The Long Beach State men’s basketball team, which is currently getting the majority of its contributions from transfers, will add yet another star transfer in former UCLA guard Tyler Lamb next season.
Lamb, a former four-star recruit out of Santa Ana Mater Dei High School, annouced via Twitter today that he would play at The Beach instead of San Diego State. The junior could become eligible as soon as December of 2013.
“I want to thank Long Beach St. and SDSU for riding this whole process out with me,” Lamb tweeted. “With that being said, I will be a Long Beach St. 49er.”
Lamb made the decision to transfer from UCLA in November after he got buried on the depth chart behind freshmen Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson. He only played in one game this season (a four-point performance in the season opener against Indiana State) before undergoing knee surgery in October.
As a sophomore, Lamb averaged nine points per game and played just over 30 minutes per game as a starter for the Bruins. He will join a presumed 2013-14 starting lineup full of transfers, as Keala King, Dan Jennings and Tony Freeland all have one year of eligibilty left.
The only question remaining is how many years of eligibility Lamb will have once he joins the 49ers. Since he only played in one game this season, he could get a year of eligibility back if the NCAA allows it. If not, Lamb will have one and a half seasons to play at The Beach.
Lamb will be reunited with King, his former teammate at Mater Dei. The pair led the Monarchs to a section title and a top-10 national ranking in 2009-2010.