Lamont Paris is a man who believes in second chances.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach's latest edition will be a prime example of that.
UTC has confirmed that Silvio De Sousa, who spent the past three seasons at Kansas University, is joining the Mocs' program for the 2021-22 season. The new was first reported by Jeff Goodman of WatchStadium.com.
The former consensus four-star recruit has had a tumultuous career in Lawrence, Kansas, one that was known just as much - if not more - for his actions off the court than on it. His career started with a two-year suspension by the NCAA due to allegations he took money from an Adidas representative during his recruitment. He won an appeal that cut the suspension in half, but only got to play 18 games during the 2019-20 season due to his role in a brawl between Kansas and Kansas State on Jan. 21, 2020, a game the Jayhawks won 81-60 at Allen Fieldhouse.
He was suspended for 12 games for the incident, and never played again at Kansas. But he did graduate from the university in May, and will be attending UTC as a graduate transfer.
He does have a pending case for his potential involvement in an altercation outside of a Lawrence nightclub on January 1 of this year, with a date to stand trial for aggravated battery starting on August 2, a trial that could last about three days, according to the Lawrence Journal-World.
But should he overcome those obstacles the Mocs - who finished 18-8 last season - just picked up a 6-foot-9, 245-pounder that will help solidify the team's frontcourt for next season. He averaged 10 points and 9.7 rebounds during the 2018 Big 12 tournament, and had 10 rebounds in the Jayhawks' win over Duke in the Elite Eight.
He joins Central Florida transfer Avery Diggs and walk-on freshman Jacob Radaker as newcomers for this season. They join seniors Josh Ayeni, Darius Banks and K.C. Hankton and sophomore Jaden Frazier heading into the season.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.