Silvio De Sousa was all smiles when talking to the media on Wednesday

Silvio De Sousa, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., is living the life he’s wanted to live for as long as he can remember. Originally from Luanda, Angola, De Sousa, a former five-star prospect, arrived in Lawrence after graduating early from IMG with very few concerns, if any at all.

Obviously, staying warm and eventually making his college debut were at the top of his priority list, but little did he know that life was waiting to throw him a curveball that he never saw coming. In fact, very few people, if any at all, saw it coming.

De Sousa, as a freshman, appeared in 20 games. He averaged four points and 3.7 rebounds per game, but his play late in the season was key in Kansas advancing to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.

In the Big 12 Tournament, De Sousa scored six points and pulled down eight rebounds against Oklahoma State. He tallied eight points and 11 rebounds against Kansas State and, in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game, De Sousa exploded for 16 points and 10 rebounds against West Virginia.

Kansas, for the third time that season, defeated West Virginia, 81-70.

After a quiet opening weekend in the NCAA Tournament, De Sousa, when Kansas needed him the most, was at his best. He scored nine points and pulled down six rebounds against Seton Hall and, when Kansas faced Duke in the Elite Eight, De Sousa tallied just four points, but grabbed 10 rebounds and was a force on the glass.

Against Villanova, De Sousa scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds, but the outcome for Kansas, unfortunately, was over long before the final buzzer sounded.

While he didn’t know it at the time, De Sousa would miss the entire 2018-19 season and, not long ago, he was expected to miss all of the 2019-20 season as well. However, after Kansas appealed the NCAA’s ruling on De Sousa, the news he and many others had hoped to hear, was announced less than two weeks ago.

“Kansas men’s’ basketball student-athlete Silvio De Sousa is eligible to play the upcoming season after sitting the 2018-19 season due to NCAA rules violations,” the statement read. “Kansas appealed the NCAA staff decision of a two-season withholding to the Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, which determined additional relief was appropriate.”

There’s absolutely no doubt, none at all, that the right decision was made on that Friday afternoon (5/24/19). After sitting out this past season, De Sousa, who handled the situation like a seasoned veteran, without question, deserves to play for Bill Self and the University of Kansas men’s basketball team next season.

In fact, it’s fair to say that De Sousa should have been eligible to play this past season, but with his sophomore year at Kansas behind him, he can finally focus all of his attention on returning to the court in 2019.

“You know, I think my routine is the same – just working out and working on myself,” said De Sousa. “Even though I didn’t play last year, one thing I would always do is just keep myself in the gym and just try to get better.

“This year, now that I know I’ll be able to play, I’m just focused on my game and it feels great just to be back,” he added with a smile.

After a rough start on the recruiting trail this year, Bill Self and his staff, without question, have received some much needed and welcoming news the past month. Udoka Azubuike decided to return for his senior year, Devon Dotson recently made the decision to return for his sophomore year and, on May 24, Silvio De Sousa was finally cleared to play the 2019-20 season.

Instead of sitting out another year, De Sousa, who tested the NBA waters just in case his appeal was denied, is now eligible to return to action when the 2019-20 season kicks off. It's quite clear and obvious that those responsible for making De Sousa immediately eligible got it right.

De Sousa, after walking out of the locker room, under the tunnel and onto the Allen Fieldhouse court in street clothes for an entire season, will never be forced to experience that loneliness again.

On Wednesday afternoon, JayhawkSlant.com asked De Sousa to talk about where he was and what he was doing when the NCAA made the announcement that he was eligible to play this upcoming season.

“I was just happy,” said De Sousa. “I was just happy, even though I was expecting that (decision) from the NCAA, but I was just happy. I talked to my family about it and just got everything off of my shoulders. He (attorney) told me to go home, because it might take a while (to reach a final decision), so as I was going home, he called me back and said I forgot something.

“I went back and that was it,” he added. “I never had any doubts (that this was going to happen). Since day one, I knew that I didn’t do anything and I was innocent, so I was pretty much, just kind of, relaxed.”

While Self, De Sousa and company are, without question, ecstatic with the outcome, the same likely can’t be said about KU’s future opponents. While Self’s roster is still somewhat incomplete, the pieces are in place for the Jayhawks to have an absolutely magical season in 2019-20.

Marcus Garrett, Devon Dotson, Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Udoka Azubuike, and Mitch Lightfoot all return from a season ago. The Jayhawks will add, with open arms no doubt, Silvio De Sousa, Tristan Enaruna, Christian Braun, and Issac McBride to next year’s roster.

Jalen Wilson, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound small forward from Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, will likely reach a final decision in the next week or two, if not sooner, and several other prospects remain unsigned at this time.

Still, when looking at KU’s roster for the upcoming season, the biggest “gets” for Self and his staff were bringing back Azubuike, Dotson, and De Sousa. Adding a player the caliber of Wilson, especially this late in the game, could potentially be a “game changer” for this staff.

As good as the news has been for Kansas, and it has been outstanding the past couple of weeks, if you allow yourself to take a step back and look at the entire situation, you can’t help but feel good for Silvio De Sousa.

The decision that was made, and it was absolutely the right decision, has the potential to change his life, and do so for the better, like very few can imagine. Silvio De Sousa deserved to play college basketball. Silvio De Sousa wanted to play college basketball at the University of Kansas, and he very much deserved that opportunity. Silvio De Sousa wanted nothing more than to run out of the locker room, under the tunnel and onto the Allen Fieldhouse court.

Silvio De Sousa, like so many before him, had dreams of playing in front of 16,300 fans on a nightly basis. Silvio De Sousa, like so many before him, had dreams of playing inside what many believe to be the mecca of college basketball.

Thankfully for Silvio De Sousa, all of his dreams, at least the ones mentioned above, will come true once again. For De Sousa, he’s going to hold on tight to this opportunity and not let go.

“Right now, I’m just focusing on and trying to get my jump shot back,” he said. “My 15-foot jump shot and I’m trying to figure out and learn what I should bring to the team next year. That’s pretty much my main focus right now."