Finally cleared by NCAA, Nendah Tarke eager to make debut for Towson men’s basketball: ‘I’m ready for it’

When Towson men’s basketball coach Pat Skerry and assistant coach John Auslander delivered the good news to Nendah Tarke Wednesday that his application for a waiver to play this season had finally been approved after a four-month wait, Tarke wasn’t entirely sure how to react.

“I was kind of shocked,” he recalled. “I kind of just stared at both the coaches when they told me. I had heard positive things kind of throughout. So I thought, ‘Maybe this is just one of those. So don’t let me get my hopes up too much because another thing sets it back.’ It didn’t really sink in immediately until maybe a day or two after.”

Barring an unforeseen hiccup, Tarke — who transferred from Coppin State — will make this season debut in a Tigers uniform when he and his teammates meet Bryant (6-5) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the first game of a tripleheader called the Holiday Hoopfest at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Towson evened its record at 5-5 after picking up its second win in a row by defeating UMBC, 89-73, on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday’s game would be Tarke’s first since March 9 when the Eagles lost, 73-56, to Norfolk State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal. But the 6-foot-4, 200-pound shooting guard said he doesn’t think he will be overly animated about participating in his first game in 283 days.

“I’m a mellow guy,” he said after the team’s victory over the Retrievers. “I’m going to be excited and anxious for sure. But I don’t know if anyone would really describe me as too amped up. I’m ready. I’m ready for it.”

Tarke missed the first 10 games of the season as the NCAA mulled the program’s application for a waiver that would have allowed him to play this season. The holdup involved whether the redshirt junior had been a member of Nicholls State after committing to that school in mid-May before reversing course in early June and agreeing to join the Tigers.

NCAA transfer rules mandate that a player who transfers to two programs in the same offseason must sit out one season. But Skerry said Towson’s position was that Tarke had not enrolled at Nicholls State for a course or practiced with the players or coaches there. University officials answered several inquiries from the NCAA but could do nothing except wait for a decision, which arrived in the middle of last week.

“We’re obviously thrilled for Nendah and our program that he has been provided relief,” Skerry said. “I don’t really want to get into why it took so long. That’s still head-scratching to me. So at this point, we are hopeful to have him on Saturday.

“We’re trying to tie that up right now with the reinstatement process with the end of his academic semester, which for him is Monday. It’s not easy to go through what this kid went through. He was at one school — physically at one school. But he has handled it with a lot of grace, a lot of dignity.”

Tarke described the wait as “rough” as he would get his hopes up regarding a potential verdict only to have the date pushed back. He acknowledged “there were dark times” when he thought he would be forced to miss the season.

Asked how he didn’t give in to the frustration, Tarke replied, “I love the sport. Just having that mindset of, ‘OK, if I’m not going to play, I’m still here, and I can make an impact on somebody else.’ Whether that’s making my teammates better in practice or trying to help them on or off the court, I can’t just be selfish and say, ‘OK, because I’m not playing, I’m not going to give 100% effort.’ You’re still here, you still have a job to do, you’re still on scholarship. So it’s my obligation to them to give my all to the program whether I’m playing or not.”

Tarke has the potential to be an immediate contributor. In three years at Coppin State, he compiled 1,025 points (a 12.2 average), 502 rebounds (6.0), 182 steals (2.2) and 175 assists (2.1). Last season, he averaged 12.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 32 games (31 starts) and was named to the MEAC All-Defensive team for the second year in a row.

Skerry half-joked that Tarke is the type of player who would be coveted in fantasy basketball leagues.

“He guards it, he passes it, he scores it, he rebounds,” he said. “He does a lot of different things to fill up a stat sheet. He has great versatility. Him and [sophomore shooting guard] Christian May have had a lot of really good battles in practice. So I’m looking forward to getting those guys out there on the court together. He knows he’s going to do his job. We’re just thankful we’re going to have at least a couple of nonconference games to try to blend this thing together, and we’re going to use practice this week a little more intensely.”

A victory on Saturday would give the Tigers their first three-game winning streak of the season. Tarke is seeking to help the program reach that stage.

“I’m just going to treat it like a normal game,” he said. “It’s not about me. So I’m not going to come out here and be like, ‘Oh, it’s my first game. So I’ve got to do X, Y and Z.’ It’s just like, ‘How can I help the team win?’ I’ve never come into a game thinking I’ve got to get 30 points or I’ve got to get however many rebounds or assists. It’s just however I can impact the team and how I can help them win. That’s what I’m looking at.”

Towson vs. Bryant

UBS Arena, Elmont, N.Y.

Saturday, 2 p.m.

Stream: flosports.tv