The Daily NCAA Basketball Recruiting Notebook (June 3) will examine the transfers of Jahvon Quinerly, Jaume Sorolla and Anthony Mathis amongst other items.
Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats completed a strong first recruiting class by inking Villanova transfer Jahvon Quinerly on Sunday night. The 6’1″ point guard, who was ESPN’s No. 5 sit-out transfer, decided to leave the Wildcats after a frustrating freshman campaign where he averaged 3.2 points in just under 10 minutes of action over 25 appearances. He took official visits to Tuscaloosa and Pittsburgh this past week while also giving consideration to Gonzaga and Oregon. Oats made Quinerly a priority after coming over to the Tide from Buffalo in late March.
Quinerly seems like a perfect fit for Oats’ system as he thrives in transition and is an excellent playmaker for himself and others. While at Buffalo, Oats liked to play uptempo basketball that was driven by ball-movement, unselfishness, and 3-point shooting. Last year, the Bulls ranked 16th in the nation in pace, 59th in 3pt rate, 84th in assist rate, and 64th in turnovers forced rate. Defensively, Oats had his guards apply pressure all over the court.
Quinerly, who is seeking a hardship waiver that will allow him to play this upcoming season, is the Crimson Tide’s third transfer and seventh recruit in the 2019 class. Six-foot point guard James Bolden (WVU) and 6’7” forward James Rojas (Hutchinson CC) are the team’s other two transfer players. They join a pair of four-star guard recruits — Jaden Shackleford and Jalen Forbes — along with three-star center Raymond Hawkins and three-wing Juwan Gray in the class.
Alabama currently has 13 scholarship players on its roster so unless a player unexpectedly leave, the Crimson Tide’s roster is basically set. If Quinerly does secure from the NCAA, he would join sophomore Kira Lewis Jr., Bolden — who is eligible immediately as a grad student –, John Petty, Herb Jones, along with the two incoming freshmen to give the Tide a fearsome deep backcourt.
Jaume Sorolla transfers to Cincinnati
Cincinnati Bearcat first-year coach John Brannen, like Oats, has hit the transfer market hard. Brannen secured his third transfer with Jaume Sorolla’s decision to play for the Bearcats on June 2. Sorolla is an outstanding get for Cincinnati as the Bearcats really needed to add some depth in the frontcourt with 6’9″ redshirt sophomore Mamoudou Diarra, who averaged 2.3 points and 1.9 boards in 6.9 minutes of action over 20 games, being their only true big man.
Sorolla is immediately eligible to play for the Bearcats as a grad transfer. The 7’0″ center is an excellent rim-protector and a good low-post defender overall. He does need to improve his rebounding and offensive efficiency. Sorolla averaged 4.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 48% percent from the field and 50% from beyond the arc last season at Valparaiso.
Brannen’s other incoming transfers include 7’0″ center Chris Vogt (Northern Kentucky), 6’2″ point guard Jaevin Cumberland (Oakland), and 6’1″ point guard Chris McNeal (Indian Hills CC). McNeal and Cumberlin are eligible immediately as grad transfers. Meanwhile, Vogt will sit out the upcoming season and have two years of eligibility remaining.
Six-foot-9 Tre Scott, who showed tremendous improvement as a junior, can play both forward spots. Scott along with redshirt freshmen Prince Gillam Toyambi and Laquill Hardnett will provide the Bearcats’ frontcourt depth. Wings Jarron Cumberland, Keith Williams, and Trevor Moore can play the four in small ball situations.
Anthony Mathis is leaving New Mexico
Anthony Mathis announced that he will be transferring from New Mexico via Twitter on June 3. His decision to leave is kind of a shock as the 6’3″ combo guard had said he planned to return to the Lobos after being granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
Mathis has been one of the best offensive players in the Mountain West Conference over the last two years, ranking fifth in the nation in offensive rating in 2017-18. He is a good scorer and excellent 3-point marksman. Mathis, who scored in double-figures 24 times and topped the 20-point mark on six occasions, averaged 14.4 points along with 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 3.9 triples while shooting 41.1% from the field as well as 41.6% from long distance this past season.
There is expected to be a long line of suitors for the sharpshooter who has knocked down 43.1% of his 3-point shots for his career. Oregon, which has just six scholarship players eligible to play in 2019-20, and Houston are two potential options for Mathis. We will wait to see if he makes a finalist or an official visit list.
Other recruiting nuggets
- Seven-foot-1 forward David Appelgren has transferred from Laramie County (Wyo.) to Wofford. The Sweden native is very skilled and was a force on both ends of the court at LCCC last season. He averaged 9.7, 7.1 rebounds and 3.6 blocks while shooting 48.7% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc as a freshman. Appelgren has tremendous upside and three years of eligibility remaining.
- 2020 power forward Christian Fussell picked up his fifth offer when Indiana State made an overture on June 3. The 6’9″ power forward also holds offers from USC Upstate, Florida Gulf Coast, Appalachian State, and College of Charleston.
- 2020 prospect Khalen “KK” Robinson (Bryant, Ark.) picked up an offer from Illinois over the weekend. It is his second offer from a power-7 conference team, with TCU offering him in mid-May, and ninth overall. Appalachian State, UTEP, Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State, Missouri State, and Southern Miss are the other schools that have offered the 6’1″ combo guard. He also has drawn interest from Kansas and Arkansas. Robinson put up impressive numbers for Pro Skills (Texas) on the Nike EYBL Tour this spring, averaging 17.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in 13 games.
- 2020 four-star prospect Osasere Ighodaro, who is ranked as the 96th recruit in the class by 247Sports, received a scholarship offer from Texas this past weekend. The 6’9″ power forward has now picked up six offers in the last month or so and holds 19 overall. Cal, Stanford, Northwestern, USC, and Vanderbilt are also major power conference schools that have made him an overture. Ighodaro averaged 9.8 points per game as a junior to go along with 5.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for Desert Vista High School last season.
- Sophomore 6’8″ forward Nathan Scott has transferred to Northern Illinois from Olney Central College (IL). While Northern Illinois is the only D-I program to offer a scholarship, he had drawn interest from Kentucky State, Lewis (D-II) and Canisius.
- Former Northern Illinois wing Anastasios Demogerontas has signed with D-II power IUP. The 6’7″ senior spent the last two seasons Moraine Valley CC.