Five-star center Charles Bassey was cleared by the NCAA on Wednesday, according to Jon Rothstein on Twitter. 

{{tncms-inline account=”Jon Rothstein” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Source: Western Kentucky freshman Charles Bassey has been fully cleared by the NCAA.</p>— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1034912699476594694?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2018</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1034912699476594694″ type=”twitter”}}

The announcement comes following scrutiny of Bassey’s high school graduation after moving to Kentucky to play for the Aspire Academy, as well as the decision to hire Bassey’s guardian, Hennssy Auriantal, as an assistant coach. The Herald previously republished a story from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting about the issue. 

Bassey’s clearance means that he’ll be able to suit up for WKU when the Hilltoppers start their regular season at Washington on Nov. 6. The internet had plenty of reaction to the announcement. 

{{tncms-inline account=”Aspire Academy Wizards” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Aspire Family is so extremely proud and excited for our very own alum <a href="https://twitter.com/CB_ONES23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CB_ONES23</a> for getting cleared to play his freshman season at <a href="https://twitter.com/WKUBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WKUBasketball</a> this year!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheAspireWay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheAspireWay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnceAWizardAlwaysAWizard?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnceAWizardAlwaysAWizard</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ShowTime?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ShowTime</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBestIsYetToCome?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheBestIsYetToCome</a></p>— Aspire Academy Wizards (@aspireacademyky) <a href="https://twitter.com/aspireacademyky/status/1034919892988952578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2018</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/aspireacademyky/status/1034919892988952578″ type=”twitter”}}

{{tncms-inline account=”WKU Tops on top” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/CB_ONES23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CB_ONES23</a> is ready to go! ⚪️🔴</p>— WKU Tops on top (@TheWkuTops) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheWkuTops/status/1034921755087962114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2018</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/TheWkuTops/status/1034921755087962114″ type=”twitter”}}

{{tncms-inline account=”Morgan Robinson ™️” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ready to see <a href="https://twitter.com/CB_ONES23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CB_ONES23</a> dominate at WKU💯💯</p>— Morgan Robinson ™️ (@iron_walrus) <a href="https://twitter.com/iron_walrus/status/1034924864161964039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2018</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/iron_walrus/status/1034924864161964039″ type=”twitter”}}

{{tncms-inline account=”Eli” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/CB_ONES23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CB_ONES23</a> is about to dominate the Conference USA! Let’s get it! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gotops?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gotops</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WKUBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WKUBasketball</a></p>— Eli (@elihays03) <a href="https://twitter.com/elihays03/status/1034924786818969608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2018</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/elihays03/status/1034924786818969608″ type=”twitter”}}

{{tncms-inline account=”Ethan Page” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Big things coming 👀 <a href="https://twitter.com/CB_ONES23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CB_ONES23</a> let’s go🔴⚪️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tops?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tops</a></p>— Ethan Page (@Ethanpage0) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ethanpage0/status/1034927311525765120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2018</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/Ethanpage0/status/1034927311525765120″ type=”twitter”}}

{{tncms-inline account=”Luke Hancock” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats to Aspire <a href="https://twitter.com/aspireacademyky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@aspireacademyky</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachKip_Aspire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachKip_Aspire</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/CB_ONES23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CB_ONES23</a> on him getting cleared. Time for a huge year at WKU, good luck my man!</p>— Luke Hancock (@lukeskywalka11) <a href="https://twitter.com/lukeskywalka11/status/1034914270633512972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2018</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/lukeskywalka11/status/1034914270633512972″ type=”twitter”}}

Bassey’s clearance comes quicker than that of Moustapha Diagne and Josh Anderson’s last season. Neither were cleared until after the end of the fall semester. 

Sports Editor Jeremy Chisenhall can be reached at 270-745-6291 and [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JSChisenhall.