CSUN’s Fisher Waits, Hoping for New Grade

Whether Cal State Northridge basketball center Percy Fisher regains his eligibility hinges on his efforts to have a D+ grade changed to a C-.

Fisher, who learned late Wednesday that he was 0.01 shy of the cumulative 2.0 grade-point average required, was so shocked by his history grade that he thought a mistake had been made.

“I hope there was a mistake and I hope there is a change in his favor,” CSUN Coach Pete Cassidy said, noting that it is not uncommon for grades to be changed for regular students after they are posted.

“(But) coaches can’t talk to professors,” Cassidy added. “It is a university rule and it is a good one.”

Erik Cooper, who also missed the first semester because of academic ineligibility, is still waiting for all of his grades to be posted.

Cooper and Fisher have struggled academically despite the efforts of Cassidy and his staff, which include monitoring classroom attendance.

“We do the best we can,” Cassidy said. “Can you wake a kid up in the morning and walk him around campus? When we find out they are negligent we call them to task, but there is a time when a man has to stand up and be counted. They know the importance of this.”