Former Bulls forward Saaka lands at Furman

As Stan Heath is putting the finishing touches on a huge recruiting class, another former Bulls player has found a new home, as sophomore forward Amu Saaka has signed with Furman.

Saaka signed with Furman out of high school, but got a release from his letter of intent and chose USF, playing one season under former coach Robert McCullum and one under Heath. After a promising run at the end of the nonconference season in December, Saaka broke his nose in USF's Big East opener against Rutgers and wasn't the same player the rest of the season. He'll sit out this season and will then have two years of eligibility for the Paladins.

"We are very excited about adding Amu to our program," Furman coach Jeff Jackson told the Greenville News. "He adds a physical presence and athleticism for us on the perimeter, but more importantly, he is the kind of young man who will fit well into our program."

Saaka's signing leaves only forward Orane Chin unclaimed among the six players who were granted releases from USF in the past year. The first four were forward Zaronn Cann, who played for Division II Eckerd College this past season; guard Dante Curry, who transferred to Georgia State in December; guard Solomon Bozeman, who will transfer this summer to Arkansas-Little Rock, and guard/forward Aaron Holmes, who will play at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville next season.

One more hoops note: If you want to see highlights of new USF commitment Teeng Akol in action, check out his page at Hoopsreport.com. More to come tonight from USF baseball vs. Notre Dame ...

Comments

[Reality]

Kind of depressing that we are getting excited over a guy that the link that shows his highlights lists as a mid- major recruit. And he is the highlight of our class and he hasn't even passed his tests yet. Oh how important next year's recruiting is, because this "huge" class is underwhelming to say the least.

[G.A.]

Honestly just meant "huge" in terms of size. If you count the two walk-ons, it's nine new players coming in.

[The Champ]

Bozeman gets to play for Steve Shields at UALR, who is a a great head coach imo.

Coach Shields wins at a school where that is extremely difficult to do.Alltel has made improvements to the basketball facilities which helps a little, but probably not enough for UALR to take that next step.Hopefully Coach Shields gets an opportunity to coach at a higher level soon because he deserves it.