The Massachusetts men’s basketball team continues to reconfigure its roster after the firing of head coach Derek Kellogg.
Rutgers sophomore Jonathan Laurent, a 6-foot-6 forward who averaged 3.0 points per game last season, will transfer to UMass and join new coach Matt McCall, according to multiple reports and an announcement on Laurent’s Twitter page. Laurent will be forced to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules, but will be eligible to play for two more seasons following 2017-18.
Thank you to all the schools that recruited me in this process. But I'm proud to be apart of @CoachMattMcCall and @UMassBasketball family🔴⚪️
— Jonathan Laurent❄️ (@Phenomballa_4) May 13, 2017
Laurent averaged 8.1 points per game as a freshman with the Scarlet Knights, but saw less playing time in his second season under first-year coach Pikiell, going from 24.43 to 13.3 minutes per game. He made 11 starts last season.
The Orlando native joins Fairfield’s Curtis Cobb as transfers who will be forced to sit out next season. Maryland’s Jaylen Brantley is the third offseason transfer and is immediately eligible.
Five Minutemen have left the program this offseason, including freshman four-star recruits DeJon Jarreau and Brison Gresham, and it remains unclear whether Donte Clark will return to the team next season.
Kyle DaLuz can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Kyle_DaLuz.
