Louisville, EKU each add a basketball transfer from Marshall
Jarrod West, a 1,200-point scorer at Marshall who is best known for his defensive prowess, has joined the University of Louisville men’s basketball team as a graduate transfer.
West becomes the third transfer to select U of L this offseason and is also joined in the Cardinals’ 2021-22 recruiting class by two high school prospects.
“Jarrod knows how to run a team and is one of the best defensive players at his position in the country,” Louisville Coach Chris Mack said in a news release. “He’s a coach’s son who is an exemplary teammate and competitor. His ability to shoot and take care of the ball is such a bonus for our team. We can’t wait to get Jarrod here in June.”
A 5-foot-11 guard from Clarksburg, W.Va., West averaged a Conference USA-leading 6.0 assists (12th in the nation) and 2.5 steals (11th in the nation) as a senior for Marshall this season. He averaged 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and made 40.8 percent of his three-point goals (42-of-103) for the Thundering Herd, who went 15-7 and finished third in the C-USA East Division.
West was named to the 2021 All-C-USA Second Team and C-USA All-Defensive Team. His 2.86 assists-to-turnover ratio also led C-USA.
In his four years at Marshall, West amassed 1,204 points (35th all-time at MU), 424 assists, 393 rebounds and a school-record 254 steals in his 126 career games, starting all but three of those games.
West chose Louisville for his final college season over Ohio State and Pittsburgh, among others.
West joins an incoming group of four additional newcomers that includes Matt Cross, a 6-7 transfer from Miami; El Ellis, a 6-3 transfer from Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College; 6-6 Mike James from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, Fla.; and 6-10 Roosevelt Wheeler from John Marshall High School in Richmond, Va.
EKU lands forward
Eastern Kentucky Coach A.W. Hamilton also announced Monday that his program had added a transfer from Marshall.
Iran Bennett, a 6-foot-9 forward from Durham, N.C., will join the Colonels’ roster for 2021-22.
Bennett missed this season with an injury. As a redshirt sophomore in 2019-20, he started 30 of 32 games for the Thundering Herd, averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Bennett played under Hamilton at Hargrave Military Academy before Hamilton became coach of the Colonels.
“Iran is a supremely skilled big who has a natural feel for the game,” Hamilton said in a news release. “He has great hands and feet and is going to be a force in the paint for us because of his size and skill.”
Last week, Hamilton added another of his former Hargrave Military Academy stars when Braxton Beverly transferred to EKU from North Carolina State. The former Perry Central High School standout has one season of eligibility remaining.