COLUMBIA, Mo. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) – It took two years, but the roster makeover is complete for the Missouri men’s basketball team. This wasn’t what Tigers coach Kim Anderson had in mind when he took over the program, but when the 2016-17 season tips off this fall, there won’t be a single player left from Anderson’s first season on the job just two years ago. Sophomore forward Jakeenan Gant is the latest player to leave the team, the fifth and final member of Mizzou’s 2014 recruiting class to exit Mizzou Arena.
Gant, a 6-8 reserve who averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds this past season, recently underwent surgery on his shoulder at Mizzou and for weeks told Anderson he planned to return for next season. Somehow that changed. The Georgia native will leave MU so he can be closer to his mother, who has an undisclosed medical condition.
“Shortly after the season, Jakeenan and I sat down to discuss his future with Missouri basketball,” Anderson said Thursday in a prepared statement. “At that time and several other times, he confirmed his commitment to our program. In the past few weeks, his mother has developed a medical condition that necessitates his return closer to home to continue his educational and athletic pursuits. While disappointed, we certainly support his decision. Jakeenan has been a joy to coach these past two years and all of us, coaches, teammates and staff, wish him the best. We will do all we can to help in his transition.”
Gant issued the following statement through Mizzou: “My time at Mizzou has been great and Coach Anderson and his staff really helped me develop as a player and person these past two seasons. I’ll miss Columbia, but feel the need to make a move with my family and mother in mind. I want nothing but the best for Mizzou in the future and appreciate the friendships I’ve made in my time here.”
Gant was not available for further comment and did not respond to an emailed interview request.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Gant is interested in Georgia, Georgia Tech and Clemson among other schools closer to his hometown of Springfield, Ga.
Last year, the NCAA stopped granting hardship waivers based on family situations, which means Gant would most likely have to sit out the upcoming season per transfer rules.
He becomes the fifth player from the 2014 recruiting class to leave the program. Montaque Gill-Caesar transferred to San Diego State last summer, while D’Angelo Allen, Tramaine Isabell and Namon Wright left the team earlier this year. Allen, Isabell and Wright have not announced where they’ll play next season.
Earlier this year, Gant played a key role in Mizzou’s self-imposed sanctions for NCAA violations for his participation in an internship program in his home state of Georgia. Gant was suspended the first nine games of his freshman season for accepting improper benefits.
Also, an associate head coach, unnamed in the report but clearly former assistant Tim Fuller, was cited for helping with the relocation of a recruit by providing the phone number of the prospect’s mother to a donor. The recruit in question was Gant.
In February, the Post-Dispatch reported that Gant and his mother, La’Kenia, were interviewed by NCAA officials in November 2014 and admitted to receiving benefits but were not aware they were in violation of NCAA rules. Gant and his mother moved to Missouri so he could enroll and graduate from School of the Osage, a source said.
Gant’s Mizzou career got off to a rocky start when he was briefly suspended in the fall of 2014 after he and Allen were arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault for an alleged fight. Gant pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor peace disturbance. In February of this year, Gant and teammate Russell Woods were suspended for a game after they were cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.
With Gant off the roster, the Tigers have two open scholarships for the upcoming season. The team must accept one scholarship reduction this year or next as part of the self-imposed sanctions.