Today in the Morning Rumble, a Michigan State player has been arrested and suspended, Austin Nichols wants to transfer, and two recruits are looking for their next home.
Michigan State is normally on the right side of the news, but on Tuesday, West Virginia transfer Eron Harris was suspended indefinitely following an arrest on a DUI charge. Harris is expected to play a prominent role in a Spartans backcourt that is losing three-point shooter and leader Travis Trice while returning Denzel Valentine.
Harris averaged 17.3 points per game, shot 44 percent from the field and 42 percent from downtown in 2013-14 as a member of the Mountaineers.
In more Michigan State news, the Spartans and Florida Gators have announced that they are set to play a home-and-home starting this year in East Lansing, with the 2016-17 game returning to Gainesville. These teams will face off in a rematch of the 2000 National Championship Game, but this time it won't be Tom Izzo versus Billy Donovan, it will be Izzo versus Michael White, the former Louisiana Tech head man.
Memphis forward and American Athletic Association Player of the Year Player of the Year candidate, Austin Nichols intends to transfer from the program. He must have a pretty darn good reason for this. Normally it's not a big deal if a student-athlete wants to move forward and be in a more comfortable situation but it's July 7th. Rosters are set, practices are beginning and game plans are being formed.
Memphis did indeed block Nichols' request and I don't blame Josh Pastner one bit for this one. Nichols is expected to hire a lawyer and plans to appeal the decision, but Memphis should not be obligated to let him go.
Flipping over to the recruiting side of things, 4-star recruit and the 11th ranked point guard in the class of 2016, Payton Pritchard, de-committed from Oklahoma late Monday night. Before committing to Lon Kruger and the Sooners, Pritchard had interest from Arizona State, Butler, Villanova, Gonzaga, Indiana and Florida State, amongst others.
The Oregon native is a talented scorer, who can put the ball in the hoop when attacking the rim and is known as a knock down outside shooter. He also has sneaky athleticism and provides a certain toughness that will be coveted at high major programs.
5-star small forward Jonathan Isaac, a scary talented player who keeps improving, has committed to Florida State. Isaac is a native of Naples, FL, plays his high school ball at IMG Academy and is ranked 12th overall on ESPN's Top 100 list for 2016 recruits.
Isaac is already 6'9" and continues to grow while continuing to develop his perimeter game. He models his game around Kevin Durant because of his comfort level on the perimeter (great ball handler, good finisher, solid shooter) and his size to rise above smaller guards.
Finally, this is an exclusive sneak peak from the Georgetown Hoyas Twitter of their home opener giveaway. Ummm... Enjoy.