Darius Perry and Chris Herren’s decisions to transfer are part of the news happening in the first edition of the ACC Basketball Recruiting Notebook. Other tidbits include Femi Odukale’s commitment to Pitt as well as Brad Colbert joining Louisville, among other things.
Transfers have become a big part of a lot of programs recruiting strategies. Thus not surprisingly, new players are entering the NCAA transfer portal every day. Just in the past couple of days, Pitt’s Trey McGowen’s, Louisville’s Darius Perry, Boston College’s Chris Herren Jr., Wake Forest’s Michael Wynn, and Virginia Tech’s Landers Nolley II are among the new players from ACC Basketball to decide to depart their teams.
Darius Perry transfers from Louisville; Brad Colbert joins Cardinals
Darius Perry will not finish his career with the Louisville Cardinals. Perry confirmed his intentions to leave the program after three years Monday on twitter. The 6-2 junior point guard, who was recruited to Louisville by Rick Pitino, never appeared to be a good fit under Chris Mack, and despite starting 26 games this year, he saw his minutes dwindle once freshman David Johnson began to emerge. He didn’t see over 20 minutes of action in any game since Feb. 1.
Perry averaged 5.2 points along with 2.5 assists while shooting 39.1% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc. He produced one double-double and tallied double-figures three times. The Marietta (GA) native will be immediately eligible as a grad transfer.
With Perry’s impending departure, Mack will have to replace at least six players and more than likely seven if Jordan Nwora leaves early for the NBA as expected. Mack has signed three players in 2020, including No. 1 junior college transfer Jayden Scrubb. Four-star prospects D’Andre Davis and JJ Traynor are the other players currently in the Cardinals’ current recruiting class.
In other news, Brad Colbert (Loveland, OH) has agreed to join the program next year as a non-scholarship player, per the Courier-Journal. The 6-2 guard is not ranked among the top recruiting services, but it has been said that he shoots the ball well from distance. With Colbert not taking up a scholarship, that means that the Cardinals have at least two more scholarships to use this upcoming campaign.
BC’s Chris Herren Jr. seeks more playing time
Boston College guard Chris Herren Jr. has decided to leave the program. Granted this is more newsworthy because Herren’s father, Chris Herren, was a member of the Eagles during the 90s than junior’s on-court performance. The 6-3 sophomore has struggled to find playing time, serving as the team’s fifth guard, during his tenure and that would have probably continued had he decided to stay.
As Providence transfer Makai Ashton-Langford along with Wynston Tabbs, who had a strong freshman campaign and missed this past campaign as a result of injury, will be available next year. Plus, Jay Heath had an outstanding first year as he led the team in scoring (13.1) and 3-pointers (2.1) while shooting 37.6% from long-distance. Freshman Julian Rishwain also made an impact, and the Eagles are bringing in four-star shooting guard Demarr Langford as part of their 2020 recruiting class.
Herren appeared in eighteen games (all off the bench) this past season, averaging 1.7 points, and 0.8 rebounds per game. His best game came against Saint Louis (Nov. 27), where totaled eight points on 3 of 7 shooting from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc to go along with three rebounds and two steals in 24 minutes. Herren started eight games in his freshman year.
Michael Wynn becomes the third player from Wake Forest’s 2019 recruiting program to leave the program
Seldom used Wake Forest sophomore Michael Wynn entered the transfer portal on March 17. However, Conner O’Neil of the Winston-Salem Journal reported that he wouldn’t have remained with the program had he decided to return to the school. He wasn’t with the team during its first-round ACC Tournament loss to Pitt. Coach Danny Manning had suspended Wynn on two occasions.
Wynn scored 18 points in 14 appears over an average of 4.2 minutes of action this past season. The 6-6 forward appeared in 27 games as a freshman and averaged 1.9 points a game. Wynn’s departure leaves the Deacs with just two players — Isaiah Mucius and Sharone Wright Jr. — from last year’s class which Manning called “a good foundation as we move forward.” Jamie Lewis transferred to Kennesaw State, and Jaylen Hoard turned pro.
Pitt adds Femi Odukale to 2020 recruiting class
Pittsburgh Basketball head coach Jeff Capel added to his 2020 recruiting class with the commitment of three-star shooting guard Femi Odukale Jr. on Tuesday. Odukale chose Pitt over nine other offers, including St. Bonaventure, Seton Hall, UMass, Virginia Tech, and Washington State.
He averaged 17.2 points, 8.1 assists, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.7 steals while also shooting over 40% from beyond the arc during his final prep campaign at Springfield Commonwealth Academy (Mass.). Odukale joins John Hugley along with Noah Collier and Max Amadasun as part of the Panthers’ 2020 recruiting class. Pitt may add two more players with Ryan Murphy and Trey McGowen’s recent departures.
Other Recruiting News:
- Consensus 2021 four-star forward Benny Williams received a scholarship offer from Miami on March 17. The 6-8 Bowie (MD) native is ranked 55th in the class both by ESPN and Rivals. 247Sports has him at No. 50 while he is 40th in 247Sports rankings. Williams has 12 total offers and has taken official visits to Florida and Syracuse as well as an unofficial visit to Maryland.
- Virginia Tech offered 2022 center Brandon White a scholarship on March 17. The 6-10 Spencer (NC) native now has two scholarship offers as he picked up an overture from Western Kentucky on March 18.