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Former Villanova guard Achraf Yacoubou to transfer to St. Louis

Achraf

cardiacchill.com

Late last evening, Ben Weixlmann broke the news that Villanova sophomore guard Achraf Yacoubou will be transferring to St. Louis University.

This is a solid pickup for Jim Crews, who was recently hired full-time as the St. Louis coach (Crews was the interim coach for the 2012-13 season after college basketball legend Rick Majerus passed away). Yacoubou developed into a legitimate threat from the perimeter during his sophomore season connecting on 39.6% of his three point attempts (21-53)—13 percentage points better than his freshman season.

As a sophomore, Yacoubou averaged 2.9 points per game in 12.0 minutes of action, but saw his floor time evaporate in the latter half of the Big East schedule through the rest of the season. Yacoubou averaged just a shade above 14 minutes in Villanova’s first 25 games of the season, but saw a total of just 19 minutes in their final nine contests.

When he announced his decision to transfer in early April, his initial list of schools, according to Adam Zagoria, were Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), and UNLV. A month later, Yacoubou narrowed the list down to Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, and St. Louis.

The guard from the Bronx, NY certainly doesn’t lack any confidence:

I averaged the highest 3-point percentage and field goal efficiency and was the best defensive player on the team and I also played well against Louisville and Syracuse and when I played 25 minutes I led the team in points and rebounds. But after the last Syracuse game I ended up averaging 12 minutes and I wanted to play more but I wasn’t.

With his minutes waning significantly as the season progressed, it is easy to see why Yacoubou wishes to take his remaining two years at another school.

Per NCAA transfer rules, Yacoubou will be required to sit out for the 2013-14 season, and will become eligible for 2014-15.

You can find Kevin on twitter @KLDoyle11