Howard Moore is doing his best to make Illinois-Chicago relevant in the Horizon.
After landing Purdue transfer Kelsey Barlow earlier this summer, Moore was able to get Central Florida transfer Josh Crittle to enroll for this season. Crittle will be eligible immediately. He’s a senior and UCF is ineligible for the postseason this year, meaning that he’s automatically allowed to transfer without penalty.
Crittle averaged 4.7 points and 2.9 boards for UCF last season.
That’s not the most interesting tidbit from this story. UIC won eight games last season. Crittle isn’t going to make make them a contender.
What’s interesting is that the 2008 recruiting class for the Oregon Ducks has now come full circle, and it didn’t quite live up to expectations. Ernie Kent brought in six players that season, all of whom were ranked as three and four star recruits. One of them -- Garrett Sim -- graduated from Oregon in four years. One -- Michael Dunigan -- turned pro in September of 2010 when the NCAA came knocking on Oregon’s door. One -- Teondre Williams -- finished his career averaging 17.9 points for a Division II school in Georgia that couldn’t even finish .500 in conference play.
And three of those recruits ended up playing at more than one school at leaving Oregon. Crittle went from UCF to UIC. Matt Humphrey went from Boston College to West Virginia. And Drew Wiley went from Boise State to ... well, I’m not sure exactly. But he’s not at Boise State anymore.
No wonder Kent spent last season announcing games instead of coaching them.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.