Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Missouri expected to land 7-foot-5 Western Kentucky transfer Jamarion Sharp
By ADAM ZAGORIA
Missouri is expected to land 7-foot-5 Western Kentucky transfer Jamarion Sharp, sources said.
Sharp averaged 8.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and a nation’s-best 4.6 blocks in 32 games as a junior at Western Kentucky en route to being named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year.
He had 148 blocks last season, while the Missouri team had 134.
Jamarion Sharp is very fun to watch. He has entered the transfer portal.
He led the NCAA in blocks this season, averaging a mind boggling 5.8 blocks per game! Also the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year.
New Missouri coach Dennis Gates recently hired Sharp’s junior college coach, Kyle Smithpeters, as an assistant.
Smithpeters joins the Tigers following a successful 10-year stint as the head coach at John A. Logan Community College in Illinois, where he coached Sharp and Clippers guard Jay Scrubb, among others. He compiled an overall record of 241-73, including 20 or more wins in eight of the last nine seasons. He earned Great Rivers Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors six times over his first eight seasons as a head coach.
“Kyle is a well-respected coach, regardless of level,” Gates said. “He is a great teacher, evaluator and recruiter. I have had a front row seat for 15 years watching him prepare for this opportunity, but also build John A. Logan College into the power it is today. After attempting to hire Coach Smithpeters three years ago, I am excited to see him join the greats who have made this transition before him. It’s no better time to welcome Coach Smithpeters and his family to our staff, the city of Columbia and Mizzou.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
