Jon Rothstein of CBS Sport announced via Twitter last night that Louisiana Tech junior Merrill Holden had narrowed his list for potential schools to Iowa St , Illinois, Cincinnati, Jacksonville St, UCF, and WVU.
Holden’s bio from the 2015-16 season is as follows:
Saw action in 23 games, including 16 starts … Missed the first 10 games of the season due to a thumb injury suffered in preseason … Averaged 8.1 points per game, including nine double-digit scoring games that all came during conference play … Hit two three-pointers in two of the last three games … Led the team in blocks per game (1.1) … Saw first action of the season against Southern (12/18), posting four points, four rebounds and two rejections … Registered a career-high four blocks versus Prairie View A&M (12/28) … Got first start of the year at Florida Atlantic (1/16), posting 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting to go along with seven rebounds … Tallied a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting at UTSA (2/18) … Recorded first career double-double with 13 points and a career-best 11 boards in overtime victory versus North Texas (2/25). (courtesy LATechSports.com)
The Mountaineers have seemingly got into the mix late for the 6’8, 220 lb forward who would be eligible immediately; presumably meaning Huggins made a push for the soon-to-be senior to replace Devin Williams who signed with an agent last week. Holden had originally set a list of potential landing spots back on April 14th according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman:
La Tech grad transfer Merrill Holden told ESPN he is looking at UNLV, Cincy, Illinois, Alabama, Iowa St, Jacksonville and Central Florida.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 14, 2016