Rakestraw Transferring To California School

FAYETTEVILLE — Former Springdale Har-Ber and Arkansas basketball player Nate Rakestraw has decided to transfer to Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., an NAIA school in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Nate’s father, P.D. Rakestraw, confirmed Sunday his son had chosen Biola over Division I schools Arkansas-Little Rock and Texas Christian, as well as NAIA school John Brown in his native Siloam Springs.

Biola is a private Christian school with an enrollment of about 3,500 students located in the southeast part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rakestraws flew out to California two weeks ago and enjoyed every part of their visit, P.D. Rakestraw said.

“We have a lot of friends that have gone out there, acquaintances that have degrees from out there,” he said. “We all fell in love with it. I mean, it’s in Southern California. The beaches are close, and there’s beautiful weather.

“For Nate, it’s a chance to get away. It’s a fresh start.”

The allure of immediate playing time also convinced his son that Biola was the place for him, P.D. Rakestraw said.

Rakestraw, a 6-foot-4 guard, will be eligible this season at Biola. He asked for and received his release from Arkansas coach John Pelphrey on March 31 after a trying season. He had worked hard to lose almost 30 pounds last summer but suffered a broken right pinky finger in mid-October.

He missed almost two months and never found a spot in Pelphrey’s rotation when he returned on Dec. 12, going scoreless in 33 minutes of action in 11 games.