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PROVO — BYU men’s basketball coach Dave Rose wasn’t expecting to add many transfers this offseason, he told local media at a roundtable discussion a month ago.
But one was too hard to pass up.
Houston graduate transfer L.J. Rose has committed to BYU, where he will be immediately eligible. The news, which was first reported by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, is a welcome addition to a program that lost all but six guards/wings since the end of the 2015-16 season.
Houston transfer L.J. Rose has committed to BYU, source told @CBSSports. Immediately eligible for next season. — Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 16, 2016
Rose committed to coach Rose on Tuesday night, according to KSL's Greg Wrubell.
BYU hosted the 6-foot-3, 200-pound graduate transfer last May, and he liked the school enough to lend a commitment to take advantage of the NCAA's graduate transfer policy.
Rose missed much of the 2015-16 season with a foot injury, but drained a 3-pointer from the left wing on his first attempt of the season in limited action.
But as a junior, Rose became the 17th player in Houston history to register multiple seasons with at least 100 assists, dishing out 101 dimes in 19 games in 2014-15. He was named to the Las Vegas Class all-tournament team that season, and was an American Athletic Conference honor roll nominee in February 2013.
The ninth-rated recruit by ESPN following one season at Westbury Christian School, Rose originally signed with Baylor and played in 33 games, totaling a career-high 14 points, 12 assists and two rebounds with the Bears before transferring to Houston after one season.
He’s also the son of Lynden Rose, Sr., who played with BYU coach Dave Rose on the Phi Slama Jama squads at Houston from 1980-82 and was a sixth-round NBA draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982.
L.J. Rose is also the cousin of former BYU guard Archie Rose, who averaged 1.3 points and 0.3 assists per game in two seasons for the Cougars after transferring from Lee College.
Watch highlights from Rose's senior year in the video below.
After completing his four-year career in Houston and graduating this spring, L.J. Rose will have one season of immediate eligibility at BYU.
After former BYU wing Jordan Chatman announced he was transferring following his acceptance to law school a week ago, the Cougars were left thin on the guard line with as few as four players eligible for next season in Nick Emery, T.J. Haws, Elijah Bryant and true freshman Steven Beo (with walk-ons Davin Guinn and Zach Frampton also able to fill in on the guard line for added depth).
Chatman's transfer followed similar events by former BYU guard Jake Toolson, who has moved to Utah Valley and former coach Mark Pope. The Cougars also lost starting guards Kyle Collinsworth and Chase Fischer to graduation.
