ACC Basketball: Ryan Murphy and a trio of Yellow Jackets enter transfer portal
This first edition of the ACC Basketball Notebook will look at the decisions of Pitt’s Ryan Murphy along with Georgia Tech’s Evan Cole’s decision to transfer.
Ryan Murphy has decided that one season at Pitt was enough. The junior college transfer has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to Stockrisers Jake Weingarten, as a grad transfer thus, he will be immediately eligible. His departure from Pitt means that he will have spent time at four different schools as the 6-2 guard started his career at Charlotte and then spent one season at New Mexico Junior College before landing with the Panthers.
Murphy was impressive during the early going this season, hitting double-figures in each contest of his first four contests and averaging 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2.2 3-pointers while shooting 47.3 percent from beyond the arc during this stretch. However, the Calabassas (Calif.) native’s production severely took a nosedive down the stretch — during a time which he also suffered a concussion — as he only hit double-digits just twice in his last 16 games and finished the season averaging 7.6 points a game on 36.2% shooting from the field as well as knocking down 1.4 treys at a 33.1% clip.
It is currently unknown where Murphy may end up next year, but he did previously hold offers from Cal Poly, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, as well as Texas Tech and Washington, among others.
Evan Cole among a trio of Yellow Jackets to leave the program
Reserve big man Evan Cole is among three Georgia Tech players who have recently entered the NCAA transfer portal. Cole was the first to decide to leave the program, per Ashley Barnett of Sports Illustrated, as he announced his decision on March 9. Cole is slated to graduate in May and has one year of eligibility remaining.
The 6-10 forward was very productive when given ample minutes, but he was situated behind senior James Banks III and junior Moses Wright, both of whom averaged 30 minutes a game. While Cole scored in double-figures just twice in his 27 appearances last season, he produced a solid 14.1 points and 11.4 rebounds per 40 minutes while shooting 47.1% from the field. The Cumming (Ga.) native is an outstanding offensive rebounder and solid defensive rebounder with the ability to stretch the floor a little though he is at his best around the rim.
Freshman
and sophomore
also recently entered the transfer portal on March 11. Price, a three-star recruit, struggled all season long as he averaged 0.74 points per shot while making just 29.2% of his attempts from the field and 12.9% from the 3-point line in 15 appearances. He scored at least five points on three occasions with his best performance coming against Elon (Nov. 11), where the Columbia (SC) native tallied five points along with 10 rebounds, one block, and a steal. The 6-5 guard chose the Yellow Jackets over offers from Kansas State, Coastal Carolina, among others.
Sjolund is transferring after taking a redshirt this past season on the behest of coach Josh Pastner. The 6-8 forward originally entered the transfer portal last semester but ultimately decided to stay with the team through the remainder of the year. Sjolund showed some of his shooting potential late in his freshman campaign. The Obra D. Tompkins high school (Katy, TX) product saw at least 18 minutes of action in five of the last seven contests, where the Norweigan native compiled 40 points and made 9 of 27 (33.3%) shots from long-distance. He averaged 3.0 points on 35.7% shooting from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line for the 2018-19 season.
Georgia Tech won four straight and nine of 12 to finish in fifth place in the ACC with a 17-14 overall record. The Yellow Jacket will have to replace Banks, who led the team in blocks and rebounds, which makes losing Sjolund and Cole a little dicier.
The good news is that guards Michael Devoe, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Usher, and Wright return. The Jackets also have options to replace Cole with forward David Didenko or three-star incoming freshman power forward Jordan Meka. Tech also has signed 6-3 three-star shooting guard Tristian Maxwell and 7-0 Georgian national Saba Gigiberia.