With many of the key perimeter contributors from Memphis’ 2015-16 team out of eligibility, new head coach Tubby Smith and his staff had some work to do to fill out their roster on the recruiting trail. Thursday afternoon the program received a commitment from guard Christian Kessee, who last season played at Coppin State and will be eligible to compete immediately as a grad student.
Kessee took to Twitter to make the announcement, and it comes just a couple days after he took an official visit to the Memphis campus.
As a junior the 6-foot-2 Las Vegas native averaged 14.6 points and 2.5 rebounds in 32.5 minutes of action per game for the Eagles, shooting 39.0 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. He’ll join a perimeter rotation that includes rising sophomores Randall Broddie, Craig Randall II, Jeremiah Martin and Dante Scott and redshirt junior Markel Crawford.
Of that quintet the most experienced returnee is Crawford, who made 25 starts and averaged 5.3 points in 20.2 minutes per game.
Memphis is still awaiting a decision from forward Dedric Lawson, who’s currently at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Lawson, who was the American Athletic Conference’s top freshman last season, has not hired an agent and would have until May 25 to withdraw from the Draft in order to return for his sophomore campaign.