By Dan Gardella
Sports Editor
Junior forward E.J. Anosike announced on his Twitter account Friday afternoon that he will transfer from Sacred Heart and play for Tennessee.
I want Thank God and for everyone who helped me get to this point in my career. I am excited for what the future holds for me. With that being said I am excited to announce my commitment to the University of Tennessee. I can’t wait to join my family in Knoxville!
#BeenVFL 🍊 pic.twitter.com/6P2ZjnInH4— Ej Anosike (@EAnosike55) March 27, 2020
Anosike’s sister, Nicky Anosike, played under Pat Summitt in Knoxville from 2004-2008. For Anosike, his decision to play for the Volunteers was bigger than basketball.
“It was huge,” said Anosike. “Growing up watching the winning culture made Tennessee a winning place in my mind. I’m a winner and I want to be a winner in everything I do.”
Anosike had one year of eligibility remaining and elected to graduate from Sacred Heart and transfer. Since he is a graduate transfer, he is immediately eligible to play for the 2020-2021 season.
Anosike leaves Sacred Heart after scoring more than 1,000 career points in three seasons in Fairfield. Anosike scored a majority of those points over the last two seasons, in which he was named the Northeast Conference’s (NEC) Most Improved Player in 2018, and landed on the conference’s First-Team this season, after leading the team in scoring (15.7 points per game) and rebounding (11.7 rebounds per game).
His nearly 12 rebounds per game led the NEC and was sixth-best in the entire country.
Anosike becomes the third Sacred Heart standout to leave Fairfield to transfer to a Power 5 school over the past five seasons. He joins Cane Broome, who transferred to Cincinnati following the 2015-16 season in which he was named the conference’s Player of the Year, and Quincy McKnight, who played at Seton Hall after landing on the conference’s First-Team after the 2016-17 season.