Danuel House is a much-needed addition for struggling Texas A&M
The first time Danuel House chose a school, the 6-foot-7 forward pulled a stunner by selecting Houston over the likes of Kansas, Arizona, Texas and Baylor.
His second go-round through the recruiting process ended with only a mild surprise by comparison.
House announced via Twitter on Sunday that he will transfer to in-state Texas A&M, choosing the school over a list of suitors that included UCLA, South Carolina, LSU and USC. The Aggies don't have UCLA's tradition, LSU's talent or South Carolina's high-profile head coach, but they had a leg up on the competition from a geographic standpoint as the only Texas school to which Houston granted a release to contact House.
House, the 2012-13 Conference USA freshman of the year, averaged 13.6 points per game as a sophomore this past season before opting to transfer after Houston fired coach James Dickey. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining at Texas A&M and intends to file a waiver that would allow him to play right away rather than sit out a season first, though that plea seems like a long shot considering the basis is merely that Houston changed coaches.
Regardless, securing a commitment from a former five-star recruit is a much-needed boost for a Texas A&M program that has waved goodbye to more talent than it has added recently.
Highly touted guard J-Mychal Reese was dismissed from the team early this past season. Then this spring, leading scorer Jamal Jones and part-time starter Shawn Smith announced they intended to transfer. Throw in the fact that coach Billy Kennedy has yet to make the NCAA tournament in three seasons at the helm of a program that enjoyed success under Mark Turgeon and Billy Gillispie, and there's certainly pressure on the staff to make a breakthrough soon.
Perhaps feeling some of that pressure, Kennedy revamped his staff this offseason, adding ex-Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury as an assistant coach. The move paid off Sunday considering Stansbury was the lead recruiter in charge of wooing House.
Whether House can get eligible next season and help spark a turnaround in Aggieland remains to be seen, but he'll certainly help whenever he can get on the floor.
A program that has lost its share of transfers recently has now added a difference maker sure to make an impact.
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is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @JeffEisenberg
