North Dakota and Northern Arizona Get Transfers

I've had a busy week of work, and of dealing with a mild situation in our apartment (which thankfully seems to be closer to resolving itself!), which has made this blog be mediocre over the past week! But hopefully that will be changing. While this was going on, I missed a couple of transfers into the Big Sky.

The first news was that 7-footer Carson Shanks will be transferring to North Dakota from Utah State.

"We are obviously excited to add a player like Carson to our program," UND head coach Brian Jones said. "He is a skilled big man that has a basketball IQ that is off the charts. He passes the ball really well, shoots its really well and can score in bunches.

He will have three and a half years of eligibility remaining, and will be able to play after next season's fall semester. He played AAU for UND assistant coach Gameil Ahelegbe (who also coached Quinton Hooker), so it is a natural fit for him at UND. He is a very nice pickup for North Dakota.

The other news is that former Iowa State guard KJ Bluford will be transferring to Northern Arizona, per his twitter account. From College Basketball Talk:

Bluford announced via his Twitter account on Wednesday that he’ll be transferring to Northern Arizona, giving the Lumberjacks a player who averaged nearly 18 points per game as a sophomore at Northeast Community College in Nebraska last season. Bluford played in seven games at Iowa State before making the decision to leave the program in late-December, playing an average of 5.4 points per game and scoring 2.7 points per contest.

Bluford was a junior at Iowa State after transferring in, so best guess is that he will have one and a half years of eligibility remaining, though I can't confirm that. He adds to a talented stable of backcourt players for NAU, and should be a very nice addition for the Lumberjacks when he is eligible, likely after the fall semester next season.

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