College Basketball News and Notes: Two Major Transfers and a Mid-Major Gets a Top-15 Recruit
Transfers were again in the news this week for college basketball, with two major guys deciding where they would be playing next.
First is Jordan Matthews – who is a grad transfer. The former Cal Golden Bear decided to join Gonzaga, giving them an absolutely loaded backcourt and a preseason top-15 ranking for sure. Matthews, a 6’4” guard that shoots over 41% from 3 in his career and averaged over 13.5 ppg the last two years gives the Bulldogs a scorer from the wing.
Matthews will join former Washington and McDonald’s All-American point guard Nigel Williams-Goss as transfers for Gonzaga this year. Williams-Goss averaged 15.6 ppg and nearly 6 assists per game for Washington. On top of that Gonzaga returns Josh Perkins, giving them one of the better backcourts in the country.
This was not a surprise considering when Matthews announced he’d be leaving Cal in May, everyone immediately said he’d be going to Gonzaga. He did however look at NC State as well, but with his father having a connection to Gonzaga’s assistant coach, it’s a no-brainer.
The second transfer was just announced as Malik Newman, a top-15 recruit last season and McDonald’s All-American decided to attend Kansas. Newman will have to sit out this season, but will get to practice with the team, meaning he gets to learn Bill Self’s defense and gets to compete against Frank Mason and Devonte’ Graham.
Newman – who showed why you shouldn’t go to Mississippi State to play basketball as a top recruit – entered college as a combo guard who was supposed to be a terrific scorer. However, a combination of injuries, adapting to the college game and Ben Howland’s system prevented that from happening.
Other notes: In the worst kept secret in America, Terrance Ferguson officially announced he’d be playing in Australia next season instead of at Arizona. Ferguson is a top-15 recruit, who attended Prime Prep, the same school Emmanuel Mudiay went to. The eligibility questions aren’t surprising because of that, but will cost Arizona a likely starter.
Don’t look now but Rick Stansbury just brought a top-15 recruit to Western Kentucky. Mitchell Robinson, a one-time Texas A&M recruit, announced he’d be following the former Aggie assistant coach to WKU. Robinson is a 6’11” center.
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