Long Beach State’s Jackson, Saffold Plan to Transfer

The radical revamping of the Long Beach State roster, hinted at by coaches and players recently, began Saturday as junior forwards Akeli Jackson and Corey Saffold said they probably will transfer from Long Beach State to Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Saffold received his release Saturday from first-year 49er Coach Wayne Morgan. Jackson, dismissed from the team Tuesday, has not formally requested his release, but Morgan said he has told Jackson he would release him if asked.

“Corey came to me [Saturday] and told me he wanted to go somewhere else,” Morgan said before the 49ers’ game at UC Irvine. “I told him that was fine with me and that if I could help him with anything, tomorrow or 10 years from now, I would be happy to.”

Morgan said this past week he would not be surprised if the 49er roster changed drastically before next season. With freshman forward Greg Clark likely to redshirt because of a shoulder injury, the 49ers are left with eight eligible scholarship players.

Under NCAA rules, Cal State Dominguez Hills cannot comment on transfer students until it has received the paperwork. Because Dominguez Hills is a Division II team, Jackson and Saffold, redshirt juniors, will not have to sit out a year before becoming eligible.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Jackson became a starter as a sophomore and averaged 10.9 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds for Long Beach, which won the conference title.

However, he struggled this season in Morgan’s system, averaging 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds, and became increasingly frustrated. An argument between Morgan and Jackson after Long Beach’s 78-53 conference-opening loss to Boise State on Monday prompted Jackson’s dismissal.

“I’m cool and I’m just trying to stay positive,” Jackson said. “Everything that happened wasn’t my fault. Who knows? Maybe this is a blessing in disguise.”

Morgan left the door open for Jackson’s return and some players said they hoped he would come back.

This marks the second transfer for Saffold (6-7, 200), who came to Long Beach from Oklahoma during the 1994-95 season. Saffold appeared in nine games this season, starting four, and averaged 1.8 points and 1.9 rebounds.

In November, Saffold was injured in what school officials acknowledged was an unprovoked attack by teammate Marcus Johnson during a practice.

Johnson was suspended only one regular-season game, which upset Saffold and his family. Saffold said the incident contributed to his decision.

“I really wanted to get my degree from Long Beach and end my career there,” Saffold said. “But I still want to play, and seeing how I’ve been treated there, I just don’t think I have a future at Long Beach.”