MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia forward Keaton Miles announced that he will transfer Tuesday, becoming the fourth underclassmen to leave the program since the Mountaineers closed a 13-19 season in March.
The 6-foot-7 Miles, who averaged 13.1 minutes and 1.4 points per game as a freshman, figured to have an increased role as a sophomore last season. His scoring increased marginally to 2.6 points and his field-goal percentage climbed from 31 to 41 percent, but his minutes dropped to 11.5 per game.
He did not appear at all in three of WVU’s final nine games and subsequently underwent postseason wrist surgery, an injury he claimed he suffered midseason but attempted to endure.
With WVU bringing in five forwards this summer, Miles received notification that his playing time was unlikely to increase. Presumably, he will find a home at another Division I program, where after sitting out next season, he’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.
WVU’s roster has undergone a drastic makeover since its disappointing season ended with a loss to Texas Tech on the first night of the Big 12 tournament. Three players previously announced their intentions to transfer: guards Jabarie Hinds (who landed at UMass) and Aaron Brown (Saint Joseph’s) and forward Voldymyr Gerun (Portland).
A wiry three-star recruit out of Dallas-Lincoln, Miles looked he might be a steal upon signing with West Virginia — over the likes of Oklahoma State, Baylor, Arkansas and Texas A&M — in 2011. But instead he becomes the fifth player from that seven-member recruiting class to exit WVU prematurely. (Juco signee Dominque Rutledge recently graduated and point guard Gary Browne is left to carry the banner.)
Miles’ departure almost certainly creates a vacancy that Bob Huggins will fill with a guard. WVU reportedly has interest in Baltimore-Dunbar point guard Daxter Miles and Believe (S.C.) Prep Academy’s Shadell Millinghaus.
Daxter Miles is the more heralded of the two, courting offers from Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Miami, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.