St. John's Red Storm Babacar Sane scores legal win in fight to play for St. John’s By Zach Braziller Published Sep. 8, 2026, 11:48 a.m. ET Babacar Sane received a legal win that, as of now, leaves him eligible to play for St. John's. NBAE via Getty Images Consider this the first step for Babacar Sane gaining eligibility to play for St. John’s this season.
After the NCAA ruled the highly regarded Senegalese wing ineligible for the coming season because of his “intent to professionalize,” Sane filed a lawsuit in Queens Supreme Court, and on Monday, Judge Karina Alomar granted him a temporary restraining order pending a hearing on Oct. 1.
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In a 55-page document filed on Friday by Sane’s attorneys, Elliot Sol Abrams and Kareem R. Vesssup, they argued that “the decision cites no controlling bylaw, does not discuss Sané’s graduation plan or degree commitment, and leaves blank the form’s field for case precedent.”
