Bad decisions have consequences. Good ones reap benefits. Randolph Morris learned that Thursday, a week after the NCAA informed the 6-10 Kentucky sophomore that he would have to sit out this season for his failed attempt to go pro, but would be deemed eligible to play during the 2006-2007 campaign. Morris' suspension now stands at only 14 games. It was a fair ruling by the collegiate sports governing body -- one that penalized Morris but offered some leniency to a kid that made a mistake. The NCAA usually isn't his nice. It is an organization that is known for levying draconian punishments, especially when the amateur status of an athlete is called into question.

Kentucky should be pleased with the outcome and Morris should be relieved. After averaging only 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds as a freshman, he decided to enter the NBA Draft. It was a bad move. But Morris exacerbated the problem by not withdrawing his name by the June 21 deadline. Instead, he waited around long enough to find out he wasn't one of the 60 players selected in the first and second rounds. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. Morris was one of six underclassmen from the Southeastern Conference who went undrafted. But he was the only one among his short-sighted peers who asked the NCAA to restore his eligibility after failing to be picked.

 Courtesy AP

Morris exercised a little-used NCAA provision that would allow him to compete at Kentucky again, if he paid back the expenses incurred while working out with NBA teams and petitioned Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart within 30 days of the draft to take him back. He did so and Barnhart acquiesced. After potentially botching his career, Morris had made a wise move -- a choice that only one other player had made before. After not being drafted in 2001, Jerry Green of UC-Irvine returned to play for the Anteaters after taking similar steps as Morris, who should consider himself fortunate, especially since the SFX sports agency arranged his workouts with NBA teams despite the fact it did not have a written or #### agreement with the Kentucky forward. The NCAA could have ruled him ineligible because of his quasi-relationship with an agency, but instead chose to offer a light penalty after reconsidering the initial punishment it handed down.

Morris was taught a fair lesson -- one that should be heeded by all underclassmen who entertain the idea of making the jump to the professional ranks. Now, players know they have a chance to make the right move and go back to college if they make the wrong choice by staying in the draft and not being picked. The NCAA has given college basketball players a chance to have it both ways. Careers can be resurrected and bad decisions won't seem so fatal. Morris and Kentucky should be thankful. So should his peers.