Braxton Dupree, a 6-foot-8-inch center from Calvert Hall High School, will leave the University of Maryland and transfer to Towson. Dupree, who averaged 21 points, 13.1 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game as a senior for Calvert Hall, will sit out the next season as part of the redshirting process but will add a much needed wide body underneath for the Tigers. Dupree will likely see more playing time at Towson, as he averaged just 10 minutes per game in College park, scoring 2.1 points and grabbing 2.4 rebounds. He will have two years of eligibility remaining at Towson.
Towson often got dominated underneath in the paint last season, but the addition of Dupree, who is 260 pounds, and incoming freshman Erique Gumbs, who is 230, gives Towson two intimidators in the low post and protection for guards Troy Franklin and Brian Morris to run the offense. Towson has not had two post presences of this magnitude in years, and Dupree’s arrival to head coach Pat Kennedy’s team shows that even though the Tigers have struggled since Kennedy arrived, the team is still able to bring in recruits and transfers that could ultimately change the culture of a program that is fortunate to have tremendous local talent in the Baltimore area.
“He [Dupree] was very highly recruited coming out of high school and had very high rankings,” Kennedy said. “He’s a legitimate Big East or ACC level player. I think for the two years he’ll have a major impact. We’re very, very excited.”
The move came a day before it was also announced that Will Adams, a recruit for the upcoming season in what is largely considered Kennedy’s best class at Towson that features Gumbs and Isaiah Philmore, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Adams, a guard from Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia, is not expected to play this season. Hodgkin’s disease is curable and doctors are optimistic that Adams will recover.
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