ESPN: ASU’s Edwards, UA’s Jeter impact transfers to watch in 2018
May 27, 2018, 8:10 AM
(AP Photos)
(AP Photos)
With the college basketball season over, it’s time to look ahead at next year’s squads.
ESPN insider John Gasaway did just that, compiling a list of the top 15 transfers to watch who will impact their team the most next season.
When looking at the Pac-12 teams, two names stand out.
Arizona State’s Rob Edwards and Arizona’s Chase Jeter.
After sitting out last season and playing his sophomore year with Cleveland State, Edwards joins an ASU team just at the right time.
Give Edwards credit for good timing. He has become eligible in Tempe just as Tra Holder and Shannon Evans are leaving. That should mean minutes will be available in the backcourt for a 6-4 veteran next to Remy Martin, though freshmen Elias Valtonen and Luguentz Dort will also battle for playing time. As a sophomore at Cleveland State in 2016-17, Edwards led the Vikings in scoring and drew more than five fouls per 40 minutes.
In his final season as a Viking, the guard averaged 31.1 minutes per game, shooting 41.3 percent from the field. He averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. From long range, Edwards hit 35.4 percent of his shots and shot 76.5 percent from the charity stripe.
He chose ASU over Pitt after deciding to transfer due to a coaching change at Cleveland State.
Looking south, Jeter joins Arizona after missing most of his sophomore season at Duke with a herniated disk.
No player on this list was ranked higher coming out of high school than Jeter, who was rated the No. 11 prospect in the nation in the recruiting class of 2015. In saying yes to Duke that year, the 6-10 McDonald’s All-American said no to Arizona, among others. Now, the Las Vegas product has changed his mind. Jeter made cameo appearances in 32 games as a freshman and entered his sophomore season as a starter in Durham, but he was benched before Thanksgiving and missed the Blue Devils’ last 19 games because of a herniated disk.
The former Duke Blue Devils forward averaged 14.9 minutes per game, shooting 50 percent before his injury. He averaged 2.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.
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Out of high school, the McDonald’s All-American chose Duke over Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, UNLV and UCLA. Before choosing the Wildcats as his transfer destination, Jeter had numerous west coast schools he was considering.
Jeter’s impact could be felt right away as Arizona lost their top commit in Shareef O’Neal. Luckily for the Wildcats, their other prospect Brandon Williams, who originally decommitted from the school, decided to recommit to Arizona.
