Cal-Riverside Gaines a new weapon

We reported earlier this year that former Penn basketball player Harrison Gaines decided to transfer to a new school. He later cited his relationship with coach Glen Miller as his specific reason for transferring.

Now we know where Gaines will finish his college basketball career. Jim Wooldridge, the head basketball coach at the University of California-Riverside, confirmed today that Gaines has chosen Cal-Riverside as his new school. Wooldridge would not comment on the process of Gaines' transfer or his feelings on Gaines as a player, but indicated that the school's close proximity to Gaines' hometown of Victorville, Calif., was a major factor in his decision.

His decision comes as a bit of a surprise considering Gaines' initial indication that he wanted to choose a school with strong academics. Cal-Riverside ranked No. 89 on the 2009 US News and World Report college rankings. So it seems that basketball was more important than academics for Gaines. The Highlanders' hoopsters finished with a 17-13 record in 2009 playing in the Big West conference. Their top distributors were guards Javon Borum and Sean Cunningham, who averaged 2.7 and 2.4 assists per game, respectively. Both were juniors and will graduate before Gaines is eligible to play, so his desire to be a lead guard seems likely to come to fruition.

I have sought an interview with Gaines himself and will post his comments as soon as I can.