Irvine’s Top Scorers Transferring; Another Player Gets Dismissed

Sophomores Kevin Simmons and Brian Keefe, UC Irvine’s top two scorers who both earned All-Big West Conference second-team honors last season, are planning to transfer. And highly touted Tchaka Shipp, a 6-8 forward who transferred in from Seton Hall, was recently dismissed from school for one quarter after an investigation of alleged cheating and said he will not be back.

Simmons, a 6-8 forward who was the Big West freshman of the year two seasons ago, said Tuesday he will not return to Irvine. Keefe, a 6-4 sophomore guard who led the team in scoring, said he would, “prefer not to say anything about it right now,” but Irvine Athletic Director Dan Guerrero confirmed Keefe had been granted permission to talk to other schools.

The Anteaters, 15-12 overall and 11-7 in the Big West last season, recorded their first winning seasons in five years under Coach Rod Baker. Simmons led the team in rebounds with 7.2 per game and was second in scoring with 15.2 points. Keefe averaged 16.6 points.