion Christian said last week.

The NCAA Division I Council voted earlier this month to allow eligible transfers in all sports to be immediately eligible to play during the 2020-21 season. But Christian said Lindo Jr., who transferred from Maryland in April, will not see time on the floor this year.

“As of right now it won’t be this season,” he said. “He’s enjoying his development process. We’re enjoying doing that with him, and we know if we do that right we’re going to have a great player start of next season, and that’s what our focus is with him.”

Sophomore guard James Bishop, who came in from LSU in April, was previously granted a waiver to forgo his year on the sidelines prior to the season.

Division I Council Chair Grace Calhoun said the waiver will give student-athletes more flexibility during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“Allowing transfer student-athletes to compete immediately will provide additional opportunities to student-athletes during this continued difficult time, and perhaps allow games to be played that otherwise might not have been,” Calhoun said in the release.