Forward Jake O'Brien, who has a year of eligibility remaining, will transfer from Boston University, as reported by CBS Sports Jeff Goodman on Thursday. O'Brien has missed the last 1 1/2 seasons with a broken foot. He initially broke his foot in December 2010 and had season-ending surgery in February, missing the Terriers NCAA tournament run first round exit. The foot didn't heal properly, requiring a second surgery that sidelined O'Brien for all of last season.
O'Brien has received a medical redshirt and will be eligible to play immediately as a graduate student.
The 6-foot-9, 220-pounder will reportedly visit BC, Temple and Providence this week. O'Brien reportedly wants to play for a program that has a chance to appear in the NCAA Tournament. That means UConn is out. But so is Boston University, which is barred from participating in the America East Tournament after announcing the school's move to the Patriot League.
As a freshman, O'Brien averaged 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds en route to being named America East Rookie of the Year. He averaged 13.8 and 6.4 during his sophomore campaign and 11.6 and 5.8 in 14 games as a junior. O'Brien played high school ball at BC High.
Early indications are that Providence, Temple and Virginia are the leading candidates for acquiring O'Brien's services, but Boston College is still in the mix. O'Brien is also considering N.C. State, Ohio State and Purdue. BC's chances at making the NCAAs next season probably aren't as good as any of those three programs, but maybe Donahue is able to leverage his relationship with former staffer Joe Jones to land O'Brien.