MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — New West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge and his coaching staff have been very quiet recently, but that is about to end soon. Hodge has been hard at work, pursuing top players in the transfer portal.
One such player is Rakease Passmore, a former four star recruit from Palatka, Florida. Passmore recently entered the transfer portal after his freshman season where he played only sparingly for the Kansas Jayhawks. Passmore played in 23 games as a freshman, averaging 0.7 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 5 minutes per game for the Jayhawks.
Passmore is a strong, athletic 6’5 guard and was ranked a Top 50 prospect nationally in the Class of 2024 by ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports. As a senior in high school at Combine Academy in North Carolina, Passmore averaged 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Director of Scouting for 247 Sports Adam Finkelstein had the following to say about Passmore: “Passmore is a strong and athletic wing. He’s a major threat in transition where he runs the floor hard and can rise-up for the type of explosive finishes that can immediately change the momentum of a game. He’s a downhill straight-line driver, who doesn’t have a ton of wiggle to his game, but can go through contact. He’s made strides as a shooter and has become capable from three with room and rhythm. Passmore is also a projectable defender with a real chance to become a weapon on that end of the floor because he can get low in his stance, slide his feet laterally, and absorb contact in his upper body.”
The other schools that are reportedly interested in Passmore are Seton Hall, Alabama and South Florida. I’ve reached out to Passmore for comment, but he has not yet responded. It will be interesting to see if Passmore visits Morgantown in the near future. Although the Mountaineers are already pretty solid at the guard position, Passmore is a former Top 50 high school player nationally and has a huge amount of upside.
Check out Rakease Passmore’s AAU highlights below:
