Volodymyr Gerun to Transer to Portland, Eligable For 2013-2014
Nov 20; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Pilots head coach Eric Reveno likes the foul call against the Washington State Cougars as guard Kevin Bailey (00) picks himself up off the floor during the second half at the Chiles Center. The Cougars won 83-73. Mandatory Credit: Jim Z. Rider
What was I saying about a perfect world?
It was reported earlier today by Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports that West Virginia transfer Voldy Gerun would head to Portland but the biggest surprise is that he would be eligible immediately.
West Virginia transfer Volo Gerun is headed to Portland and will be eligible immediately, source told CBSSports.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 13, 2013
I wrote last week that Coach Reveno had teased of Voldy’s transfer but there had been no official announcement. At the time I was curious how a solid of a fit he would be because MOST transfers have to sit out a season and the need for another front court player was immediate. Well I guess those concerns were addressed by the announcement that Gerun could play immediately.
I am about the furthest thing from an NCAA transfer rules expert but there is precedent of exceptions being granted by the NCAA. The most common examples are when a student is transferring after already graduating from one academic institution and enrolling in an area of study at a new institution that the first does not provide (see Mike Moser). There is also precedent for immediate eligibility in cases where a scholarship was not renewed and the player is academically eligible. It helps when the school he is transferring from supports the appeal. This was the scenario in Gerun’s case.
Whatever the specifics were, the fact is that Portland is adding immediate depth to a very solid, but thin frontcourt. How solid of a player Gerun is is still up in the air.
He saw a total of 33 minutes all of last season under Bob Huggins at West Virginia and scored a total of 9 points. The body of work was so small that no conclusion about his abilities could be made. The stats that should be focused on are the 18.2 ppg and 11.1 rpg at the under-18 European Championships in 2011 as well as his MVP performance at the under-16 European Championships where he averaged 17.3 points per game.
You can also look to what former coach Huggins said about him in this article last year when he said Gerun was, “a great kid and he’s going to be a really good player, I think, I just don’t know when.” Hopefully for Portland that is sooner rather than later.