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Oregon State Basketball: Beavers add Memphis transfer Ahmad Rand

By Holden Walter-Warner

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 06: head coach Wayne Tinkle of the Oregon State Beavers cheers on his team during the game against the Washington Huskies at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on March 06, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 06: head coach Wayne Tinkle of the Oregon State Beavers cheers on his team during the game against the Washington Huskies at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on March 06, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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Monday brought what could be significant transfer news, as Oregon State Basketball landed forward Ahmad Rand from the transfer market, the school announced in a release. He will be eligible to join the team for the 2021-22 season.

Rand, a 6-foot-8 forward from Georgia, was a dominant defensive presence during his JUCO days at USC Salkehatchie. He averaged 8.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as a freshman while shooting 69.5 percent from the field. His rebounds fell to 8.2 per game as a sophomore, but he bumped up his scoring to 9.8 points per game.

Rand also led the NJCAA in blocked shots per game in each of his two seasons at the JUCO level. As a high school senior, he averaged a double-double to go along with 7.8 blocks per game, so his presence as a swatter is duly noted.

After his second season at junior college, he drew interest from Oregon State, as well as Tulsa and Grambling State before committing to Memphis. He was set to provide some depth to the Tigers frontcourt but played sparingly for Penny Hardaway’s squad this year. He played in just three games all season, all coming in December, with his final game ironically coming against Tulsa. He missed some practices and games due to COVID-19 contact tracing.

Over the course of those three games, Rand averaged 6.0 minutes per game and pulled down 2.7 rebounds per game, but blocked just one shot and failed to score a single point. The Commercial Appeal reported that Rand entered the transfer portal on New Year’s Eve.

Rand will be joining shooting guard

DaShawn Davis

as newcomers to the Beavers for the 2021-22 season. Davis is ranked as the No. 7 JUCO transfer by 247Sports and picked Oregon State over DePaul and East Carolina, among others.

Additionally, Fairleigh Dickinson graduate transfer Xzavier Malone-Key will be joining the team next season after opting out of the 2020-21 campaign. Malone-Key averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last season.

Oregon State is hanging around the middle of the Pac-12 pack this season, sporting a 6-5 overall record and a 2-3 record in conference play. Star guard Ethan Thompson is averaging 16.1 points per game, but he is set to graduate at the end of the year.

Big men Alfred Hollins and Roman Silva are also set to exhaust their eligibility, so there may be minutes available for Rand. His most interesting competition for playing time, however, will be fellow transfer Warith Alatishe, who will be a senior next season. Alatishe’s numbers look similar to Rand’s JUCO numbers, as the Nicholls transfer is averaging 9.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game.

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Coach Wayne Tinkle could create a dangerous two-headed defensive monster on the inside by trying to play both Alatishe and Rand at the same time. But Rand remains a very raw prospect and seems more likely to sit at the start of the year as he continues to develop into a Division I player.

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