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Former DePaul forward Donnavan Kirk to visit Colorado State

Donnavan Kirk, Leon Tolksdorf

DePaul forward Donnavan Kirk, right, gets a rebound against Connecticut forward Leon Tolksdorf during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Rosemont, Ill., on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

AP

Just days after it was announced by DePaul that senior forward Donnavan Kirk would be allowed to pursue transfer options, it was reported by The Coloradoan that Kirk will visit Colorado State next week.

Kirk averaged just 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest last season, but Colorado State is a program in need of some front court depth given how much production (and experience) they lost from last season’s NCAA tournament team.

While much of the NBA-related focus will be on center Colton Iverson, who averaged 14.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest in his lone season in Fort Collins, he isn’t the only player head coach Larry Eustachy needs to replace.

Also gone are Pierce Hornung (8.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and Greg Smith (11.2, 5.1), two tough competitors who played a key role in the turnaround of the Rams’ program that began with current Nebraska head coach Tim Miles.

With those three key cogs out of eligibility CSU is down to senior Gerson Santo and incoming junior college transfer Marcus Holt inside. Santo played in 32 games last season but wasn’t asked to have much of an impact given Colorado State’s experience in the paint, playing just over seven minutes per game.

Adding Kirk to the rotation would give Colorado State an athletic player with Division I experience, something they clearly need given the lack of depth. But according to the report, Colorado State may have an interesting competitor for Kirk’s services.

That competitor: Miami.

Kirk began his collegiate career as a Hurricane, playing just 17 games in two seasons in Coral Gables. Following a lack of playing time and a coaching change, Kirk made the decision to transfer to DePaul.

But Miami lost as much (if not more) production as Colorado State from last season’s team, with their top six scorers either out of eligibility (five seniors) or in the case of point guard Shane Larkin off to the NBA with eligibility remaining.

Tonye Jekiri and and Erik Swoope saw the most playing time of Miami’s interior returnees last season, so there’s clearly a need for more experience inside as the Hurricanes take on a much-improved ACC.

There’s no timetable as to when Kirk will make his decision, but in Colorado State and Miami he’s got two places that could really use his services in 2013-14.

Raphielle can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.