A.J. Lapray, Former Oregon Duck, to Transfer to Pepperdine

Jan 16, 2014; Malibu, CA, USA; General view of the court at Firestone Fieldhouse before a game between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Pepperdine Waves. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports

Pepperdine is becoming a bit of a transfer hub in recent years. Brendan Lane came in and found success in his one season of eligibility, while Jordan Baker, Austin Mills, Jeff Van Dyke, Manny Ochenje and Morbida de Fritas all transferred out in the last two seasons.

Despite the amount of players leaving, the quality of players coming in is considerable. Lane struggled to get playing time at UCLA before spending his last season of eligibility in Malibu, where he earned WCC defensive player of the year honors.

A similar player just announced he will spend the rest of his career in Southern California playing for Marty Wilson. That player is Oregon transfer A.J. Lapray.

As alluded to before with Lane, both players struggled to get into the teams rotation at their respective Pac-12 schools. Lapray played in only two games for the Ducks last season, where he averaged 2.5 minutes and the only stats he accumulated were personal fouls.

Unlike Lane, however, Lapray is leaving Oregon as a freshman. He will have four years to play three, and must sit out next season due to NCAA transfer protocol.

A three-star recruit, Lapray is described as a fantastic long range shooter, which is apparent in the embedded Youtube video.

The Eugene Daily News had this to say about Lapray upon committing to Oregon:

"Lapray is a real old school player who uses great fundamentals, footwork, angles and hesitation dribbles to succeed. When watching Lapray, he shows shades of Adam Morrison at Gonzaga because of his long, rangy body and terrific shooting ability."

To be compared to an all-time great like Morrison is a lofty one, but if it turns out to be even semi-accurate the WCC is a good place for Lapray to develop into a Morrison-esque player.

The 6’5”, 200 lb shooting guard from Sprague High School in Salem, Ore. should contribute right away for Marty Wilson and the Waves when he becomes eligible. He held a Pepperdine offer in the initial recruiting process, and his departure from Oregon allowed the Waves to get another shot at landing their guy. This time around, it worked out.