Pitt Leans on Charleston Connection in Recruiting Transfer Guard Zep Jasper

One of the many offseason needs for Jeff Capel’s team is to add an experienced point guard to their roster to go along with freshman guard Femi Odukale.

Pittsburgh Sports Now has reported on Pitt’s interest in Florida International transfer point guard Antonio Daye and have learned of another talented veteran guard that’s on their radar.

College of Charleston junior point guard Zep Jasper informed PSN Saturday afternoon that he received a call from Milan Brown and Pitt. To say that these two have some familiarity with each other would be an understatement, because Brown helped recruit Jasper to College of Charleston, when he was an assistant there prior to joining Pitt.

“He actually coached me at the College of Charleston three years ago,” Jasper told PSN. “He told me today that Pitt is in need of a point guard and that Pitt would be a great place for me. He said that I would love it there with him as an assistant coach, that it would be a great fit for my talents and that he would take care of me. I like Pitt, I like Coach Capel and hopefully they might be an option for me going forward.”

“Coach Brown was a great coach and a great coach to be around. He’s one of those coaches that always works to get you better. You gotta just love Coach Brown and what he brings to the table.”

Jasper announced on March 11 that he was entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. The native of Augusta, Georgia will have two seasons of athletic eligibility remaining.

Courtesy of Zep Jasper

The 6-foot-1 point guard was the leading scorer for College of Charleston this season with 15.6 points per game, while also shooting 34.5% from 3-point range. Like Daye, Jasper also brings it on the defensive side too as he was named to the CAA’s All-Defensive Team. Jasper led College of Charleston in scoring and steals while placing second on the team in rebounding (3.7) and assists (2.6).

HIGHLIGHTS from this week's #CAAHoops Player of the Week. Check out @CofCBasketball's Zep Japser in their weekend sweep of Towson. pic.twitter.com/uqWANzQhYl

— CAA Basketball (@CAABasketball) February 8, 2021

2020-21 was a breakout offensive season for Jasper. Prior to this season’s 15 points per game, Jasper averaged 7.6 in 2019-20 and 5.4 points per game as a freshman.

Jasper is a big talent at point guard that’s also heard from Auburn, Arkansas, Seton Hall, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Loyola Chicago, Tulsa, Murray State and Florida International.

“My next tournament, I’m looking to be a leader and for a place that I can make the NCAA Tournament,” said Jasper. “I want to be in a role that I can step up for my new team because I’m going to be a veteran. I’m just very excited about what’s going on now and all the coaches that are showing interest and recruiting me. I just want to win, that’s my main focus.”

Despite just entering the transfer portal, Jasper told PSN that he doesn’t plan on taking very long to make a decision.

“Right now, I’m leaning towards making my decision on March 31. I’m going to soon come up with a top eight schools, so the next couple of weeks are going to be crucial for me to develop relationships with these coaches that are recruiting me. I’ll narrow that list down in probably a week and a half and figure out where I’m going to go.”

Jasper mentioned that he wants to try and develop a relationship over the next few couple of weeks with his next school. I asked if it might help Pitt out that he already has a relationship with Brown.

“It helps Pitt a lot,” said Jasper. “Like I said, when I got the call from Coach Brown, I was pretty excited because Coach Brown is like family. I still remained in contact with Coach Brown even though he was still at Pitt. We have a great relationship.”