Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 05/27/20
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 27.
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Terry Taylor withdraws
Tuesday was a big day for mid-major college basketball fans as Austin Peay is set to return its top player. Terry Taylor pulled his name from the draft pool and will return to the Governors for his senior season, which is a massive boost for an Austin Peay squad that has NCAA Tournament aspirations.
Taylor is one of the nation’s elite scorers, having averaged over 20 points per game in both of the past two seasons. Despite being listed at 6-5, Taylor also grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds per game in ’19-20. Matt Figger’s squad is also returning Jordyn Adams, who averaged over 17 points a game and was named Ohio Valley’s rookie of the year this past season.
St. John’s star transfers
It will be an uphill climb for Mike Anderson and St. John’s to reach the tournament in 2021 following a stunning departure on Tuesday. The team’s top overall scorer, LJ Figueroa, put his name in the portal and is not expected to return to the Red Storm for his senior season.
Figueroa averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game this past season while starting each of his 32 appearances. The 6-6, 195-pound guard is a native of Lawrence, Mass., and spent his freshman season at Odessa Community College before heading to St. John’s.
Pac-12 announces open workout date
As the nation begins the recovery process from the COVID-19 pandemic, future dates of the sports calendar are taking shape. On Tuesday, the Pac-12 Conference announced that it will allow voluntary workouts for all sports beginning on June 15.
“The Pac-12 is committed to the well-being of our student-athletes, and the decision to allow for voluntary workouts, subject to a determination by each school, is guided by the advice of our medical experts and will be supported by the detailed protocols established by our medical advisory committee in concert with our campus’ own safety guidelines,” the release said.
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.