A move that was rumored to be in the works became official on Friday as former Southern Miss guard LaShay Page committed to South Carolina.
With Page planning to graduate by completing his coursework at Southern Miss he would be eligible to apply for a waiver granting him immediate eligibility.
With former Connecticut forward Alex Oriakhi being granted a waiver by the SEC to play at Missouri this coming season it’s expected that Page will be eligible to compete for the Gamecocks in 2012-13.
The family issues are why there’s optimism that Page will be granted the waiver, which is now required since the SEC decided to ban one-year transfer students.
Page’s mother passed away in late February, and the transfer to South Carolina would allow him to play in front of his father and five year-old daughter.
First-year head coach Frank Martin’s getting a skilled player in Page, who averaged 11.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles.
And there’s some familiarity there as well, as it was Kansas State who ended South Carolina’s season in the NCAA tournament.
Page scored 15 points and grabbed four rebounds in that game, a 70-64 Wildcat victory.
South Carolina lost three of their top four scorers from last year’s 10-21 team, as Malik Cooke graduated and both Anthony Gill (Virginia) and Damontre Harris (Florida) decided to transfer.
Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.