Oregon’s five-star freshman center N’Faly Dante will not be eligible for the first nine games of the 2019 season.

Dante missed his clearance date, but plans to enroll on Dec. 14, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. 

Men’s basketball head coach Dana Altman hinted at this several weeks ago in the Ducks’ first press conference of the year. At the time N’Faly had yet to practice with the team.

Dante — the No. 14 overall prospect in the 2019 recruiting class according to 247Sports composite — is Oregon’s most highly touted recruit in its 2019 class, which landed as the fourth best class in the nation. 

Although he will likely be eligible to play the entirety of Pac-12 conference play, Dante’s absence is a huge loss for the Ducks. Oregon is set to play one of the most competitive non-conference schedules its had in recent memory. 

Most notably, the Ducks will face Penny Hardaway’s Memphis team that features the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class. Furthermore, they will face Houston for the second year in a row as well as Seton Hall and Michigan — coincidentally on Dec. 14. 

Without Dante, sophomore Francis Okoro, the presumed starter at center, will be featured even more heavily. Freshmen Chandler Lawson and CJ Walker, as well as senior transfer Shakur Juiston, will likely play bigger roles as the Ducks look to play smaller in Dante’s absence.