UMass junior center Malik Hines is taking advantage of the NCAA’s graduate transfer rule and will head elsewhere for his final season without having to sit out.
Hines, a 6-foot-10 native of Mississippi, sat out his freshman year as an academic nonqualifier, but is on track to complete his sociology degree this summer.
Hines averaged 9.0 points and 6.1 rebounds, and led the Atlantic 10 with 65.8 field goal percentage. The points and rebounds doubled from his sophomore season (3.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg).
Hines issued a statement through the UMass athletic department:
“I want to thank the University of Massachusetts and everyone in the community for their support over the last four years. Thank you to the UMass basketball fans for allowing me to represent this institution on and off the court. I appreciate the all of the support from our coaches, my teammates over the years, and those who help our program.”
UMass coach Matt McCall also released a statement in the same release:
“We are so proud of Malik for the work he has accomplished in the classroom during his career at UMass. He is a tremendous person and it was a joy to work with him this past year. We wish him the best in everything he does following his UMass career.”
Reached by phone, McCall said with the graduate transfer rule, coaches have to be prepared any time a player is on path to complete his degree before his eligibility expires.
“Any time you have guys who have been in college for four years who have another year of eligibility, you always know this is a possibility,” McCall said. “It’s especially true when guys are from further away who have had some success and get a chance to go closer to home. He’s been away from home for a long time and he put himself in position to go closer to home as a senior. I wish him nothing but the best.”
Hines’ departure leaves UMass with some uncertainty at center. Rashaan Holloway was academically ineligible for the second half of his junior season and Khalea Turner-Morris looked overmatched for much of his freshman season.
McCall said having a traditional center is not a priority.
“The guys who can play with their back to the basket are so few and far between,” he said. “With us wanting to press and space the floor, play fast and play in transition, we want the best available guy we can get whether it’s a four or a five. In our offense those positions are pretty interchangeable.”
Hines’ departure opens a scholarship. McCall said he’s looking at graduate transfers and freshmen.
“You always have to look at grad transfers. Especially in a situation like this where you’re losing a guy who started every game for you,” McCall said. “You’ve got to have some on your radar. But finding young players who can develop in our program is a possibility too. We’re not closing the book on anything. We’ll figure out what the best fit is for our program.”
RECRUITING TARGETS — McCall can’t discuss unsigned recruits, but the Minutmen have been linked to several unsigned players.
Oral Roberts grad transfer Javan White, who has two years remaining, is looking at the Minutemen. The 6-foot-10 Ames, Iowa, native is getting attention from Iowa State, his hometown school, but doesn’t have an offer there. White averaged 10.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
Sy Chatman, a 6-foot-7 high school senior in St. Paul, Minnesota, is looking at UMass, Richmond, UCF and a handful of mid-majors.
Robert Braswell, a 6-foot-9 big from South Carolina, officially visited UMass on April 6, according to 247Sports, which lists UMass as the leader on a list of offers that includes Oklahoma State, Charlotte, Fordham and a collection of mid-major teams.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage