Former KU forward Silvio De Sousa plans to transfer to Southern Conference school
Former Kansas basketball forward Silvio De Sousa has announced plans to play basketball at Chattanooga.
De Sousa, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound 22-year-old power forward from Angola, placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal on June 9. He announced plans to play for the Mocs on Tuesday on Twitter. He also confirmed his Twitter message in a direct message to The Star.
A Chattanooga athletic department official confirmed to The Star that the school has received De Sousa’s national letter-of-intent.
Chattanooga, which plays in the Southern Conference and went 18-8 a year ago, is coached by Lamont Paris.
De Sousa last played college basketball at KU during the 2019-20 season. A junior at the time, he averaged 2.6 points a game on 47.1% shooting.
De Sousa currently has a jury trial set to begin Aug. 2 in Douglas County District Court. On May 4, Douglas County Judge Sally Pokorny ruled that prosecutors had enough evidence to take an aggravated battery case against De Sousa to trial. De Sousa’s attorney Hatem Chahine put in a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf.
De Sousa was originally charged with aggravated battery on Oct. 28. He and KU coach Bill Self announced on Oct. 16, 2020, that he was leaving KU’s team to focus on “personal issues.”
He was not listed on the Jayhawks’ roster during the 2020-21 season or this current offseason.
Aggravated battery is a Level 5 felony, with prosecutors charging that De Sousa “unlawfully, feloniously and recklessly cause(d) great bodily harm or disfigurement to another person.”
De Sousa on May 16 took part in graduation ceremonies at KU. He posted pictures on Twitter with the message: “There’s two things they can’t take away from me this & Family, 4ever grateful KU.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Former KU forward Silvio De Sousa plans to transfer to Southern Conference school."
