Former Michigan basketball guard Laval Lucas-Perry transfers to Oakland
Laval Lucas-Perry has been in this situation before, going to a new school, new basketball program and new coaching staff.
The first time the Flint native transferred, it was his decision to go from Arizona to Michigan.
Now, he’s moved a second time. After Michigan coach John Beilein dismissed Lucas-Perry in June for violating team standards, the guard needed a new home. He has one at Oakland University.
I chose Oakland, first of all, because of Coach (Greg) Kampe,” Lucas-Perry said by phone Sunday night. “He’s a great coach, a great teacher and the program is on the rise.
“They just made the NCAA tournament, and I know a lot of guys on the team and they talk about (how) they have the utmost respect for coach Kampe and how he’s such a great teacher and gets the best out of his players.”
Lucas-Perry chose Oakland over other schools he declined to name. The guard averaged 5.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in his two years in Ann Arbor.
Had he been able to stay in Ann Arbor, he would have had two years of eligibility remaining but will likely have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules. At that point, he would have one year remaining.
“It was a decision coach Beilein made,” Lucas-Perry said. “It was up to him, and I'll move on. It was a little unfair but I just took it and I just did the best thing for me.”
Lucas-Perry declined to say what he felt was unfair about Beilein’s decision.
“I think you should probably ask Coach Beilein. He would probably give you the best answer,” Lucas-Perry said. “He’s the one who made the decision, and I think he’d have the answer to that.”
In his statement released when Lucas-Perry was kicked off the team, Beilein said the standards he had for his program were laid out to Lucas-Perry “on numerous occasions” and that he violated team standards.
When asked about Lucas-Perry earlier this month, Beilein declined to comment.
“I’m just being given an opportunity to play,” Lucas-Perry said. “Michigan took basketball away from me, and I took it and I’m at Oakland, proud to be at Oakland, and it is just another opportunity I have to just to better myself and keep me moving forward and just to help myself be the best player academically and athletically that I can be.”
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein
Comments
Truthisfree
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 3:08 p.m.
Nobody knows the full story about why he was removed from the team. In the end, best not to speculate on what is not known. Sometimes there is just not a good fit between coach and player. Maybe that contributed to him not producing, maybe he just wasn't good enough. There have been plenty of UM basketball players in the past 10 years that UNDER produced compared to the expectations. LLP is not the only one.
saginaw
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 2:29 p.m.
I respect Tater for his college sports knowledge -- he has had some insight in his posts. However, Tater tearing down every other school is a bad thing. It makes it seem as though all Michigan fans are "poor sports" and willing to take cheap shots. Most of us have friends that went to: MSU, OSU, CMU and Oakland U. It is one thing to cheer on your team, but not to cut other people down.
Yelmonian
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 2:10 p.m.
Win, No Tater can't.
win
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 1:33 p.m.
@tater Don't rip the kid on his way out. And don't rip Oakland U. If I recall that "inferior" program has played in the NCAA tournament 3 of the last 5 years. And our beloved Michigan.... one. Things didn't work out and the kid has moved on. You can cheer for Michigan without putting other schools down can't you?
Jim Knight
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 9 a.m.
Good catch on the photo. We loaded the wrong asset from our archives.
rensational
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 8:47 a.m.
My best guess? There's no pic of LLP simply because he didn't do a damned thing at Michigan. No highlights, no pics. I would say getting rid of him is another blow for our basketball program, but, since he wasn't really contributing...well. We were going to be a bad team with him, and we'll be one without him. Maybe he'll become a rock star at Oakland the way Udoh did when he got from around Ann Arbor...
Truthisfree
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 8:29 a.m.
The picture is of Manny Harris. Not all black people look alike :-) How can one trust the source of "news" when something as simple as recognizing who is in a picture is wrong. If LLP is of such a low level of recognition that you can't find a picture of him, why even do the story?
arborlib
Sun, Aug 15, 2010 : 11:34 p.m.
Isn't that Manny Harris in the picture?