Talent Transfer: Will Hood Be Latest All-American After Switching Schools?
January 11th, 2014 - 13:56
"Stepping onto a brand new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation which is not nurturing." - Maya Angelou
Whether schools are simply filling out a roster with a backup or chasing a pot of gold at the end of a Larry Bird rainbow, they seem to be looking around every corner and under every rock for a transfer. Bird left a potential powerhouse at Indiana but never played for the Hoosiers before becoming national player of the year with Indiana State.
How many All-Americans actually played varsity basketball for two different four-year schools? The average is about one every two years. Duke and Kansas, two of the five schools with the most All-Americans in history, had their first transfer in that category last season - Duke guard Seth Curry (Liberty) and KU center Jeff Withey (Arizona). The Blue Devils have another titillating transfer talent this campaign with Rodney Hood (from Mississippi State).
Guard Marshall Henderson spearheaded Ole Miss' resurgence last season after attending Utah, Texas Tech and a junior college in Texas. But Hood and numerous additional transfers are outshining Henderson this year as sure-fire impact players in postseason play - George Washington's Isaiah Armwood (Villanova), Canisius' Billy Baron (Virginia/Rhode Island), Towson's Jerrelle Benimon (Georgetown), Missouri's Jabari Brown (Oregon), Oregon's Jason Calliste (Detroit), Brigham Young's Matt Carlino (UCLA), Missouri's Jordan Clarkson (Tulsa), George Washington's Maurice "Mo" Creek (Indiana), San Diego State's Josh Davis (North Carolina State/Tulane), Florida's Dorian Finney-Smith (Virginia Tech), Creighton's Grant Gibbs (Gonzaga), Georgia State's Ryan Harrow (North Carolina State/Kentucky), Baylor's Brady Heslip (Boston College), Detroit's Juwan Howard Jr. (Western Michigan), Iowa State's DeAndre Kane (Marshall), SMU's Markus Kennedy (Villanova), Arizona State's Jermaine Marshall (Penn State), Arizona's T.J. McConnell (Duquesne), SMU's Nic Moore (Illinois State), Oregon's Mike Moser (UCLA/UNLV), Nebraska's Terran Petteway (Texas Tech), Xavier's Isaiah Philmore (Towson), Nebraska's Walter Pitchford (Florida), Illinois' Rayvonte Rice (Drake), Missouri's Earnest Ross (Auburn), Notre Dame's Garrick Sherman (Michigan State), Oklahoma's Ryan Spangler (Gonzaga), West Virginia's Juwan Staten (Dayton), San Diego State's Xavier Thames (Washington State) and Oregon's Joseph Young (Houston).
Mississippi State lost a transfer All-American several seasons ago when Ben Hansbrough departed for Notre Dame but the Bulldogs had their own player in this category 10 years ago after Lawrence Roberts left Baylor. In an era when transfers have almost become an obsession for various reasons, there was a modest uptick in the ratio with seven All-Americans in this category in a six-year span from 2000 through 2005 before Louisville's Luke Hancock (George Mason) became Final Four Most Outstanding Player last year. Hood is a prime candidate to join the following alphabetical list of All-Americans who began their collegiate career at another four-year school:
*Attended junior college between four-year school stints.
NOTE: Burgess was an Air Force veteran.