Little Rock, ULM competing for Kansas graduate transfer Dwight Coleby

It’s only June, but two Sun Belt schools are already squaring off. According to Jon Rothstein, Kansas graduate transfer Dwight Coleby visited Louisiana Monroe on Wednesday and will visit Little Rock over the weekend.

The athletic big man spent two years at Ole Miss before transferring to Kansas and sitting out the 2015-16 season. He never found his way into Bill Self’s rotation, even after a season-ending injury to prized freshman center Udoka Azubuike. Coleby averaged just 5.6 minutes per game and did not appear in nine of the Jayhawks’ Big 12 games.

Still, he has been a commodity on the graduate transfer market.

Just three seasons ago, he finished in the top-10 in the SEC in defensive rebounding percentage (20.1%), offensive rebounding percentage (12.6%) and block percentage (6.5%). And a torn ACL in 2015 that kept him off the practice floor during his redshirt year could help explain away last season.

He talked about his expectations for next year with the Kansas City Star.

“Of course I’ll try to demand the ball (inside), but it’s not all about scoring,” Coleby said. “It’s about being a team player. I’m not selfish like that. If I play the game right, I’ll be fine,” he said.

He’d be an important front court addition to either ULM or Little Rock. The Warhawks finished with the second-worst team block percentage in the Sun Belt, while the Trojans’ two-point field goal defense was in the league’s bottom third and lose the conference’s best shot blocker, Lis Shoshi. Both schools may have an “in” with Coleby.

But neither connection may be enough.

Western Kentucky has been considered a favorite for the big man as Rick Stansbury tries to surround five-star center Mitchell Robinson and his great recruiting class with veterans. The Hilltoppers already landed Virginia graduate transfer Darius Thompson.

Coleby may be next, but for now, he still may be playing his final season in the Sun Belt.