Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 05/15/20
Welcome back to Three Things!
The intention of Three Things is simple: Keeping you informed. The offseason can be a busy time and college basketball isn’t always on everyone’s radars from April to October.
Here’s how it will work: Every morning, Monday through Friday, we will provide you with three things that you need to know from the previous day. Pretty simple, right? You’ll be amazed by your new college basketball wisdom!
Here are the three things you need to know for May 15.
—Subscribe to Heat Check today!
Nojel Eastern picks new school
It didn’t take long for Purdue transfer Nojel Eastern to find a new team, and maybe it’s because he didn’t have to look too far. The 6-7, 225-pound wing announced Thursday that he has committed to Michigan for his final season of college basketball.
The rare in-conference transfer will send the two-time all-Big Ten defender to Ann Arbor. Reports have indicated that Eastern will be forced to sit out the ’20-21 season due to NCAA transfer rules and will be eligible to participate again in ’21-22. Eastern averaged 4.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game this past season for the Boilermakers.
Both Gach transfers
Transfer attrition continues in Salt Lake City. Larry Krystkowiak’s group said goodbye to one of his key contributors on Thursday as wing Both Gach announced he will transfer. Gach, a sophomore, averaged 10.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this past season while starting 25 times for the Utes.
There is a possibility that Gach won’t play college basketball again, though. Gach entered his name in the NBA Draft pool and there is a still a chance he may wind up turning pro. San Diego State, Texas Tech and Oregon were also in the mix for Gach out of high school.
Romello White commits
A significant transfer puzzle piece came into place on Friday morning with Arizona State grad transfer Romello White electing to commit to Ole Miss. White was one of the bigger names still on the market after averaging 10.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this past season for the Sun Devils. The 6-8 forward has tallied 90 starts over the past three years.
“I feel like I could come in and really make a difference. For my last year I wanted to be somewhere I’m comfortable and I felt like Ole Miss was that place,” White said. The Rebels are set to lose top scorer Breein Tyree (19.7 ppg) this offseason but bring back the majority of last season’s core, including three double-digit scorers in Devontae Shuler (11.7 ppg), KJ Buffen (10.1 ppg) and Blake Hinson (10.1 ppg).
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.