SMU couldn’t land Jimmy Whitt when it recruited him in his high school days.
But in Whitt’s second round of recruiting, after his March decision to transfer from Arkansas, SMU won out. Whitt, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, announced he is transferring to SMU on Monday afternoon.
Whitt averaged 6.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 32 games as a freshman for Arkansas in 2015-16. A product of Columbia (Mo.) Hickman High School, Whitt was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 68 player nationally, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. He was the top player in Missouri in his class.
Whitt originally committed to Arkansas in August 2014, choosing the Razorbacks from an offer list that included SMU, Missouri, Illinois, Marquette, California, Colorado, Iowa, Oklahoma, Xavier, Wisconsin and Nebraska, among others.
While Whitt has to sit out the 2016-17 season, according to NCAA transfer rules, he will have three years of eligibility left starting in 2017-18. He’s the tenth scholarship player on SMU’s roster for 2016-17.
SMU still has two 2016 commitments, four-star forwards Bruno Fernando and Ted Kapita, who have yet to sign their letters of intent.
