TAMPA -- For the third year in a row, USF is getting an impact midyear transfer from a major conference power.

Mike Mercer, a 6-foot-4 junior guard who was dismissed from Georgia's basketball team last week after coach Dennis Felton said he'd become a "disruption to the team," will transfer to USF next month, Foxsports.com reported Sunday night.

Mercer, a five-star recruit rated as the nation's No. 5 point guard by Rivals.com out of Snellville, Ga., three years ago, was Georgia's second-leading scorer last season, averaging 13.5 points per game. He missed the final 10 games of last season with a knee injury, and was serving a 15-game suspension this season, reportedly for a violation of Georgia's academic attendance policy for missing tutorial sessions last spring.

If Mercer enrolls in January, he would have to sit out this season and the first month of next season, with eligibility with the Bulls for the rest of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. He'd be in the same class as sophomore Chris Howard, who is in his second season as the Bulls' starting point guard.

USF's top two scorers, center Kentrell Gransberry and guard Jesus Verdejo, were midyear transfers two years ago from LSU and Arizona, respectively. Next month, the Bulls will get a boost from guard/forward Aaron Holmes, a midyear transfer from Florida State last season.