GOLDEN, Colo. - Former University of Denver guard/forward Duke Douglas will join the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball program as a graduate transfer in 2017-18.

Douglas, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering from DU, will use his final year of eligibility in Golden, injecting instant experience at the 3 and 4 spots for coach Pryor Orser's squad. Douglas will be able to play immediately at Mines; per NCAA eligibility rules, student-athletes do not have to sit out a year when transferring to another institution to pursue a graduate degree.

A native of New Orleans, Douglas appeared in 79 games with four starts over three seasons at DU, logging 9.9 minutes per game. He averaged 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds per game over his career and had his best season in 2016-17 as a redshirt junior, averaging 2.6 points and 1.2 boards with nine blocks, five steals, and shooting .500 from the floor and .778 at the line. He was part of two consecutive winning seasons as the Pioneers played in the Summit League Tournament each of his three seasons.

Douglas will come into a program that is coming off its best season ever. The Orediggers went 30-5 in 2016-17, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time and winning both the RMAC regular-season and tournament championships. He'll bring welcome depth at the 3 and 4, where Mines graduated all-RMAC players Gokul Natesan and Caleb Waitsman, respectively. Mines also returns starters at point guard in Ben Sonnefeld, shooting guard in all-RMAC honoree Luke Schroepfer, and center with their rotation of Ben Clare and Adam Laine. Zach Rusk and Mark Winans return as bench options at guard with Luke Golter, Brandon Lueders, and Felix Scheytt in the front court; in addition, Mines will have guard Mason Baker and front-court options Will Schenken, Dustin Gaddis, and Jimmy Ritchie coming off redshirt seasons.