TAMPA, Fla. ? The University of South Florida men's basketball program has added one of the top guards from the SEC with the transfer of Mike Mercer from Georgia.
Mercer will become eligible at the conclusion of first semester finals next winter. He had not played in any games for the Bulldogs this season.
The 6-4 guard from Snellville, Ga., started all 23 games for the Bulldogs last season before suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss the final 10 games. He was the second leading scorer on the team at 13.6 points per game.
“He's a kid that is very talented, and my opinion, is a difference maker and an impact guy,” head coach Stan Heath said. “His versatility will help our basketball team in a lot of ways. His ability to play all over the court, (the) one, two or three. He's athletic, he can defend. We really expect this to be a win-win for Mike and a win-win for us. Sometimes a change of environment can be really helpful for a kid.”
He had appeared in 51 games for UGA in his two-year career, starting 27, and averaged 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds. Prior to his injury last year, he was leading Georgia in scoring and minutes played and was ranked 18th in the SEC in scoring, 14th in assists (3.6), 8th in steals (1.70) and 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.43). Was named SEC Player of the Week once and came within two rebounds against Jacksonville of becoming first UGA player in history to achieve a triple-double. He scored a career-high 26 points vs. South Carolina State. As a freshman, he averaged 11.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and was named to the Coaches' SEC All-Freshman team. He was ranked th in the SEC in steals as a freshman.
As a high school senior in 2005, he was rated the No. 5 point guard in the country by Rivals.com and No. 22 overall. He was rated No. 44 overall by Scout.com. He averaged 19.8 points, 8.1 assists and 6.0 rebounds as a senior, helping South Gwinnett to a 28-3 record and the quarterfinals of the Georgia Class 5A state tournament in 2005. The Comets held a top-10 national ranking throughout most of the season. As a junior, he averaged 18.1 points, when South Gwinnett went 31-2 and won the AAAAA championship. He was a backcourt teammate, both at SGHS and for the AAU's Georgia Stars, with current Philadelphia 76er Louis Williams.
