Men’s basketball transfer portal update
With the arrival of Amir Abdur-Rahim, the new men’s basketball head coach brings some of his own Kennesaw State talent to USF.
Junior guards Chris Youngblood, Kasen Jennings and Brandon Stroud announced they were transferring from Kennesaw State to USF on April 1, three days after Abdur-Rahim was named USF’s new coach. Abdur-Rahim coached four seasons with the Owls from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
Alongside Abdur-Rahim, the trio contributed to the Owls winning a program-best 26 games, an ASUN conference title and the school’s first NCAA tournament appearance last year.
As USF undergoes a rebuild, Youngblood, Jennings and Stroud will provide needed stability to the group.
Arrivals
Chris Youngblood
#HornsUp 🤘🏽 pic.twitter.com/7gBIKfzZPd
— Chris Youngblood (@Youngbloo2Chris) April 1, 2023
Kennesaw State’s leading scorer, junior guard Chris Youngblood, averaged 14.7 points per game on 46.4% field goal shooting in the 2022-23 season.
He was also the team’s leading three-point and free-throw shooter at 41.5% and 81.4%, while starting all 35 games he played.
Through three years with the Owls, he received ASUN preseason all-conference honors in 2022-23 and was named to the ASUN all-freshman team in 2020-21.
Brandon Stroud
🤘🏾.. WITH THE GUYS! pic.twitter.com/QNwgMbResY
— Brandon Stroud ⭐️ (@gvldshots) April 2, 2023
Along with Youngblood, junior guard Brandon Stroud was also a regular starter last season, starting 34 of 35 games played.
The 6-foot 6-inch guard led the Owls in rebounds at 6.5 per game while also contributing 9.2 points per game.
Stroud’s field goal shooting also took a big jump at 44.5%, nearly six percentage points higher than the season prior.
Kasen Jennings
While coming off the bench, junior guard Kasen Jennings proved to be crucial to the Owls’ success.
Jennings went from starting just one game in 2021-2022 to starting 18 the next season. He scored 6.2 points per contest while shooting 41% from the field and 37.8% from the three.
Kasean Pryor
Northwest Florida State sophomore forward Kasean Pryor committed to USF on Monday. During his decision process, he turned down offers from NC State, St. John’s and New Mexico among other programs.
In 35 games last year, Pryor averaged 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 46% from the field. Standing at 6 feet 10 inches, he boasts size and an ability to space the floor, making 35% of his threes during the 2022-2023 season.
Pryor was one of the premier junior college players in all of basketball and was named an NJCA first-team All-American.
Jose Placer
Before Pryor, redshirt junior guard Jose Placer committed to USF on Friday from North Florida.
In 2022-23 with the Ospreys, Placer averaged 14.0 points per game and scored a career-high 32 points against Lipscomb on Feb. 16. He also shot 41% from the field and 36% from the three.
Placer was named to All-ASUN 3rd Team last year, alongside Bulls Coach Abdur-Rahim who was also in the Atlantic-Sun conference last season coaching Kennesaw State.
Departures
Russel Tchewa
Junior center Russel Tchewa announced he was entering the transfer portal on April 3. He spent three seasons with the Bulls after transferring from Texas Tech in 2020.
Tchewa was the team’s second leading scorer and top rebounder averaging 11.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last year. He recorded six double-doubles during the season.
His rebounding total ranked second in the AAC, and his field goal percentage of 61% ranked fourth. Against Tulane on February 15, he scored a career-high 21 points.
Tyler Harris
Pro🏀 Thank you God 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/CZLRUmMgqF
— Tyler Harris®️ (@iamyoungty1) April 12, 2023
After completing his final year of eligibility, guard Tyler Harris declared for the NBA draft on April 12.
Harris was arguably the Bulls’ best player last season, averaging a team-high 16.9 points and 3.9 assists per game. He had three games where he scored at least 30 points, including a career-high 33 points against UCF on Jan. 21.
He was also a strong three-pointer shooter. With South Florida, Harris shot 39% from the three and set a single-season record for threes made with 97. The 5-foot 9-inch guard made 290 threes throughout his career, making him the AAC leader in the category.
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