Naadir Tharpe announced his intention to transfer from Kansas on May 1st. In the press release following his decision, Tharpe said “my daughter has current medical issues that require weekly visits to her physician, as well as with a specialist. At this juncture, I feel it is best to be closer to home where I can assist and support in any way.”
I don’t believe Providence was ever seriously in play as a landing spot for Tharpe. There were rumors that PC was concerned with the photo that was released of Tharpe and a topless 38 year old married woman right after the Jayhawks were bounced from the NCAA tournament. Another concern was rumored to be the fact that Tharpe was not guaranteed to be eligible immediately at his new school and that ruling would likely not come until he was enrolled at his new school for a month or more. With Ed Cooley and the Friars needing guard help for the 2014-15 season, it was likely too much of a risk to take a flyer on Tharpe.
Tharpe’s other local option was reportedly UMass. Joining Tharpe in the UMass backcourt next season would have been West Virginia transfer Jabarie Hinds (sat out last season per NCAA transfer rules) and returning players Trey Davis and Derrick Gordon. If Tharpe didn’t receive the waiver to play next season all 3 of those players can return plus Derrick Kellog has a pledge from 3 star 2015 point guard, Luwane Pipkins. So aside from the UMass backcourt being crowded, the scholarship situation in Amherst would have meant that Tharpe would have had to pay his own way at UMass.
Tharpe told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein that he intends to give it a go in the D-league.
Tharpe told Rothstein, “I didn’t want to sit out…At this point, I’d rather just try the D-League instead of sitting out a year to play a year [in college].”
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