TCU’s basketball team received a very timely boost on Monday and it had little to do with a 65-54 victory over Air Force at Schollmaier Arena.
Mere hours before tipoff, the school learned that Jaedon LeDee’s eligibility waiver had been approved by the NCAA, meaning the active 6-foot-9 forward transfer from Ohio State would be eligible immediately.
With his addition, the Frogs have added a badly needed fortification to their frontcourt who can rebound, and, it is hoped, a good rotation at the forward and center spots will likely have emerged by the time the Big 12 tips off in January.
“He’s probably our best rebounder per minutes,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “He definitely does that. He can score in the post and around the basket. We’re just looking to get him in there.”
LeDee transferred after on season at Ohio State. As a freshman there, he averaged three points and 1.7 rebounds in 7 minutes per game.
He learned about the good news following chapel service. The topic of his application to the NCAA didn’t come up with the Big Man, he said. But he was giving thanks afterward.
“It was definitely a blessing,” LeDee said. “I’m just happy to be out there with my brothers. I was happy to be back on the court. I can bring energy and enthusiasm.”
The Houston native from The Kindaid School played eight minutes in his first action at TCU and collected four rebounds.
The thought of seeing LeDee and Kevin Samuel on the floor at the same time was an appealing one, and Dixon said we’ll see that. “We’ve been doing a lot of that in practice.”
Samuel’s good start to the season continued against the Falcons. The 6-11 center registered his third consecutive double-double to start the season, the first Frog to do such a thing since Kurt Thomas, who had seven straight, in 1994-95.
On a night when Desmond Bane, who entered averaging 26 points a game, showed he was human, TCU needed Samuel, who had a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Two gargantuan dunks off of alley-oop passes at the end of the first half sent TCU to halftime with its biggest lead, 14.
“Just to hear that is amazing. An amazing thing to be a part of,” Samuel said of his shared achievement with Thomas, who, after an injury-plagued stay at TCU, went on to play 18 seasons in the NBA.
“I just want to come out and play hard. Work on the offensive and defensive side. Anything I can do to help my team get a W at the end of the day.”
Air Force cut the TCU lead to one in the second half, but a Frogs 9-0 run created an arm’s length. TCU also forced 19 turnovers. On a night when the shots weren’t falling, defense carried the day.
“I like what we did defensively,” Dixon said. “You’re not going to shoot well every game. We just didn’t shoot it well.”
Against Louisiana, the Frogs hit a school-record 18 3-pointers. That won’t happen every game. Bane’s seeming constancy was slowed. He hit only 2-of-11 shots for seven points, but he had six rebounds.
“Those are things you can’t predict, you’ve got to play through them,” Dixon said.
LeDee’s sudden eligibility wasn’t predictable, either, but he now gives TCU a different dimension in the frontcourt, which can now center on a rotation of five guys, in no particular order: Samuel, LeDee, Jaire Grayer, Diante Smith and Russell Barlow.
“With those five guys in the four-five position we have nice balance and a lot of options,” Dixon said. “Some are new and young, but it’s an exciting group, hardworking … and getting better every day.”
