WSU basketball grants release to three first-year players
Junior Aaron Cheatum and freshmen Jackie Davis and Trevor Dunbar will transfer out of the Washington State basketball program and have been granted their releases, the school announced Tuesday.
“We appreciate the contributions Aaron, Jackie and Trevor have made to the program over the last year,” coach Ernie Kent said in a press release. “We wish all three off them nothing but the best both on and off the court.”
While Cheatum and Davis were not significant contributors this season, it seemed like Dunbar was expected to carve out a bigger role next year. The point guard was the team's quickest player – even faster with the ball than Ike Iroegbu – and Kent told me he was the only player on the team with enough speed to change a game's tempo simply by being on the floor.
But Kent went away from Dunbar late in the season and he only played in three of the team's final 12 games. Cheatum provided post depth but never became the contributor Kent was hoping for when he signed the junior college prospect last summer.
Davis may have been the most talented freshman on the team, based on what we saw in practice. He was certainly one of the team's best athletes and had a good shot. But it sounded like Davis struggled to play well in a structured environment and wasn't able to blend his skills with the WSU offense.
If any of the departing players are not in good academic standings than there could be big repercussions down the road, since the basketball team is just barely avoiding penalties for having a low Academic Progress Rate (APR) as it is.