Northwestern Director of Athletics Rick Taylor said on Friday that Sean Wink’s eligibility to return to the men’s basketball team after a two-year hiatus is a medical issue, not an administrative one.

Wink, a shooting guard who played for the Wildcats during his freshman and sophomore years, left the team in October of 1999 and has not played for NU since.

Taylor said Wink’s status since leaving the team is that of “a medical non-counter” and explained that people given that designation will in all likelihood “never play again.”

As a result, Wink would need clearance from a Big Ten board of physicians in order to regain his playing eligibility, Taylor said.

“We can’t arbitrarily say, ‘OK, now he’s able to play,'” Taylor said. “It’s a medical issue.

“We need to get a waiver that would declare him back ready to play.”

Jon Wink, Sean’s father, said last Wednesday that his son “definitely has the desire” to play basketball again. Wink’s father also said it was his understanding that the primary obstacle standing in the way of his son’s return was the processing of paperwork by the coaching staff and athletic administration.

But Taylor clarified the situation Friday, saying that for Wink to return he would have to do three things:

_Ѣ Tell NU head coach Bill Carmody that he wants to return to the team.

_Ѣ Have Carmody agree to take him back, provided that he could be reinstated.

_Ѣ Have NU’s head physician, Howard Sweeney, make an appeal to a board of Big Ten head physicians for Wink’s reinstatement, which would then have to be approved.

Sean Wink could not be reached for comment, and an NU official said Carmody had no comment on the matter.