Elijah Malone’s tenure as a one-year reinforcement in the paint might get extended.

Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle brought Malone to Boulder to help fill an inside void for one season after Malone earned All-American honors during a standout four-year career at the NAIA level.

Thanks to an NCAA ruling, Malone might not be done with the Buffs in March. In December, the NCAA granted a one-year waiver for former junior college players in response to a lawsuit filed by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who argued junior college seasons shouldn’t count against an athlete’s NCAA eligibility.

After a Tennessee judge granted Pavia an injunction, paving the way for him to play in 2026, the NCAA offered a blanket eligibility waiver for all former junior college players. The waiver also includes former NAIA players, giving Malone an extra year of eligibility.

“We talked about it and we both agreed we’ll finish the season out and address it at the end of the year,” Boyle said. “I love coaching him. I love having him. He’s been a good addition to this program. He’s struggled at times here in Big 12 play, but this is a whole new level for him.”

Malone said he remains focused on getting wins this season, and decisions regarding the next step in his career will be handled following the season.

The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility for all collegiate athletes for the 2020-21 COVID season, but there has been a consistent track record of players not staying at CU beyond the original plan of their careers. Plenty of proven, productive players who played at least four years at CU ultimately spent their final, bonus seasons elsewhere, a list that includes D’Shawn Schwartz (George Mason), Dallas Walton (Wake Forest), Elijah Parquet (UNLV) and Luke O’Brien (Georgia Tech). That list also could include Jeriah Horne, a key contributor as a graduate transfer with the 2021 NCAA Tournament team who returned to Tulsa for his bonus season the following year.

Malone obviously hasn’t been a four-year player at CU, but he did arrive with the belief it would be a one-season agreement. Boyle noted Malone, a graduate transfer, is in a different situation than other players who left after graduating. And while no decision will be made until after the season, Boyle said getting a second season out of Malone following his first year at the Division I level is an intriguing possibility.

While those matters are a concern for the start of the offseason, Malone is focused on getting on track and helping the Buffs finally crack the win column in the Big 12 as they resumed practice on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s date at TCU (2 p.m., ESPN+).

Malone missed the Jan. 15 loss against Cincinnati due to a back issue and came off the bench in the following two games, the second of which included a six-rebound performance at Arizona that was by far his best effort on the glass in Big 12 play.

Prior to that Arizona game, the 6-foot-10 Malone had more than two rebounds just once in his first six conference games, recording four at Arizona State on Jan. 4.

Malone returned to the starting lineup for Tuesday’s rematch against the Sun Devils but struggled, recording three rebounds and going without a point for just the second time this season. Malone’s only other scoreless outing was during a Jan. 12 loss against West Virginia, when he sat out the second half due to the back injury that kept him sidelined for the next game against Cincinnati.

“For him and for Trevor (Baskin), coming from the NAIA level and the Division II level to Division I, it really would’ve helped both of them to have a year to sit out. We’d like to have (Malone) back, but that’s going to be a decision he has to make. I’d like to see him get some traction here in the last 10 or 11 games of the season.”