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In what had been a lazy, quiet Friday morning, we got some basketball news of the not-so-welcome kind: Blake Harris is transferring.
Missouri freshman guard Blake Harris told ESPN he has received his release and will transfer elsewhere. Heralded recruit out of Chapel Hill.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) January 5, 2018
Statement from Cuonzo Martin: “Blake Harris has decided to transfer from the Mizzou Men’s Basketball program. We will support and assist him in any way possible."
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) January 5, 2018
thanks for all the memories pic.twitter.com/NGhRbKWz41
— Blake Harris (@blizzyblake55_) January 5, 2018
Harris was one of the recruits that the signing of Michael Porter Jr. helped to bring to town. He was a four-star recruit out of Chapel Hill’s Word of God Christian Academy and, per 247, the No. 25 point guard in this freshman class. He was averaging 13.9 minutes, 3.8 points, and 3.1 assists per game. He had nine assists against Long Beach State and seven against North Florida, and in the final game of non-conference play against Illinois, he scored 10 points and led a bit of a second-half charge.
Harris is the second freshman guard to announce his transfer early this year. C.J. Roberts was redshirting when he announced his departure, but Harris appeared to be positioning himself for a long run as Mizzou’s point guard. We’ll have more on this as it develops, but it means that a few extra minutes could go to Jordan Geist and Terrence Phillips, the others vying for most of the point guard time.