Looks like he wanted to stay close to home and go to a school where he could be the man.
I said this in another thread when he first announced his transfer, I thought he was use to being the big fish in a small pond, if you look at the AAU program and high school program he played for. UT-Arlington is 9-12, he’ll get plenty of playing time and a chance to be the focal point for them. I was a guy that was really excited about what Phillips could possibly bring as a 6’7 guard, I thought he had a bright future if he hung in there, CMA was starting to work him in the rotation, just gotta be patient and keep competing.
Either Jordans parents, him or both didn’t like something about being up here in Fayetteville. Whether it was distance, lack of playing time, the coaching staff? Or as stated above, he is used to being the man and to much competition here.
Due the abruptness of his transfer as he was slowly being introduced into the lineup after injury.
Unless he can play immediately at UTA, why not just finish up the season here and see where he stands at that point as far recovery from injury and status in our line up.
You know that’s actually something I thought about as well. He could have finished the season, then transferred. I’m guessing that the reason at semester is because he can play next year (starting in conference play) instead of completely missing the 19-20 season
Just that much more live game rust to shake off by Jan 2020 after injury recovery this year and only playing a few minutes in a few games here post injury & rehab.
So he has enrolled at UTA now & can work out & practice only with the team from this point I assume?
Maybe the he was just really, really rusty from the injury but I didn’t see it… unless that rust was causing him to not move well at all, not play with much energy or quickness, nor appear to have much length or athleticism in general… I know he was big, but not every big guy has length by my understanding of length. The fact that he quit before ever finishing his first semester also says something about his chances to develop and persevere through the challenges of being a college athlete.
Good news is that we can see how it goes at UT-Arlington. Happy to have the scholarship.