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The Washington State Cougars lost another member of the basketball team on Wednesday when little-used reserve guard Jamar Ergas announced he would be transferring.
— Jamar Ergas (@jamarergas) March 29, 2018
Unlike the two previous departures — Robert Franks and Malachi Flynn — this one doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Ergas, who was considered an athletic project when he arrived, redshirted in 2016-17 and then played just 16 minutes this past season, scoring four total points.
This move comes with Ernie Kent’s apparent approval.
“He’s a great student, he’s been a great teammate and we wish him well,” Kent told The Spokesman-Review. “He needs to play and it’s going to be hard for him to do that here.”
About that last part.
Kent plays three guards/wings at all times, and these are the players left on the roster who fit that bill: Milan Acquaah, Viont’e Daniels, Kwinton Hinson and Carter Skaggs. C.J. Elleby, a 6-foot-6 wing who has signed a letter of intent, will presumably join them. You’re telling me it was going to be so hard for him to break into that? Plus, he was only going to be a sophomore, and Daniels and Hinson are going to be seniors, meaning he’d be in line for heavy minutes as a junior, regardless.
Let’s just say there’s probably a reason you won’t be reading any columns lambasting Ergas for spitting in the face of the investment WSU made in him with a scholarship the last two seasons.
Here’s an updated list of all of the players Ernie Kent has signed since becoming coach at WSU. Of the 21 players he has signed, only half have either exhausted their eligibility or remained on track to do so:
Ernie Kent’s Recruiting
Player | Signed | From | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Player | Signed | From | Status |
Trevor Dunbar | 2014 | HS | Transferred, March 2015 |
Jackie Davis Jr. | 2014 | HS | Transferred, March 2015 |
Aaron Cheatum | 2014 | JC | Transferred, March 2015 |
Ny Redding | 2014 | HS | Transferred, March 2015 |
Valentine Izundu | 2014 | TR | Transferred, March 2015 |
Renard Suggs | 2015 | JC | Transferred, March 2016 |
Derrien King | 2015 | JC | Transferred, December 2016 |
Conor Clifford | 2015 | JC | Graduated, 2017 |
Charles Callison | 2015 | JC | Graduated, 2017 |
Viont'e Daniels | 2015 | HS | On track to graduate |
Robert Franks | 2015 | HS | On track to graduate |
Malachi Flynn | 2016 | HS | Transferred, March 2018 |
Jamar Ergas | 2016 | HS` | Transferred, March 2018 |
KJ Langston | 2016 | JC | Transferred, May 2018 |
Milan Acquaah | 2016 | HS | Transferred, April 2018 |
Arinze Chidom | 2016 | HS | Transferred, December 2018 |
Jeff Pollard | 2016 | HS | On track to graduate |
Drick Bernstine | 2017 | GRAD | Graduated, 2018 |
Kwinton Hinson | 2017 | JC | Transferred, June 2018 |
Davante Cooper | 2017 | JC | On track to graduate |
Carter Skaggs | 2017 | JC | On track to graduate |
And lastly, here’s how the scholarship situation now stands.
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