UConn landed one of the offseason’s most highly-recruited transfers on Tuesday night as Howard guard R.J. Cole pledged to the Huskies during a visit to campus.
The reigning MEAC Player of the Year, Cole led the conference in scoring as both a freshman and a sophomore as the 6-foot-1 guard put up 21.4 points, 6.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game this past season. A high-usage player, Cole shot 41 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three-point range as a sophomore.
Due to NCAA transfer rules, Cole will have to sit out the 2019-2020 season for the Huskies before he has two years of eligibility remaining. While Cole has put up monster numbers in one of the weakest Division I conferences in college basketball, it’ll be interesting to see how he produces with high-major talent all around him.
Cole has shown an ability to score and set up teammates in the MEAC, but he doesn’t have a lot of experience going against high-quality programs. Cole did score 28 points in a blowout loss to Georgetown last season, but Howard didn’t play any other power conference teams during the season.