AP Photo/Jeff Dean
Wagner’s Melvin Council Jr. gestures during the first half of the team’s First Four college basketball game against Howard in the men’s NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio.
Former St. Bonaventure guard Melvin Council Jr. has signed with Kansas, KU announced on Wednesday night.
Council averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 36.9 minutes per game during his lone year with the Bonnies.
A strong finisher at the rim and an athletic, durable defender, he becomes the Jayhawks’ third addition in the transfer portal following guard Jayden Dawson (Loyola-Chicago) and wing Tre White (Illinois).
“He’s a 6-4, long, rangy guard that can play with the ball and without the ball,” KU coach Bill Self said in a press rellease. “Melvin will remind our fans physically and athletically of Tyshawn Taylor. He’s a superior athlete who can score the ball and has the potential to be one of the more elite defenders that we’ve had in recent memory … We could not be more excited to have him in the fold.”
The trio joins freshmen Samis Calderon, Darryn Peterson and Bryson Tiller and returnees Flory Bidunga, Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell and Noah Shelby (a walk-on last season) as KU’s roster continues to take shape.
Council is originally from Rochester, New York, and began his collegiate career at Monroe College, where he spent two seasons and became the program’s all-time leading scorer before moving on to Wagner. Because he started at a junior college, he has a fifth and final year of eligibility as a result of the NCAA’s waiver issued in December for former JUCO athletes who would otherwise have exhausted their eligibility following the 2024-25 campaign.
During his time at Wagner, Council helped lead the Seahawks to the NCAA Tournament and a First Four victory over Howard. He later moved up to the Atlantic 10 Conference and St. Bonaventure and played in the NIT before entering the transfer portal at the start of April.
Council visited KU on Monday after also traveling to Mississippi State, per a post on X he made after concluding the visits. He considered those two schools along with Georgia and Georgia Tech before settling on the Jayhawks.
With 10 players now in the fold, KU has four spots remaining. It would have 15 available under the terms of the House v. NCAA settlement if not for its last punishment from the Independent Accountability Resolution Process, which limits it to 14. It will only have three spots left, however, if it has to devote one to two-sport athlete Jaden Nickens.
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St. Bonaventure transfer guard Council signs with KU
Written By Henry Greenstein
