Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 05/04/20
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 4.
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Romello White leaves ASU
The big stunner of the weekend was Romello White — Arizona State’s leading frontcourt member — opting to go the grad-transfer route and leave the Sun Devils. White has been a three-year starter for the Sun Devils, averaging 9.8 points and seven rebounds a game in his career.
White’s decision to leave an ASU squad that is projected to be at least a second-weekend NCAA Tournament team is a puzzling one. There are several programs nationwide that could benefit greatly from picking up the Georgia native.
Jose Perez names final five
The biggest name on the transfer market narrowed his list to five schools on Sunday. Jose Perez, a 6-5, 200-pound wing from Gardner Webb, will choose between Memphis, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Marquette and Iowa State.
In two years of D-I basketball, Perez has averaged 15.1 points per game. Perez struggled from the floor as a sophomore, though, seeing double-digit declines in both field-goal percentage and three-point percentage. He will likely be forced to redshirt the ’20-21 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Wyoming’s Jeff Linder off to hot start
Few coaches in the country (if any) have been on as great of a recent recruiting tear as Wyoming’s Jeff Linder. The former Northern Colorado head coach signed with the Cowboys on March 17 to succeed Allen Edwards and hasn’t looked back since.
In about five weeks and change, Linder has already convinced three of the team’s top returning players to come back to Laramie in Hunter Maldonado (15.8 ppg), Kwane Marble (8.2 ppg) and Hunter Thompson (8.2 ppg). Linder’s staff has been remarkably successful on the recruiting trails as well, assembling a seven-man class that ranks 47th nationally on Rivals and tops in the Mountain West.
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.