Harry Froling Picks Marquette Over Oregon State

On Tuesday, former SMU forward Harry Froling announced that he will transfer to Marquette, picking the Golden Eagles over Oregon State. He will have three years of eligibility remaining, but will have to sit out til the end of the first semester of the 2017-18 school year per NCAA transfer restrictions.

Froling was recruited to play for head coach Larry Brown in Dallas, but the notably transient head coach left in a huff over a contract dispute not long after the Australian arrived on campus. Froling felt that he wasn’t a good fit with new head coach (and former assistant and coach-in-waiting) Tim Jankovich after playing 15 minutes per game in 10 appearances for the Mustangs. Fox Sports Australia is reporting that Froling is going to appeal to the NCAA to play the entirety of the 2017-18 season, and I would have to presume that his appeal would be based somehow on the SMU coaching situation shifting rapidly out from underneath Froling.... but Jankovich was always going to take over for Brown. We’ll put a pin in that issue for the time being.

The 6’11”, 260 lb., big man averaged 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds for SMU, and it’s clear that he sees himself as more than a standard issue post center. Froling shot 10 threes in his 10 games for the Ponies, connecting on three of his tries. If that’s the case and he has the mobility to go along with that shooting, it’s possible that he could play alongside some combination of junior Matt Heldt (6’10”, 245 lb.) and freshmen Theo John (6’9”, 230 lb.) and Ike Eke (6’9”, 220 lb.) next season.

Froling occupies the last available scholarship for this school year for head coach Steve Wojciechowski and leaves the Golden Eagles with two spots available for next season. Here’s how the scholarship situation looks now that Froling is on board: