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According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, Rutgers transfer Craig Brown will be suiting up for the Kent State Golden Flashes next season and will be able to play right away.
Rutgers transfer Craig Brown headed to Kent State. Can play next season. Good pickup for Rob Senderoff.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 12, 2014
Brown, a 6'5" 220 pound small forward from Miami, averaged a little over three and a half points for the Scarlet Knights last season. His most impressive performance came against then #14 Louisville, where he scored seventeen points on 5-8 shooting from the field. He really struggled from the floor last year shooting just 28% and only hit 26% of his three-point attempts. Brown came to Rutgers after spending his first two years at Broward College, a Junior College in Florida.
This makes seven newcomers for the Golden Flashes this offseason, including two freshmen and two junior college transfers. Jimmy Hall transferred from Hofstra at the beginning of last season and Xavier Pollard came to Kent from Maine earlier this Spring. Pollard will have to sit out this season, though.
While the Flashes could have used someone with more height to bolster their front line, the addition of Brown helps the depth at the small forward and shooting guard positions. Although he won't overtake Kris Brewer's starting job, he'll be the first or second off of the bench. He will likely be asked to be the senior leader of a bench that has only one junior and the rest sophomores and freshmen.
Rob Senderoff doesn't need Brown to score ten points per game, he just needs a quality backup that he feels comfortable with on the floor. Brewer, Derek Jackson and Dev Manley should man the guard spots in some order, and if Brown can supplement any one of them with consistency his role will be important.
The Flashes are a bit of an interesting team going into next season and they'll be really tough to figure out. Losing Mark Henniger and Darren Goodson in the front court hurt and there really isn't much there to replace them. The backcourt will be the strength of this team and will be asked to carry them as they try to get back on track after a frustrating season last year.