From Staff Reports

Former Byrd High School basketball standout Kyle Blankenship announced a decision Tuesday to transfer from Tulsa to LSU-Shreveport.

Blankenship, a 6-foot guard, has one year of eligibility remaining. He will be eligible immediately and play for his former high school coach, Chad McDowell. The Pilots were 27-9 last season and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament.

"It's been great up here and I have had so much fun. Right now though, I'm just excited about the opportunity to play for my high school coach and to play with a group of guys that I either played with or against in high school,'' Blankenship said.

"I got the chance to see LSUS play on two or three occasions this past year and all the guys were having so much fun playing together and they have had a tremendous amount of success in their first two years. I actually saw them put up 80 points in a half and I immediately thought how much fun that would be.''

Blankenship played in 38 games for the Golden Hurricane in his career, but received limited playing time this past season. He played in just 12 games and averaged 1.2 points per game as a junior.

"Kyle is a very good player who has the ability to lead a team,'' McDowell said. "He handles the ball extremely well and can flat out shoot the basketball.

"Having been a member of the Unviersity of Tulsa basketball team for the past four years, Kyle brings tremendous experience to our team. Kyle is a talented young man that will bring a lot to our program and he will be a big asset to our team as we strive to build on our last two years."