May 07, 2020

Mizzou men's basketball signs junior college transfer Ed Chang

Posted May 07, 2020 10:19 PM

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mizzou Men's Basketball inked junior college transfer Ed Chang, head coach Cuonzo Martin announced Thursday. Chang is a 6-foot-8 versatile forward from Papillion, Nebraska, with the ability to stretch the floor.

Chang spent the 2019-20 campaign at Salt Lake Community College, where he helped lead a deep squad to a 29-4 record, a perfect Scenic West Conference mark, a Scenic West Conference title and a No. 4 overall seed in the NJCAA National Tournament that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chang is one of seven SLCC teammates to land at Division I programs this spring.

"Ed can stretch the floor with his shooting,” Martin said. “He has great size and length, and the ability to play multiple positions. He is a skilled shot-blocker for his size. He’ll be a great fit to our program on both ends of the floor when he gets to campus.”

Chang shot 41.4 percent from 3-point range and 42.8 percent from the floor at Salt Lake, averaging 8.2 points and 3.6 rebounds on an experienced, talented roster. The forward reached double figures 10 times, including a 23-point outburst against Colorado Northwest, in which he drained six 3-pointers on 12 attempts.

"I chose Mizzou because of the basketball culture Coach Martin has created there,” Chang said. “Coach Martin genuinely cares about making us all better players and people, and I wanted to come be a part of that.”

Chang, who did not play basketball as a senior at Seattle’s Garland High School, was the No. 1 player in the state of Nebraska as a high school junior before relocating to the Evergreen state. He was tabbed a four-star recruit by ESPN after earning back-to-back All-Nebraska selections. Chang averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.2 steals as a junior at Papillion-La Vista. During his junior season, he reached the 1,000-point mark for his career and a Class A runner-up state finish. He averaged 15.9 points and 9.5 rebounds as a sophomore en route to Omaha World-Herald All-Metro honors and became the first sophomore to land on the all-state team in some five seasons.

Chang signed with San Diego State out of high school and appeared in 13 games for the Aztecs during the 2018-19 season. He shot 37.5 percent from deep as a freshman.

Chang will have two years of eligibility remaining at Mizzou.

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