SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State University men’s basketball coach Dana Ford announced Wednesday a pair of roster updates for the upcoming season.
Ford, who was announced as the Bears’ 18th head basketball coach on March 22, will redshirt forward Abdul Fofana in 2018-19, while guard Mustafa Lawrence has announced his intentions to transfer.
Fofana, a junior from Burkina Faso, suffered a season-ending foot injury during cryotherapy treatment on Jan. 22 and missed the last 12 games of the 2017-18 campaign.
He had a dunk in the Bears’ Dec. 19 win over Wright State and posted season bests four points, four rebounds and two steals in a 12-minute assignment vs. Evangel on Nov. 24. He played 13 games in all in 2017-18 and compiled 11 points, 16 rebounds and four steals.
“For Abdul, getting him back to 100 percent physically is our top goal for this season,” said Ford.
Lawrence, a sophomore from Newark, N.J., started the last nine games of his freshman season and played in 22 games overall in 2017-18.
He averaged 4.7 points on the year with 24 3-pointers, including a made three in the last eight games of the regular season. His best game as a Bear came in his first career start at Loyola on Feb. 3, where he scored team-high 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and five threes.
“We wish Mustafa the best, and we are grateful for his contributions on the court during his time at Missouri State,” said Ford.
With the NCAA’s new first-year exemption rule, Fofana’s upcoming redshirt year will permit the Bears to utilize his scholarship on another player in 2018-19. Today’s roster announcement makes room for two additional MSU scholarship players to join the club for the upcoming season, in addition to the one scholarship the team still has available.
