Poling transferring
Gonzaga redshirt freshman forward Andy Poling has decided to transfer, Poling's mother, Jenny, confirmed.
The 6-foot-11, 230-pound Poling played 23 minutes in six games. He was seeing limited minutes behind Rob Sacre, Elias Harris, Will Foster, Kelly Olynyk and Bol Kong, who has played some at the '4'. Freshman Sam Dower, a 6-9 forward, is redshirting and will compete for time next season.
It was mainly a playing time issue, Jenny said. "He thought he'd get more playing time than he did. He wants to go where he'll play more."
UPDATE: Find Gonzaga's release on Poling transferring below.
UPDATE II: Bouldin a finalist for Cousy Award. More below.
More below.
Poling was en route from Spokane to his hometown of Portland on Tuesday. He accompanied the Bulldogs on their trip to Illinois, but has decided to transfer, possibly closer to home. If he enrolls at a different school, which he'll likely do within the next week, he'll be eligible next January and he would have 2 1/2 years of eligiblity remaining.
"He doesn't know where quite yet," Jenny said. "There are about 3-4 schools interested. He's on his way home right now, so have to get things settled down a little bit."
Poling definitely wants to play Division I, Jenny said, and "has some options closer to home."
Portland State, a member of the Big Sky Conference, appears to be the most likely spot for Poling, who did not play in eight of Gonzaga's last 11 games.
As mentioned above, here is a copy of GU's release late this morning:
Gonzaga University men’s basketball redshirt freshman forward Andy Poling has decided to leave the team and pursue opportunities elsewhere that will afford him more playing time, Bulldog head coach Mark Few confirmed Tuesday.
Poling notified Few of his decision upon the team’s return from Chicago following the Bulldogs 85-83 overtime victory over the University of Illinois Saturday.
“Andy is a great young man and a great teammate. We’ll miss him and wish him the best of luck,” Few said.
The Portland, Ore., native appeared in six games this season, going 4-for-5 from the field and averaging 1.8 ppg and an equal number of rebounds while averaging 3.8 minutes/game.
And here's more on Bouldin:
Gonzaga University senior guard Matt Bouldin has been named one of 20 finalists for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award sponsored by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and presented by The Hartford Financial Services Group., Inc.
The annual award is given to college basketball’s top point guard and is named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic great Bob Cousy. An original list of 73 candidates comprised of players from NCAA Division I, II and III schools was trimmed by a Hall of Fame appointed, nationally based committee to the 20 finalists.
The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native is averaging a team-leading 15.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, a team-leading 4.1 assists/game, 2.0 steals/game and has a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Bulldogs are off to an 11-3 start entering West Coast Conference play this Saturday at the University of Portland.
Bouldin has also continued his climb up Gonzaga’s career scoring, assist and steals lists. His 1,365 career points rank 15th, his 365 assists are fifth and his 150 steals also rank fifth, the latter three shy of moving past Blake Stepp and into fourth. Bouldin is currently 59th in the NCAA Division I ranks in free throw percentage at 85.2 percent and is 68th in steals at 2.0/game.
“This list makes up college basketball’s elite at the point guard position,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “These 20 players in contention for the award all have skills that Mr. Cousy would be proud of. The Hall of Fame looks forward to having these players compete for one of college basketball’s most prestigious awards.”
“We are so proud at The Hartford to play a part in this important program and offer congratulations to the 20 finalists,” said Kevin Connor, executive vice president and director of Hartford Life Distributors. “All 20 represent strong values of teamwork, skill and the relentless pursuit of excellence. These are all values we share at The Hartford.”
The 20 finalists will be narrowed down to 10 players by Feb. 1 and than to five players by March 1. The final five players in contention for the award will be presented to Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. These Hall of Fame committees are made up of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, Sports Information Directors and Hall of Famers. The winner will be awarded at the Hall of Fame’s Class Announcement on April 5 in Indianapolis as part of the NCAA Final Four weekend.
Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award have included Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph’s), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Dee Brown (Illinois), Acie Law (Texas A & M), DJ Augustin (Texas) and Ty Lawson (North Carolina).
Bob Cousy Award Finalists
Chris Warren, Mississippi
Denis Clemente, Kansas State
Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Greivis Vasquez, Maryland
Jeremy Lin, Harvard
Jerome Randle, California
John Wall, Kentucky
Jon Scheyer, Duke
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
Kemba Walker, Connecticut
Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech
Manny Harris, Michigan
Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga
Nic Wise, Arizona
Ronald Moore, Siena
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
Sherron Collins, Kansas
Talor Battle, Penn State
Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin
