Pepper appears to be Temple-bound
Temple college sports - basketball, football and more - covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey.
Pepper appears to be Temple-bound
Keith Pompey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Dalton Pepper, a former Pennsbury High School standout, is transferring from West Virginia. The sophomore guard is expected to end up at Temple. @Pennsburyhoops even tweeted late Monday night "Dalton Pepper is definitely transferring from WVU to Temple."
In text messages to the Courier Times and CSNPhilly.com, Pepper stated he's transferring to be closer to his father Jack, who is ill.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder averaged just 3.9 points and 12.4 minutes of action last season for the Mountaineers. Pepper, however, finished with 10 points against Clemson in the NCAA tournament. Pepper was expected to receive considerable playing time next season at West Virginia.
However, his decision to leave doesn’t come as a surprise. There have been rumors about his desire to transfer since the end of his freshman season.
According to NCAA rules, Pepper will have to sit out next season before having two seasons of eligibility with the Owls. He will, however, be allowed to practice with Temple next season.
While a senior at Pennsbury, he was the Associated Press’ Pennsylvania Class AAAA boys’ basketball player of the year and a first-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania selection by The Inquirer.
A four-year starter as a Falcon, he averaged 24.4 points during his senior season. He finished his high school career with 2,207 career points and grabbed nearly 1,000 rebounds while leading Pennsbury to a 104-20 record during tenure.
Pepper and Temple sophomore guard Khalif Wyatt had thrilling battles in high school when Wyatt played at Norristown.
Perhaps, celebrating the news that his friend would join him at Temple, Wyatt tweeted "DALTON PEPPER DALTON PEPPER DALTON PEPPER DALTON PEPPER DALTON PEPPER DALTON PEPPER DALTON PEPPER DALTON PEPPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lol" shortly after 12 a.m. Tuesday.
- Keith Pompey
Good move— shawnmac- I thought he deserved more playing timie last year. Great news for Temple. He is a smart player, a definite assett. Good for Temple.— GA in Blue Bell
- Good news because 2012-2013 will be a "new" team with 3 stars graduating after this coming season.— Clifton
- He was erratic at best for Huggie... He couldn't get PT on last year's relatively weak WVU squad (Mitchell's suspensions, Jennings's quitting, etc.); contrary this article's implication, unless he shot TONS better, there's no guarantee he'd get much more playing time in Mo-town this year. Best wishes for his dad's recovery though. Let's go Mountaineers!
- Can't he apply for a hardship exception so he doesn't have to sit out a year? He's transferring to be closer to his ill father and the NCAA grants exceptions for those cases, no?— rosamsonro
- He was a non-factor in the Big East the last few years, maybe a year of practice and softer A-10 competition will allow him to stand out and develop his game a bit more. I wish the kid luck at Temple.— ChristianC
- His development has been stymied by the relentless screaming and bullying exhibited towards him by Huggins whose sideline behavior is inexcusable. Some young kids respond to public humiliation and embarrasment but others don't. I can't speak to the reports that Huggins is a nice guy off the court but, on the court, he acts like a buffoon. And it's completely unnecessary. There are plenty of very successful coaches who don't publically abuse their players.— r white
- Welcome to Temple Dr. Pepper! Can't wait to see you operate.— damnels
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh graduate. Follow him on Twitter @pompeysgridlock. Reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
