LAWRENCE, Kan.— Center Dwight Coleby will be transferring to Kansas after two seasons at Ole Miss. The 6-9, 240-pound Nassau, Bahamas, native has signed a grant-in-aid agreement to attend KU, will sit out the 2015-16 season and have two years eligibility, Kansas head coach Bill Self announced Monday.
 
Coleby will report to KU in July, after he competes for the Bahamas in the FIBA Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships, June 15-21, in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
 
“We’ve been keeping an eye on transfers the entire spring due to the fact we lose so many big guys next year,” Self said of 2015-16 KU senior forwards Perry Ellis, Jamari Traylor and Hunter Mickelson. “It would be nice to have a big guy in your program that knew the system, and we can rely on to be a foundation. When Dwight became available, we researched it and watched tape. He’s a exactly what I think we need. He’s a big guy that can play either bigs position. He’s active. He reminds me of a lot of a bigger Jamari or Thomas Robinson-type body. He’s got a great motor. I feel like he can play on the block. He can play facing. He can do a lot of different things. He’s raw offensively, but he’s a premiere athlete and should be a solid rebounder and defender right off the bat.”
 
Coleby played in all 34 games for Ole Miss in 2014-15, including three starts, where he averaged 5.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 16.5 minutes for the Rebels who finished 21-13 overall, tied for third in the SEC with an 11-7 record and lost to Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Coleby was second on the Ole Miss team with 29 blocked shots and his 4.8 rebounds per game were third-best on the squad. He shot 53.2 percent from the field, which was second-best on the team. His 79.7 percent accuracy from the free throw line was a 27.1 percent improvement from his freshman year. Coleby posted six games in double-figure scoring and had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds at then-No. 19 Arkansas on Jan. 17.
 
“Dwight was obviously a contributor and role player for an NCAA Tournament team,” Self said. “He didn’t play a ton last year, but Ole Miss had good players. He’s hasn’t been playing ball forever, but there is definitely a foundation there, physically. Also, foundation from an intellect standpoint that is going to allow him to become a much better player fast. Without question, we think his best ball is well down the road. I see him being a Darnell Jackson. I see him being a bigger Jamari, a guy that can have a big impact on our program and hopefully mature and develop into a starter for us.”
 
As a freshman in 2013-14, Coleby started four of 28 games for Ole Miss and averaged 2.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 10.4 minutes per game.
 
Coleby went to Ole Miss after attending Piney Woods High School in Piney Woods, Mississippi. While there he averaged 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots in 2012-13. Prior to Piney Woods, Coleby attended St. George’s High School in Freeport, Bahamas.