Saint Louis Billikens Officially Announce Addition of Michigan State Transfer Javon Bess

Jan 10, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Javon Bess (2) defends Penn State Nittany Lions guard Isaiah Washington (21) during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Michigan State defeated Penn State 92-65. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Jan 10, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Javon Bess (2) defends Penn State Nittany Lions guard Isaiah Washington (21) during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Michigan State defeated Penn State 92-65. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O /
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The Saint Louis Billikens men’s basketball program officially announced the addition of Michigan State transfer Javon Bess on Friday.

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Bess, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward from Columbus, Ohio, played two seasons at Michigan State before transferring at the conclusion of 2015-16. Last season, he averaged 11.4 minutes per game while putting up three points, 0.7 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per contest. Bess previously had committed to the University of Akron in mid-May, but he decommitted just a few days later and committed to the Billikens in early June.

The Billikens currently have 13 scholarship players (plus walk-on Markos Psimitis), so they’ll have to find a way to remove a scholarship from one of those players in order to accommodate Bess, as Division I teams are limited to 13 scholarships per season. Bess joins D.J. Foreman (Rutgers) and Adonys Henriquez (Central Florida) as players who will have to sit out next season after deciding to transfer to SLU, so the Bills will be limited to a 10-man rotation at max in 2016-17 unless Ford decides to utilize his walk-ons. The Bills will also have two freshman forwards, Jalen Johnson and Zeke Moore, on the roster next season, so it’s fair to assume that Ford’s bench could be rather short.