Negedu Transferring to New Mexico
For the three years that Emmanuel Negedu played in New England he was a man among boys. Having arrived at Brewster Academy by way of his native Nigeria, Negedu established himself as one of the premier big men and top overall rebounders in the entire country.
He originally committed to Arizona head coach Lute Olson, but opted to re-open his recruitment when Olson's health issues created uncertainty about his future.
Negedu eventually committed to Tennessee and averaged 7 minutes of playing time in a crowded frontcourt during his freshman year but nevertheless had an undeniably bright future in the SEC.
Negedu's career at Tennessee came to a sudden halt this fall when he suffered cardiac arrest following a team weight lifting session on September 28th. When he had an internal cardiac defibrillator inserted into his chest on October 6th, his playing career was declared over.
Following the season, Negedu reportedly began to investigate the possibility of returning to the basketball court. On April 13th, Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton issued a statement that they would not clear Negedu to play after consulting with medical experts and reviewing medical studies but that they would support him should he want to "pursue a playing career at another school."
Now it appears that Negedu will do just that. As was first reported by SNY's Adam Zagoria, Negedu will play for head coach Steve Alford at the University of New Mexico. Alford previously recruited Negedu out of high school when he was the head coach at the University of Iowa.
Emmanuel Negedu