Following a disappointing season in which the Robert Morris Colonials went 4-15, Andy Toole realized his program needed an influx of both talent and leadership as they attempt to establish themselves in their new home, the Horizon League.
With that in mind, Toole has done an impressive job of adding talent via the transfer portal from some big-name mid-major programs and most recently, major conferences.
Over the the last few months, the Colonials have added 6-foot-11 forward Brandon Stone from LaSalle, 6-foot-8 forward Justin Winston from Saint Bonaventure, St. John’s point guard Rasheem Dunn and 6-foot-8 forward Mattia Acunzo from Toledo.
The latest addition came earlier this week with the news that former Oklahoma State guard Ferron Flavors Jr. will transfer to Robert Morris.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard was a graduate transfer for the Cowboys this season, after spending his college career at three different schools. After attending South Mountain Community College, Fairfield, and California Baptist, he averaged 3.4 points and 0.8 rebounds per game in his lone season at Oklahoma State.
Flavors has one more season to play college basketball and was attracted to Robert Morris in large part to the relationship he’s been able to form with Toole.
“I entered the portal the day after our season ended and Coach Toole called me the next day,” Flavors told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “From that day forward, the relationship that we’ve been able to build over the last couple of weeks has been great. It’s honestly been some of the best conversations that I’ve ever had with college coaches. I’ve been able to tell what a genuine person he is and also how much he cares. I’ve talked to a couple players on the team and a couple of other players that used to play there for him and every has had nothing but positive things to say about Coach Toole. I feel that with the team that he’s assembling now with some of the transfers, we’re expecting to make a big addition from day one.”
The additions of Stone, Winston, Acunzo and Dunn were something that Flavors was aware of and impressed with. He made it to the NCAA Tournament this season with Oklahoma State and wants to return next season with his new team.
“I told Coach early one that wherever I go, I plan on going back to the tournament this coming season, except I plan on having a big impact on the team this time. Here, I definitely feel that Coach has put us in position to be able to compete for that opportunity. Looking over some past games of Robert Morris, I definitely feel that I can come in and make an immediate impact, especially with the style they play and the way Coach Toole coaches. To me, this is just a perfect fit.”
“Coach wants me to not only come in and score the ball but also lead,” said Flavors. “With my experience, they believe that I can be a major extension from the coaching staff to the young players. I can shoot the ball and I believe that when I’m put in a position to produce, that’s exactly what I’ll do. That’s exactly what he plans on doing along with showcasing some other parts of my game that I really haven’t had a chance to showcase consistently in different places I’ve been.”
Robert Morris isn’t finished adding to its 2021-22 roster as they’ll still likely add a couple more players. Look for them to try and still bring in a wing player and another guard.
