WKU Basketball: Damari Parris’ Scholarship Not Renewed, Will Transfer
During the middle of the extended 4th of July weekend, we found out another move by Rick Stansbury towards completing his 2017–18 roster. Brad Stephens from The Bowling Green Daily News reported that sophomore guard Damari Parris’ scholarship wasn’t renewed and he is leaving the program.
Playing behind three graduate transfer guards during his dreshman season, Parris played sparingly, averaging three points per game while only playing 10.8 minutes per game. He did, however, show glimpses of being a potential contributor especially in one of WKU’s best wins of Stansbury’s debut season.
In a December 21 game against the Ohio Bobcats, Parris played a season high 28 minutes, scoring a career high 14 points and clinching the game with a free-throw. Parris’ season ended on February 23 with a broken hand he suffered during the Charlotte game.
Parris was Rick Stansbury’s first commitment at WKU. The Bowie, Maryland product was slated to be the only returning scholarship player on Rick Stansbury’s second roster. He was probably going to be the backup point guard to Buffalo transfer, Lamonte Bearden.
As of right now, WKU will lean on a point guard rotation of Bearden as well as freshman guards Taveion Hollingsworth and Jake Ohmer.
Stansbury deserves criticism for pulling Parris’s scholarship in July.
For starters, Parris was a Stansbury recruit. Stansbury may have been desperate to add bodies in the post-Harper deconstruction of the roster, but if he didn’t think Parris had long-term potential he shouldn’t have given him a scholarship in the first place.
Stansbury could have also let Parris go right after the season, like he did with Tobias Howard (in April), so he had more time to find a welcoming destination before coaches have filled their roster spots. Now, Damari must scramble to find a Division 1 program that will bring him on late in the game or follow Howard’s route to Junior College. The one-year renewable scholarship continues to be a bad thing for the players, even at mid-majors like WKU.
Parris’ departure does open a spot for one more player on the Tops’ roster. Since his arrival, Stansbury has proven time after time that he’ll do anything to make sure he has the most talented roster possible. There are two potential names that we’re aware of at this time: three-star spring commit Chris Duarte and recent Ohio State de-commitment point guard Braxton Beverly, a four-star recruit.
Duarte still hasn’t been announced as a signee, despite committing back in May and could be having trouble qualifying.
There have been whispers that he may follow Moustapha Diagne’s path and enroll at WKU, but not join the team until the following season (2018–19). The Parris news means he could be closer to qualifying than we thought.
Beverly is from the same hometown as Justin Johnson (Hazard, KY). He spent his senior year at Hargrave Military Academy, boosting his stock and committing to Ohio State last October. With Thad Matta’s dismissal, he reopened his recruitment and has been contacted by the following schools:
NC State has been rumored to be the front-runner for Beverly’s services since the news broke the other day, but I wouldn’t put it past Stansbury to convince another talented in-state kid to come on board. Stansbury also could go another direction and he’s proven that he’ll wait until the last possible moment to finalize his roster (see Pancake Thomas).
Best of luck to Damari on a finding a new destination and we all hope that he finds a spot that he can showcase the talent that was briefly on display last season.
What do you think about the news? Was Stansbury wrong or is this just part of modern college basketball? Let us know in a comment below, via twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.
