Rebels’ Morant transferring to be closer to his family

By Taylor Bern

Monday, May 12, 2014 | 11:25 p.m.

Demetris Morant is transferring from UNLV to be closer to family in Florida, a source confirmed to the Sun on Monday night.

After redshirting his first year, Morant appeared in only 13 games during the 2013-14 season. He averaged 0.6 points and 0.5 rebounds per game. At Bishop Gorman High, Morant won state championships in basketball and high jump.

Morant’s role was going to increase this season because of a shallow front court. With Khem Birch leaving early, there were some minutes to be had behind Christian Wood, Goodluck Okonoboh and Dwayne Morgan.

Morant is the third Rebel from last season to transfer to another program and the sixth to exit UNLV with eligibility remaining.

One of those, Birch, will appear at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago this week. Roscoe Smith is also trying to make it as a pro player while the others will play this season at Iowa State (Bryce Dejean-Jones), Arizona State (Savon Goodman) and BYU (Jamal Aytes).

Overall, Morant is the seventh Rebel to transfer out under coach Dave Rice in the past three offseasons. He’ll likely soon have company, too.

UNLV has already been recruiting as if at least one Rebel was going to leave. Rutgers transfer guard Jerome Seagears is currently on campus for an official visit, and class of 2014 guard Jordan Cornish is coming for an official visit this weekend.

Morant’s news coincides with finals week at UNLV. As others finish up their semester, there may be more news, and one possibility is junior guard Deville Smith.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.