MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Chase Connor, the former two-time scoring leader in the state’s high school ranks who played sparingly during two walk-on seasons at West Virginia, plans to transfer.
A source within the program said Connor would have been welcomed back but the guard didn’t see a likelihood of earning more playing time next season. West Virginia returns 10 of its top 12 players and recently restocked at shooting guard by signing Teyvon Myers, the nation’s top junior college scorer.
Connor played in 23 games this past season for the Mountaineers and averaged 2.1 points in 5.3 minutes. He made only 12 appearances as a freshman and averaged 1.0 point in 4.3 minutes.
The 6-foot-1 Connor averaged 27 points per game as a senior at Shady Spring High School and was recruited by 12 mid-major Division I programs. He passed on those offers once West Virginia extended a chance to become a preferred walk-on.
Two years later, Connor’s jump-shooting could once again be courted by several mid-majors. Of his 58 career field-goal attempts at West Virginia, 55 came from beyond the 3-point line. He shot 36 percent overall and twice scored a career-high nine points—against TCU on March 1, 2014, and at Iowa State last February.
It was after that 79-59 loss in Ames that Connor explained his clearly defined role off the bench: “Coach (Larry) Harrison tells me, ‘When in doubt shoot it, and stay in doubt.'”
A one-time Radford commitment, Connor came out of high school in 2013 holding offers from Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Winthrop, Coastal Carolina, New Hampshire, Evansville and Stetson.