In his first month on the job at Houston, head coach Kelvin Sampson has hit the junior college ranks hard in search of players who can help get the Cougar program headed in the right direction. Wednesday it was reported by multiple outlets that another junior college product has decided to join Sampson’s program, with East Mississippi CC forward Devonta Pollard making his pledge.
Pollard’s had an interesting college career, as he was a McDonald’s All-American who played his freshman season at Alabama. However a legal issue related to his mother’s kidnapping of a neighbor’s child in a land dispute led to Pollard having to leave the Alabama program.
Pollard joined the East Mississippi CC program in 2013-14, playing better basketball during the spring semester once the legal issues were resolved. Pollard received two years of probation, and he will avoid prosecution if he steers clear of trouble during that period.
Pollard averaged 12.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season, shooting 59.4% from the field, and he’s the sixth junior college transfer to join the Houston program this offseason. And like Pollard, one of those players (guard Torian Graham) was a highly regarded recruiting during his high school years.
Houston’s most experienced returnees are guards Jherrod Stiggers and L.J. Rose and forward Danrad “Chicken” Knowles.