BYU Basketball Makes Top Five Cut For Transfer Portal Big Man Amari McCray
Jun 28, 2021, 1:38 PM
Brigham Young Cougars head coach Mark Pope claps and cheers for his team as BYU and Pepperdine play in semifinal West Coast Conference tournament basketball action at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, March 8, 2021. BYU won 82-77 in overtime. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – Portland State center Amari McCray has BYU basketball in his final five schools.
The 6-foot-10 big man who played in nine games, starting in all of his appearances, announced his top five schools on his Instagram. BYU is one of them.
McCray’s top five include Grambling, BYU, Clemson, Penn State, and Texas Tech.
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During his one year as a grad transfer at Portland State, McCray played for Barrett Peery. Peery, this off-season, left to take the associate head coach position at Texas Tech. Unfortunately, the one season in the Pacific Northwest was short-lived as McCray suffered a season-ending knee injury. In his nine starts, he averaged 10.7 points 5.0 rebounds per game for the Vikings.
Amari McCray has played in the WCC before
McCray is familiar with the West Coast Conference and has faced BYU in his career. Before going to Portland State, McCray spent a year at Pacific under Damon Stoudamire. McCray started in 20 games for the Tigers, including a matchup against BYU, one that the Cougars won 74-60.
This upcoming season will be McCray’s sixth year after graduating from Ruston High School in Ruston, Louisiana. After his prep career in the Bayou, McCray competed for two years at Howard College in Texas.
McCray can play this year due to the NCAA’s free year of eligibility granted to all student-athletes this past academic season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whichever school McCray signs with, he will be eligible immediately for the 2021-22 season.
BYU Basketball has one scholarship left
BYU currently has one scholarship available on its roster for the upcoming year. However, the Cougars have already added Milwaukee grad transfer guard Te’Jon Lucas to team up with Honorable Mention All-American guard Alex Barcello for next season.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
