FSU Basketball Contacts Transfer From Hampton
Florida State has contacted Hampton forward Jerry Deng, per The Portal Report. The 6'9", 220-pound freshman averaged 10.1 PPG and 4.2 RPG while shooting 39.1% from deep this season, starting in 11 of his 33 games.
Deng signed with Hampton as a 3-star recruit, initially choosing the Pirates over offers from Akron, East Carolina, FIU, Georgetown, and others. He is originally from Norcross, Georgia and could be looking to return closer to home for the remainder of his college career. Hampton is currently going through a coaching change after the program let go of Edward Joyner Jr. after 15 seasons and hired Ivan Thomas to run the program. Joyner took over after current FSU assistant Kevin Nickelberry left the program.
If Baba Miller were to move on from Florida State, or vice versa, this could be an interesting pivot. Deng has a smooth jumpshot and scored 37 points in a game against Division 3 Mary Baldwin University while hitting 15/19 from the floor and 4/6 from 3. Against James Madison, who was pretty easily the toughest team Hampton played this season, he put up 18 points and 6 rebounds going 4/5 from 3. He also rarely turns the ball over, having 24 games this year with either one or no turnovers. With his size, you'd like to see more blocks and steals, but his length is tailor-made to fit in FSU's system and could very easily become a good defender.
Some other schools that Deng has heard from, per the Portal Report, include Auburn, Boston College, Florida, Georgia Tech, Georgetown (who offered him out of high school), Providence, Seton Hall, and SMU.
