Matt Derenbecker is headed home. Again
The former LSU and Dayton forward will reportedly transfer to New Orleans, weeks after announcing he was leaving the Flyers’ program. He will apply for a waiver to be eligible immediately.
Derenbecker’s college career has logged him a lot of miles. The Metairie, La. native started 16 games as a freshman at LSU and averaged 6.5 points and 2.1 rebounds before deciding to leave the program, spending some time away from basketball to “address some personal matters” . That decision ultimately took him to Dayton, where after sitting out a season, the 6-7, 185-pounder averaged 4.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game in 2012-13.
Though his one season in a Dayton uniform will mainly be remembered for this.
Now, he’s had a change of heart, again, and Derenbecker now wishes to be closer to home. So he’s signing with the Privateers, his third team in three eligible seasons.
In a way, Derenbecker and the Privateers are a perfect fit. The Privateers, like Derenbecker, have had a whirlwind few years, initially electing to make the move from Division I to Division III after the school was decimated financially by Hurricane Katrina. That never happened, as the school is now back on its feet and has been an independent for the last few years. New Orleans will enter their first season in the Southland Conference in 2013-14.
If he gets the waiver, Derenbecker will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. If not, he’ll sit out the 2013-14 season, losing his redshirt junior year, and be eligible as a fifth-year senior in 2014-15.
New Orleans went 8-18 in their first season back as a Division I team, spending one season as a mercenary with the nomadic Great West Conference, in 2012-13. The Privateers lost only two seniors off last year’s squad, but they were their top-two scorers in Rarlensee Nelson and Lovell Cook. The Privateers return the likes of Cory Dixon (8.7 points, 5.1 rebounds per game) next season.
Follow David Harten on Twitter at @David_Harten
