A busy summer for first-year head coach Steve Forbes continued on Monday, as East Tennessee State welcomed in its third transfer.
Deuce Bello, the former Baylor and Missouri guard, elected to use his final season of eligibility with the Buccaneers. Chris Dortch and Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports both reported the news on Monday evening. Bello is eligible to play in the 2015-16 season.
Bello joins former Cincinnati guard Ge’Lawn Guyn and ex-Indiana center Hanner Mosquera-Perea, who was dismissed from the program back in May. While Mosquera-Perea must sit a year, Guyn is also immediately eligible. Peter Jurkin, another former IU product, will also resume his collegiate career after sitting out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Bello averaged only 1.8 points and 1.0 rebounds per game in his final season with the Tigers and missed time due to academic reasons. The 6-foot-4 Bello has never lived up to his four-star rating -- No. 54 overall by Rivals in the Class of 2011 -- coming out of high school, but he is a gifted athlete who could make an impact in the Southern Conference.
Forbes, the former Wichita State assistant coach, was named the new head coach of East Tennessee on May 27.
East Tennessee opens the season on Nov. 17 against Green Bay.