Minnesota's Mbakwe granted 6th year of eligibility

MINNEAPOLIS — The NCAA has granted injured Minnesota forward Trevor Mbakwe (ihm-BOCK-way) a sixth season of eligibility.

The Golden Gophers announced the decision on Friday. It's not known if Mbakwe will accept the season or turn pro.

The 6-foot-8 power forward missed almost the entire season with a torn ACL in his right knee. He was the Gophers leading scorer and rebounder when he went down in the seventh game, a loss to Dayton at a tournament in Florida in November.

Mbakwe has not decided if he will accept the sixth season. In a post on his Twitter account, he thanks everyone for their support and says he's "really happy about the NCAA decision to give me the option of having another year."