Stephen F. Austin pursuing Kansas transfer Dwight Coleby

Stephen F. Austin men's basketball has their sights set on adding another massive piece to the 2017-18 puzzle. Graduate center/forward Dwight Coleby, a 6-9, 240 pound athletic freak from the Bahamas, is on the market and the Lumberjacks know it.

Since stepping on the campus of the University of Mississippi as a young freshman, Coleby has been chasing one thing: a chance. Part of a deep front court at Ole Miss and averaging just a bit over 16 minutes per game, Coleby made the decision to transfer to Kansas after his sophomore year.

“When Dwight became available, we researched it and watched tape," Jayhawks head coach Bill Self said in a statement at the time. "He’s a exactly what I think we need. He’s a big guy that can play either bigs position. He’s active. 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.”

It didn't quite go according to plan. While sitting out a season as part of NCAA transfer rules, Dwight suffered a non-contact injury and tore the ACL in his left knee. Surgery was successful, but it was already October and Coleby essentially lost a season's worth of practice during his recovery. Although healthy enough to play when Kansas opened up the 2016-17 season, something was off.

Despite his reputation as possessing the ability to be one of college basketball's elite big men, his slow start returning from injury largely kept Coleby away from the action. He averaged under six minutes per game, although he had moments, scoring 12 against Texas in late January.

Then the NCAA Tournament happened.

Locked in a tight second-half battle with Michigan State for a spot in the Sweet 16, Kansas senior Landen Lucas ran into foul trouble. Up by just a point, Coleby came into the game for nine minutes. Nine huge minutes. His defense was dominant and an inside bucket off a rebound pushed the lead to three. Suddenly, the Jayhawks exploded, closing the game on a 36-17 run.

Afterwards, Lucas bear-hugged Dwight. “He just told me, ‘You saved my career,’” Coleby told the Kansas City Star. “‘I’m happy and proud of you.’”

Self agreed. “He deserves that because it’s been a rough go for him,” the coach said following the game. “His attitude is so good. He’s such a great kid. To see him respond like that … I just know our kids are so happy for him.”

Now, with a year of eligibility remaining and fully healthy from his knee injury, Coleby will play his final year somewhere else. SFA basketball sources have confirmed to The Sawmill that the Lumberjacks are pursuing him to complete their 2017-18 roster.

Adding another piece would mean losing one too. SFA currently is at the scholarship limit and making room would require some work - but for a player with the talent of Coleby, completely unmatched in the Southland Conference, it would be a massive step forward for a team with lofty ambitions of playing deep into March this next year.

Already likely the favorite in the Southland Conference, adding Coleby could legitimize SFA's goal of seed-altering success in the non-conference season. Especially now fully healthy, there are plenty in the college basketball world who view Coleby as one of the single best available players in the country. Making him a Lumberjack would not only solidify an impressive SFA roster, it would set a precedent for the big men the Lumberjacks have struggled to successfully recruit in years past.

That said, the odds are still long. SFA head coach Kyle Keller and assistant Wade Mason visited with his family in the Bahamas about three weeks ago, but Coleby has also been linked to SMU, Mississippi State, Illinois, LA-Monroe, UA-Little Rock, and Western Kentucky (where he spent yesterday visiting, according to Basketball Times columnist Joshua Parrott). WKU's head coach Rick Stansbury worked with Kyle Keller at Texas A&M and was linked to rumors involving the SFA job before he accepted the Hilltoppers' position last year. Of course, Keller is also well connected to Kansas head coach Bill Self, for whom he worked for three seasons.

Coleby is expected to make a decision before the month of May ends, although there is no specific deadline for graduate transfers.

In the meantime, enjoy some highlights from his time at Ole Miss and imagine what this man might look like against SLC competition: