Ga. Southern to UNC-Wilmington: N. Fulton basketball player transfers
UPDATE (April 20, 2018): Shawn O'Connell will play his final season of college basketball in the Tar Heel State, at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington.
The 6-foot-8 Milton High School graduate averaged 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per-game over three seasons at Georgia Southern. At UNC-Wilmington, he’ll be teaming up with another graduate of a north Fulton County high school, Alpharetta’s DeVontae Cacok. He led the NCAA in rebounding this past season, grabbing 13.5 per-game.
UNC-Wilmington went 11-22 this past season in the first year for head coach C.B. McGrath. O’Connell should give the Seahawks some depth in the low post as they try to compete for a Colonial Athletic Association title next season.
I have decided to end my recruitment and commit to spend my final year at UNC Wilmington! #WingsUp👐🏻 🏀 pic.twitter.com/5xdY9q4k2I
— Shawn O'Connell (@Shawn_OC11) April 19, 2018
ORIGINAL STORY (April 9, 2018): Shawn O'Connell won't finish his college basketball career in a blue and gold uniform.
The native of north Fulton County announced in a tweet that he is using his final year of eligibility elsewhere and will leave Georgia Southern University as a graduate transfer.
He will graduate from the Statesboro school this spring and be able to play immediately for whatever school he chooses to go to next.
Thank you Georgia Southern! I’ve decided to use my final year of eligibility elsewhere as a Graduate Transfer. Looking forward to the next step in my career! #NextChapter🏀🤞🏼 https://t.co/DFqQzxjWdX
— Shawn O'Connell (@Shawn_OC11) March 20, 2018
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According to Open Look Analytics, O'Connell, 22, has the second highest offensive rating — a mark of 120.5 — of all players on the college basketball transfer market.
A 6-foot-8 forward from Roswell, O'Connell played 92 games in his three seasons with Georgia Southern, averaging 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per-game, according to basketball-reference. The best game of his career with the Eagles came during his sophomore season when he tallied 15 points and nine rebounds in a win over Radford.
Georgia Southern went 53-44 during O’Connell’s playing time there, making the CBI once.
O'Connell graduated from Milton High School in 2014 and averaged 13 points and seven rebounds per-game there, earning all-region honors twice. He was considered a two-star recruit by 247sports and received offers from Campbell, Illinois State, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Miami of Ohio, Rice and Winthrop.
Basketball runs deep in O’Connell’s family. His father Dave played at Duke, his uncle Mike played at Notre Dame, his uncle Tim played at Xavier, and his younger brother Alex just finished his freshman season at Duke.
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Shawn O’Connell with the dunk in the last minute of the game! Eagles are ahead 74-59 | Crowd is shaking their keys at UTA signaling the game is over pic.twitter.com/RdrqipxXLU
— The George-Anne Sports (@GeorgeAnneSport) January 27, 2018
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