Former Penn State guard Taran Buie, half-brother of Talor Battle, will transfer to Hofstra according to a report by Jeff Goodman of cbssports.com.
Buie was released from his scholarship late last spring after spending the second half of the season watching games in street clothes. The guard was suspended for the second half of the season after a violation of team rules and appeared in just 11 games, averaging 5.8 points per game.
By signing with Hofstra, Buie has put the final chapter on a strange career at Penn State.
A 6-foot-2 combo guard, Buie was a Top 100 player coming out of high school and had official visits with Maryland, Rutgers, Notre Dame and Syracuse during his recruiting. Buie was expected to join his half-brother in the Nittany Lions backcourt and help lead the Lions back to the NCAA tournament, but the pairing never got that chance. His Penn State career started off on a bad note when Buie was cited twice last summer, once for underage drinking and again after a fight with football wide receiver Curtis Drake.
Rumors of Buie's transfer started Thursday evening before Goodman's report. Battle also tweeted congratulations to Buie and wished his brother a great career at Hofstra.
Penn State team lifts the EIVA championship trophy after beating Springfield university at the REC hall on Satruday.Venkatesh Krishnan/Collegian
USA Volleyball released its 12-man roster and seven alternates for the 2011 FIVB Men’s Junior (U-21) World Championship held Aug. 1-10 in Brazil.
Jace Olsen was the lone Nittany Lion and lone EIVA representative chosen for the team. He was chosen as an alternate.
The 6-foot-7 outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, Calif. played in all but one match in 2011, posting a .245 hitting percentage and 193 kills, good for third on the team.
With a lot of untapped potential, Olsen is a good choice as an alternate for the US. He is a big, physical presence at the net that won't be intimidated by anyone, and certainly doesn't lack any confidence no matter who is on the other side of the net.
Juwan Staten's career at Penn State is over without so much as a class to his name, let alone a basketball game.
Staten, a Dayton transfer and former four-star recruit, committed to Penn State and former coach Ed DeChellis' guard-friendly offense in April.
DeChellis has coached two of the nine players in NCAA history to record 2000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a career – Talor Battle at Penn State and Tim Smith at East Tennessee State.
However, with DeChellis’ departure for Navy and the Nittany Lions' hire of Pat Chambers from Boston University, Staten’s future took another turn.
Staten tweeted Saturday that he has decided on West Virginia to finish out his college career. He will have to sit out one season in accordance with transfer rules and will be eligible for the 2012-13 season in Morgantown.
Staten tweeted, “Got the worst news so far. My future is such a mystery. What to do now…”
With news of DeChellis’ departure from the Lions last Monday and in an interview with NationalHoopsReport.net, Staten’s father Bill said his son was back to square one in terms of his status as a transfer.
Bill Staten said his son liked the type of offense that DeChellis ran, which favored guard play. This past year, Staten led the Atlantic Ten in assists and was named to the all-rookie team. However, he told the Dayton Daily News that he felt his talents weren’t being utilized to the full extent and he didn’t feel he got any better in his one season as a Flyer.
Now, he'll finish his career as a Mountaineer rather than a Lion.
Battle’s half brother, Taran Buie, was also an ESPN Top 100 recruit before he came to Penn State last fall. Buie was dismissed from the team in the spring after being suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. Staten was looked at to fill the void that Buie’s departure left Penn State with.
