Ben Emelogu transferring to SMU

Former Virginia Tech guard Ben Emelogu will transfer to SMU and join Larry Brown’s Mustangs, reports Rob Dauster of College Basketball Talk.

More from Mens Basketball

Emelogu will be required to sit out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA transfer rules but will retain three years of eligibility starting with the 2015-16 season. The 6’5 guard out of Texas committed to Brown and SMU on Monday after announcing his departure from Virginia Tech earlier this month.

This is certainly welcomed news for the Mustangs, who lost elite recruit Emmanuel Mudiay earlier in the day to professional opportunities overseas. While Emelogu can’t help next season and doesn’t have the kind of special talent that Mudiay would’ve brought to the team, he’s a solid lead guard who can handle the ball and contribute on both ends of the floor.

As a freshman starter with the Hokies last season, Emelogu averaged 10.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He took most his shots from beyond the arc and needs to make progress as an all-around scorer and distributor, but shot 37 percent on nearly five three-point attempts per game last season.

Despite his solid effort, the Hokies finished last season at the bottom of the ACC with a 9-22 overall record. The school fired head coach James Johnson at the end of the season, and hired former Marquette coach Buzz Williams to take over the program. Since then, Emelogu has been one of several players to leave Blacksburg and transfer elsewhere.

Brown banked his entire 2014 recruiting effort on Mudiay, so it’s nice to know that the Mustangs will have at least one solid talent coming their way in 2015. SMU doesn’t have any recruits for this season after Mudiay’s decision to head overseas.