Coach Gregory Completes First Signing Class with Three Grad Transfers

[Brad]

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Coach Gregory Completes First Signing Class with Three Grad Transfers

The Bulls add Terrence Samuel and Payton Banks from Penn State and Stephan Jiggetts of Fairleigh Dickinson

TAMPA, MAY 24, 2017 – In the final step of his first recruiting class, University of South Florida head men's basketball coach Brian Gregory and his staff announced the signing of three graduate transfers to financial aid agreements on Wednesday.  

From Penn State, the Bulls will be adding 6-foot-3 guard Terrence Samuel and 6-foot-6 wing Payton Banks from Penn State. USF also signed Stephan (pronounced STEPH-on) Jiggetts, a 6-foot-1 guard from Farleigh Dickinson University. All three student-athletes will be able to compete for USF in the 2017-18 season and have one year of eligibility remaining.

“I'm very happy to have Terrence, Payton and Stephan join our program,” said Gregory. “They are true student-athletes, who have graduated and earned their degrees in four years. They have had tremendous personal and collective success as players, winning championships and competing in postseason tournaments. Now, they are ready to make a positive impact here at USF and provide some important veteran stability. With all the opportunities they had in the recruiting process, their enthusiasm and desire to be a part of our new era at USF was both inspiring and refreshing.”

From Brooklyn, N.Y., Samuel averaged four points and three rebounds per game for Penn State last season. He netted a career-high 16 points against Colgate (11/23) and appeared in 28 of the team's 33 games. Samuel shot 44 percent in Big Ten conference action.

“Terrence is a highly competitive and versatile guard who has proven his ability to impact a game on both ends of the court,” added Gregory. “He has the size, strength and toughness to be very effective at both guard spots, creating scoring opportunities for himself and others.”

Samuel sat out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He began his collegiate career at UConn, where he was a part of the Huskies' program during his freshman and sophomore seasons. Samuel appeared in 56 games, making seven starts. He was a member of the 2013-14 NCAA champion UConn men's basketball team,scoring 11 points in the semifinal game over Villanova (3/22).

A native of Orange, Calif., Banks has made 44 starts over three years for the Nittany Lions. He averaged 10 points per game last season, sinking 36 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. In 2016-17, Banks converted 73 three-pointers and made 82 percent of his free throw attempts.

“Payton impacts our program in such a positive way due to his versatility on the perimeter,” said Gregory. “Obviously, he is an exceptional three-point shooter, but his versatility and scoring acumen will also be of benefit in our system.”

Banks redshirted his initial season at Penn State in 2013-14 before appearing in 29 games the following year. He made 31 starts as a sophomore during the 2014-15 campaign, averaging nine points and four rebounds per game.

From Forestville, Md., Jiggetts was named All-Northeast Conference in 2016-17, when he averaged 13 points, four assists and three rebounds per game. He posted a team-high 125 assists, shot 31 percent from beyond the arc and tallied a triple-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Lipscomb (11/19).

“Stephan brings the guard skills that were so important for us in this recruiting class,” added Gregory. “His tremendous physical and mental toughness, along with his skill package allows him to influence the game in transition, half-court sets, and by both scoring and creating scoring opportunities.”

Jiggetts averaged 11 points per game in his sophomore season at FDU and notched another 98 assists, helping guide the Knights to the 2016 Northeast Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

Banks, Jiggetts and Samuel will join fellow commits Justin Brown, David Collins , TJ Lang , Laquincy Rideau, Nikola Scekic and Alexis Yetna in Coach Gregory's first signing class at USF.

Class of 2017 Signees

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl.-Exp. Hometown [High School/Previous School]

Payton Banks F 6-6 223 Gr.-TR Orange, Calif. [Penn State]

Justin Brown G/F 6-6 210 Fr.-HS Birmingham, Ala. [Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)]

David Collins G 6-3 200 Fr.-HS Youngstown, Ohio [First Love Christian Academy (Pa.)]

Stephan Jiggetts G 6-1 195 Gr.-TR Forestville, Md. [Fairleigh Dickinson]

TJ Lang* G 6-7 210 Sr.-TR Mobile, Ala. [Auburn]

Laquincy Rideau* G 6-1 210 Jr.-TR West Palm Beach, Fla. [Gardner-Webb]

Terrence Samuel G 6-3 208 Gr.-TR Brooklyn, N.Y. [Penn State]

Nikola Scekic C 7-2 250 Jr.-TR Belgrade, Serbia [Hutchinson CC (Kan.)]

Alexis Yetna F 6-8 220   Fr.-HS Baltimore, Md. [Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)]

*Sitting out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA Transfer Rules*

About USF Men's Basketball

[Ionbull]

The gang's all here!

[Triple B]

[charsibb]

Booyah!

Can't wait for tipoff !!

[NewEnglandBull]

This will be a defensive minded team, which I think is the only way USF can win in MBB. 

[Triple B]

1 hour ago, NewEnglandBull said:

This will be a defensive minded team, which I think is the only way USF can win in MBB. 

Could have maybe said the same thing about USF FB 10 years ago .... Never know what the future may hold.

[Mama_Bull]

Looks like our two big guys are excited about Tacko staying at UCF.

Let's see if they can defend against him.

Nikola Scekic‏ @scekic1995  8h8 hours ago

 

Nikola Scekic Retweeted Jeff Goodman

@PTP_Leak oh yeah 

Nikola Scekic added,

Jeff GoodmanVerified account @GoodmanESPN

UCF’s Tacko Fall told ESPN he will return to school next season.

[Flowers4Heisman]

Who are the players that can shoot from outside with effectiveness?