Sampson, Kolo to transfer out of ECU Basketball
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20...1304300958

Kolo is a non issue, he only played in 8 games last year. It was good he was leaving since he probably would have never helped us with 2 other bigs in the same class.

This is what we return in the post.

Armstrong, Sr 6-8, 245.....9ppg, 4.5rpg 57% in 20mpg
Guilmette, So 6-10, 240....4ppg, 2.5rpg 52% in 13mpg
Zangari, So 6-9, 230......1ppg, 1rpg 47% in 4mpg (27 games played)

I think we will sign at least one JUCO big now. Guilmette and Armstrong played productive minutes and are capable of bigger roles. Zangari usually saw a few meaningful minutes each game too.

SF/PF Straughn, Sr 6-6, 215.....6ppg, 4.5rpg in 23 mpg in 2012
SF/PF Stith, Fr 6-7, 205 (7-1" wingspan)

Straughn is our best defender and probably rebounder now and has also played some at PF before so he and Stith could be used at PF in some situations. Cupboard isn't bear but certainly taking a hit.

(05-01-2013 07:19 AM)ODUR8R Wrote:  Last night Jeff Jones said that he has 2 scholarships to fill and is looking into 4th year transfers who can play right away.

Does he have a UVA connection with the Sampson family?

His dad and Terry Holland have a relationship....

Who knows...

His transferring has more to do with his Mom (from what I've been told, can't confirm) and advice she's been getting. Ralf is ,from what I understand, not happy about the move.

Stith's minutes probably stand to the benefit the most as of right now.

Article on ESPN about his commitment and game.

Quote:With the addition of 6-foot-8, face-up 4-man Brandan Stith (Lawrenceville, Va./Brunswick), East Carolina head coach Jeff Lebo continues his hot hand on the recruiting trail.

while quietly putting together strong back-to-back classes for the Pirates.

ECU now has two players committed to the 2013 class as Stith joins 6-6 small forward Caleb White (Lynchburg, Va./Virginia Episcopal), but the Pirates still have their sights set on a few outstanding shooting guards to complete -- what could be considered -- one of top incoming classes in Conference USA.

Stith, who’s brother B.J. is a 2014 Virginia commitment, has great bloodlines. His father Bryant starred in the ACC at Virginia before going on to complete a decade long NBA career and is now the head coach at defending Virginia 2A State Champion Brunswick High School.

Brandan is a long, athletic forward who has a good motor and is ultra competitive. He not only gives ECU a versatile defender that can guard multiple positions, but a tremendous offensive rebounder that gets his team extra possessions. He does most of his damage around the rim. Although he can knock down the 15 to 17 foot jumper with decent consistency, he is more dangerous driving the ball from the perimeter and finishing through contact. He has a chance to be an impact player as a freshman that should fit in nicely with 2012 bookend post players 6-10 Marshall Guilmette and 6-9 Mike Zengari.

Positive things have been happening both on the court and the recruiting front in Greenville since Lebo arrived, and a commitment from a player with Stith’s potential should continue the trend.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncbrecru...ds-for-ecu

He was probably a little raw for the wing right away anyway but a high motor guy with a 7-1 wing span that averaged 7 blocks in high school should be able to help and he'll have to as of now. He should be able to disrupt some shots and get some rebounds and dunks, similar to Sampson although maybe not as good.

(04-30-2013 10:51 PM)PirateMarv Wrote:  

(04-30-2013 10:42 PM)randaddyminer Wrote:  jonesing, tell us how much sampson sucks and how his replacement will be better

There is no app for that.

BTW these transfers in college basketball are getting more and more peculiar. There are not a lot of rhyme and reason to them..

They have the realignment bug. I bet the changes end up making just about the same level of sense.

Kolo was probably politely asked to leave (To open up a scholarship spot for Straughn and the fact he was a failed project)

Sampson is going to regret this decision, mark it down.

(05-02-2013 10:37 AM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  Kolo was probably politely asked to leave (To open up a scholarship spot for Straughn and the fact he was a failed project)

Sampson is going to regret this decision, mark it down.

Wasn't Kolo a freshman? Hard to consider a young big man a failure that quickly.

Few big men are big producers their first two years.

(05-02-2013 11:19 AM)Niner National Wrote:  

(05-02-2013 10:37 AM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  Kolo was probably politely asked to leave (To open up a scholarship spot for Straughn and the fact he was a failed project)

Sampson is going to regret this decision, mark it down.

Wasn't Kolo a freshman? Hard to consider a young big man a failure that quickly.

Few big men are big producers their first two years.

RS Freshman, second year in the program. If you saw him on the court you'd know he isn't a D-1 level player. Way to slow, he is a great kid, but on the court he is a immobile tree that can't jump or rebound. He simply wasn't going to cut it.

(05-02-2013 10:37 AM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  Kolo was probably politely asked to leave (To open up a scholarship spot for Straughn and the fact he was a failed project)

Sampson is going to regret this decision, mark it down.

Straughn was already on scholarship, so Kolo's leaving was probably to give Prince Williams a scholarship; because Williams was a walk-on. If it came down to Kolo and Petar Torlak being politely asked to leave, then I would have hoped that it was Torlak; because Kolo is at least a big kid. The Kolo transfer really kind of stings a little now since Sampson has decided to leave as well.

It's really hard to judge Kolo. He was pretty productive in the games he played but it was only in 8 games and against the D2's or garbage players and walk ons on teams we blew out. He wasn't athletic but he was big and reasonably skilled. I still think he is a D1 caliber player at a low major school that could crack a rotation as a JR/SR. He's 6-10, 250 and has nice touch and can hit 3's even. He had to use a medical redshirt though so I don't know if he is going to sit out to play D1 because that would cost him a year of eligibility so I'd think he most likley ended up D2 or NAIA and does really well there.

(05-02-2013 12:03 PM)PirateMarv Wrote:  Kolo is at least a big kid. The Kolo transfer really kind of stings a little now since Sampson has decided to leave as well.

It's still better he's leaving. Kolo's future was dictated a lot by having been recruited over and Guilmette and Zangari in the same class. He would struggle to get minutes next year even with Sampson gone he's been recruited over and I hope would continue to be. We knew what he was and I'd would have rather have had his scholorship available to see what we can find.

(05-02-2013 12:31 PM)StillJonesing Wrote:  

(05-02-2013 12:03 PM)PirateMarv Wrote:  Kolo is at least a big kid. The Kolo transfer really kind of stings a little now since Sampson has decided to leave as well.

It's still better he's leaving. Kolo's future was dictated a lot by having been recruited over and Guilmette and Zangari in the same class. He would struggle to get minutes next year even with Sampson gone he's been recruited over and I hope would continue to be. We knew what he was and I'd would have rather have had his scholorship available to see what we can find.

Not only has Torlak been recruited over; he can't even beat out a walk-on player for minutes in a season that ECU lost 3 other guards. Torlak just completed his junior year in the program and it is rare to ever see him except during extreme garbage minutes. At least Kolo is big and can buy you some minutes if one of the other 3 remaining bigs get into foul trouble. Torlak is a 6 foot guard that hardly ever plays and will not play much next year, because there are 5 or 6 guys in front of him at the guard positions (PRC, Richmond, Robinson, Alexander, White and Straughn if he returns). And that does not even count any guy that Lebo picks up late as a transfer.

(05-02-2013 12:03 PM)PirateMarv Wrote:  

(05-02-2013 10:37 AM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  Kolo was probably politely asked to leave (To open up a scholarship spot for Straughn and the fact he was a failed project)

Sampson is going to regret this decision, mark it down.

Straughn was already on scholarship, so Kolo's leaving was probably to give Prince Williams a scholarship; because Williams was a walk-on. If it came down to Kolo and Petar Torlak being politely asked to leave, then I would have hoped that it was Torlak; because Kolo is at least a big kid. The Kolo transfer really kind of stings a little now since Sampson has decided to leave as well.

But was expected to be gone next season. Now that he's returning you had to open up a space you weren't planning to have open for him.

Prince Williams will likely also get the other scholarship unless we get a transfer/late recruit

It wasn't an either/or. I had hoped Torlak would leave as well. Neither he or Kolo would play much of a role for us next year so I wouldn't mind looking around and trying to upgrade. Prince Williams was never your standard walk on either. He was the kind of recruit we would have been happy to sign a couple years ago and Lebo getting him to walk on was huge. He certainly deserves a scholarship and will play a big part the next 3 years but if he's content to keep paying his own way that would be nice too.

I thought Prince WAS recruited but because of Academics had to walk-on or something?

As of 4/29/13, 350 players will transfer and last year 450 transferred. Large scale player movement appears to be a permanent aspect of college basketball and most teams will be impacted for good or ill.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketba...st-edition

Transfers in:

Paul-Missouri
Kemp-Alabama A&M
Richmond-Rhode Island
Armstrong-Auburn
Bowden-Charlotte
Steed-South Carolina

Transfers out:

Ellison- D2
Morales -D2
Kolo -likely D2
Sampson-???

We've got the better end of transfers under Lebo. This one stings but the trend has been really good to our program until now.

(05-02-2013 09:30 PM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  As of 4/29/13, 350 players will transfer and last year 450 transferred. Large scale player movement appears to be a permanent aspect of college basketball and most teams will be impacted for good or ill.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketba...st-edition

I bet alot of this is probably also related to the epidemic of transfers in high school. How many times have we seen recruits in all the sports that have went to multiple high schools/prep schools/military schools, etc.

In reality it is kind of unfair to say that some of these kids are acutally transfering, because truth be told they are really being kicked off of the team because these coaches and universities have just decided that these kids are just not good enough to play for them. It is really a sleazy thing to do, because those type of kids probably passed over other schools were they could have been happy just to go to a school that turns around and dumps them. These same schools that dump those kids usually will do all that they can to keep a kid enrolled that steals, does drugs, etc.

Georgia Tech. I'm sure dad is pissed.