Former junior college transfer and Baylor Bears reserve forward Deng Deng will leave the program. ESPN Radio’s David Smoak reported Deng’s decision on Twitter.
In case you missed it type note, #Baylor's Deng Deng will not be a part of the 2015-2016 roster, doesn't have any eligibility remaining.
— David Smoak (@DavidSmoak) August 3, 2015
Deng appeared in 23 games for Baylor last season and averaged 2.9 points and two rebounds over 8.8 minutes per game, shooting 52 percent from the field. His lack of production and playing time existed despite his having a strong sophomore season at Lee College in Texas.
Just the same, his departure clears the way for rising junior Johnathan Motley to see extended minutes in an extended role after averaging 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per contest last season. With Royce O’Neale now gone, both Deng and Motley could have been in line for serious playing time, not to mention incoming JUCO transfer Jo Acuil.
But what’s next for Deng just remains to be seen. He is a former two-star recruit out of Utah’s Cottonwood High School and though the number of teams that could be interested in him would be limited, he should have no problem latching on with a squad after sitting out a year. At that point, he could bring his name some more attention with a strong senior season. Prior to Baylor, he spent time at Long Beach State and Cal State Bakersfield. As a recruit, he had also drawn interest from Colorado, Oregon State, Idaho and Hawaii.
Deng has not yet commented on his decision, but Campus Sports will update this story as more information becomes available.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
