Jerrod Mustaf, the leading scorer on last season's University of Maryland basketball team, said Friday that he will begin to look at other schools as possibilities for transfer. Among those he is considering are Georgetown and Georgia Tech.
"I want to go somewhere where my family can watch me play and to a team that's going to play in the NCAA tournament," said Mustaf, who did not rule out the possibility of staying at Maryland.Mustaf, a sophomore from Greenbelt, Md., who has relatives in Atlanta, said he also is considering Virginia, but he wants to see who becomes the Cavaliers' new coach.
Mustaf said he has received assurance from Athletic Director Lew Perkins that he would be released from his scholarship agreement if he wants to transfer.
Guard Teyon McCoy received his release Thursday and confirmed Friday that he would transfer to the University of Texas, as reported Friday in The Washington Post. McCoy became the first player to obtain his release since the National Collegiate Athletic Association last month placed the Terrapins on three years' probation, including a two-year ban from postseason competition and a one-year ban from live television appearances.
Under NCAA rules, a player whose eligibility expires before his school's NCAA sanctions do is permitted to transfer and play immediately, rather than sit out the one season required of normal transfers.
In another development, The Post reported that there would be a freeze on scholarships for all varsity sports because of financial problems in the athletic department, with an estimated deficit of nearly $4 million during the next two years.
University sources said Friday that the freeze would apply only to non-revenue sports. Through a university spokesman, Perkins said:
"Right now, we're trying to evaluate our financial situation. Rather than make commitments to people that we could not fulfill, we felt this action was necessary."
Basketball Coach Gary Williams said he would be allowed to fill any scholarships that open as a result of transfers.