Ex-recruit Odom to play at Rhode Island

Lamar Odom apparently will play college basketball after all.

The one-time UNLV recruit was accepted Wednesday at the University of Rhode Island after the 6-foot-10 forward from New York withdrew his name from consideration for next Wednesday's NBA draft.

Odom, whose standardized test score came into question in a Sports Illustrated story last year, was released from his commitment to UNLV, where he had signed a national letter of intent in April 1997.

"It has always been my strongest hope and desire to play college basketball," Odom told a packed news conference on the URI campus in South Kingston, R.I. "It has been my dream since childhood. And even though my name has been mentioned as a possible NBA lottery selection, I have never wavered in my goals to one day play college ball.

"I was flattered to be considered a lottery pick. But I'm more flattered to be considered a college basketball player."

Odom initially chose to play for Bill Bayno, tabbing the Rebels over Kentucky and Connecticut. However, when the SI story appeared and suggested there may have been irregularities on his American College Test score, the NCAA contacted UNLV officials.

The school launched an internal investigation into the validity of the score. Odom would not cooperate with the inquiry and in late July, asked to be released from his UNLV commitment.

That request was granted. Odom did not play this past season, attending classes at URI after enrolling as a part-time student in September. Since then, he has attended classes sporadically and had to make up the work each semester.

He has passed 21 units. He needs to pass 24 in order to be eligible this fall. Odom will be taking a summer class to reach the required number.

Because he sat out, his ACT scores become irrelevant from the NCAA's perspective. He essentially is a nonqualifier and will have three years of eligibility remaining for the Rams.

Whether he remains at URI for the duration remains to be seen. However, the school announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement to build a $50 million on-campus arena.

When asked about how long he planned to stay, Odom said, "I'd like to play in the new gym."

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