TAMPA — While the USF men's basketball team isn't expected to overhaul its roster a second straight year, more noticeable turnover is expected this spring.
Case in point: Rising senior point guard Anthony Collins and rising redshirt sophomore power forward Dre Clayton, both Stan Heath recruits, are transferring. ESPN first reported the departures Monday evening.
Their destinations are unclear. Clayton is from Orlando, Collins from Houston. The lone holdover from the Bulls' 2012 NCAA Tournament team, Collins can play immediately at another Division I school if he graduates in the next couple of months as expected. Clayton probably must sit out a season unless he transfers to a smaller school.
Collins played all 32 games this past season after a series of knee problems limited him to eight (and a medical hardship waiver) in 2013-14. He averaged a team-best 5.2 assists and 33.9 minutes but was expected to be pushed next season by Maryland transfer Roddy Peters, believed to be a better fit for coach Orlando Antigua's high-tempo philosophy.
Clayton totaled 26 points in 28 games, averaging 7.7 minutes.
HOWLAND to Miss. state: Mississippi State hired former UCLA coach Ben Howland and will introduce him in a news conference on campus today. Howland, 57, coached at UCLA for 10 years, leading the program to Final Fours in 2006-08, where the Bruins lost twice to Florida and then to Memphis.
STAR TRAVELS WITH TERPS: Maryland point guard Melo Trimble flew back to College Park with the rest of his team, a spokesman said. The star freshman left Sunday's 69-59 loss to West Virginia with what the team termed a "head injury."
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO: Indiana assistant Steve McClain was named head coach, replacing the fired Howard Moore. McClain, 52, has 33 years of college coaching experience, the past five on Tom Crean's staff.
Information from Times wires was used in this report.