Maurice Joseph Announces Decision To Transfer To Vermont
6/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 12, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Maurice Joseph (Montreal, Quebec) has announced his decision to transfer from the Michigan State men's basketball program to Vermont. Under NCAA rules, Joseph will have to sit out the 2007-08 season, but will have two years left to play for the Catamounts.
"Coach Izzo and Michigan State have been great to me and I consider them to be my family," said Joseph. "I've kept in contact with them since the school year ended and they've all been supportive through this whole process. My goal was to be somewhere I can be more of a focal point. I believe that can be true at Vermont. They are a good program and have been to the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years. It also doesn't hurt that the school is less than two hours from home. The fans are passionate about basketball and I look forward to starting the next part of my basketball career there."
Joseph appeared in 31 games for Michigan State last season, averaging 16.8 minutes per game. He averaged 5.9 points and 1.7 rebounds, while connecting on 42-of-116 3-point field goal attempts. In league games, he averaged 4.8 points in 15.6 minutes per contest.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo was supportive of Joseph's decision.
"I'm happy for Maurice," said Izzo. "This was an amicable situation, and he handled things the right way. He will always be a part of us. Vermont seems to be a perfect fit for MoJo in terms of playing basketball for a successful team, playing less than two hours from home and at a strong academic institution. I'll miss him because he's a great kid. When I talked to him today, I just expressed that he should continue to work hard. He's a very good shooter, and if he regains his confidence in his shooting and improves his overall game, he could have an opportunity to play professionally when his college career is over."
Joseph is the only Spartan among Michigan State's top nine scorers from 2006-07 that will not return next season. In addition, MSU adds three perimeter players in Chris Allen, Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers that form a top-five recruiting class in the fall, according to Scout.com. Seven-footer Tom Herzog will also see action for the Spartans after sitting out the 2006-07 season as a redshirt.
