Transfer Talk: Several Things Pundits and Coaches Need to Know

April 22nd, 2012 - 18:33

Player transfers seem to have become a recent hot-button issue for alarmists. But the new-digs movement most certainly isn't a new epidemic and hasn't changed all that much since the introduction of scholarship limitations and freshman eligibility in the early 1970s.

Despite the prospect of being able to move to another school without sitting out a year if a player has a 2.6 grade-point-average, the revolving door simply isn't a bulging underground railroad picking up steam. The annual roster turnover rate is essentially the same over the last 40 years with between 1/3 and 2/5 of scholarship players out of high school failing to exercise all of their eligibility with a single school.

Regal recruits find plenty of Division I programs telling them they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, after matriculating, many of the prep phenoms soon discover they're not in paradise and their new teammates are equally, if not more, talented and that they are no longer the big man on campus. This occasionally causes players to get frustrated because of a lack of playing time. Other players may get homesick, have trouble adjusting to a style of play or undergo an unanticipated coaching change (average of nearly 50 NCAA Division I schools annually made head coaching changes since the mid-1990s).

"It's the play-me-or-trade-me syndrome," former St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca said. "To the kids, the grass is always greener somewhere else."

A variety of factors lead to players packing their bags for other Division I programs, where the player must sit out one full year under normal circumstances. The player can practice with the team, but he is ineligible to play or travel with the squad on the foreign excursions that are becoming more prevalent. These players might look at transferring as a fresh start and sometimes that proves to be correct. However, the year of collecting cobwebs while sitting out or the high expectations placed on the transfer sometimes leads to the rusty player not living up to billing.

There is generally an interesting story, not always "Happily Never After," behind almost all transfers and they shouldn't be treated like disgruntled lepers. All but four of the last 29 Final Fours featured teams with at least one starter or key reserve who began his college career at another four-year DI school. If pundits and coaches seek to weigh in with authoritative opinions, they need to acknowledge the positive impact regarding transfers.

If anything, the NCAA might want to encourage transferring; not make it more restrictive. Would the following individuals have become marquee players if they stayed put at their original college? Here is a list of players who became All-Americans after starting their collegiate playing careers at other four-year schools:

All-American Pos. Original School Transfer School
Courtney Alexander G Virginia 96-97 Fresno State 99-00
Elgin Baylor F College of Idaho 55 Seattle 57-58
Vince Boryla F-C Notre Dame 45-46 Denver 49
Michael Bradley F-C Kentucky 98-99 Villanova 01
Charley Brown G Indiana 56 Seattle 58-59
Art Bunte C-F Utah 52-53 Colorado 55-56
Frank Burgess G Arkansas-Pine Bluff 54 Gonzaga 59-61
Reggie Carter G Hawaii 76 St. John's 78-80
Dan Dickau G Washington 98-99 Gonzaga 01-02
Toney Douglas G Auburn 05 Florida State 07-09
Larry Fogle F Southwestern Louisiana 73 Canisius 74-75
Ricky Frazier G-F St. Louis 78 Missouri 80-82
Hank Gathers F-C Southern California 86 Loyola Marymount 88-90
Gerald Glass F Delta State MS 86-87 Mississippi 89-90
Joey Graham F UCF 01-02 Oklahoma State 04-05
*Harvey Grant F Clemson 85 Oklahoma 87-88
*Ed Gray G Tennessee 94 California 96-97
Al Green G North Carolina State 76-77 Louisiana State 79
Ben Hansbrough G Mississippi State 07-08 Notre Dame 10-11
Red Holzman G Baltimore 39 City College of New York 41-42
Wesley Johnson F Iowa State 07-08 Syracuse 10
Bo Kimble F-G Southern California 86 Loyola Marymount 88-90
Jim Krivacs G Auburn 75 Texas 77-79
John Lucas III G Baylor 02-03 Oklahoma State 04
Kyle Macy G Purdue 76 Kentucky 78-80
Billy McCaffrey G Duke 90-91 Vanderbilt 93-94
Bob McCurdy F-C Virginia 72 Richmond 74-75
Mark McNamara C Santa Clara 78-79 California 81-82
Chris Mills F Kentucky 89 Arizona 91-93
Scoonie Penn G Boston College 96-97 Ohio State 99-00
Lawrence Roberts F-C Baylor 02-03 Mississippi State 04-05
Carlos Rogers C UALR 91 Tennessee State 93-94
Marshall Rogers G Kansas 73 Texas-Pan American 75-76
Clifford Rozier C-F North Carolina 91 Louisville 93-94
Kevin Stacom G Holy Cross 71 Providence 73-74
Dan Swartz C Kentucky 52 Morehead State 54-56
B.J. Tyler G DePaul 90 Texas 92-94
Bill Uhl C Ohio State 52 Dayton 54-56
Win Wilfong F Missouri 52-53 Memphis State 56-57
Leon Wood G Arizona 80 Cal State Fullerton 82-84
Andre Woolridge G Nebraska 93 Iowa 95-97

*Attended junior college between four-year school stints.
NOTE: Burgess was an Air Force veteran.

Kenny Battle (Northern Illinois 85-86/Illinois 88-89), JoJo Hunter (Maryland 77-78/Colorado 80-81) and Jon Manning (Oklahoma City 75-76/North Texas State 78-79) have the unique distinction of scoring more than 500 points for two different major schools. Following is an alphabetical list of transfers who led a university in scoring three consecutive Division I seasons after previously playing for another four-year school since the generally accepted start of the modern era of college basketball in 1950:

Transfer Player School Years Led in Scoring Original School
Maurice Bailey Sacred Heart 2001-02 through 2003-04 Rider
Craig Beard Samford 1982-83 through 1984-85 Tulane
Ricky Berry San Jose State 1985-86 through 1987-88 Oregon State
Jami Bosley Akron 1997-98 through 1999-2000 Ohio State
Frank Burgess Gonzaga 1958-59 through 1960-61 Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Jon Collins Eastern Illinois 1983-84 through 1985-86 Northern Illinois
Ruben Douglas New Mexico 2000-01 through 2002-03 Arizona
Sean Green Iona 1988-89 through 1990-91 North Carolina State
Matt Hicks Northern Illinois 1974-75 through 1976-77 DePaul
Lindsey Hunter Jackson State 1990-91 through 1992-93 Alcorn State
George Lett Centenary 1977-78 through 1979-80 Hawaii
Lenny Manning Austin Peay 1981-82 through 1983-84 Miami (OH)
Danny Moore Southwest Missouri State 1996-97 through 1998-99 Miami (OH)
Tucker Neale Colgate 1992-93 through 1994-95 Ashland (OH)
Marvin O'Connor St. Joseph's 1999-2000 through 2001-02 Villanova
Steve Rogers Alabama 1989-90 through 1991-92 Middle Tennessee State
Kenny Sanders George Mason 1985-86 through 1988-89 Oklahoma
Bill Uhl Dayton 1953-54 through 1955-56 Ohio State
Leon Wood Cal State Fullerton 1981-82 through 1983-84 Arizona

The best was yet to come for the following chronological list of players who transferred from one four-year school to another and subsequently led NCAA Division I in scoring:

Transfer Player School Year Led NCAA in Scoring Original University
Frank Burgess Gonzaga 1960-61 (32.4 ppg) Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Larry Fogle Canisius 1973-74 (33.4 ppg) Southwestern Louisiana
Bob McCurdy Richmond 1974-75 (32.9 ppg) Virginia
Marshall Rogers Texas-Pan American 1975-76 (36.8 ppg) Kansas
Greg "Bo" Kimble Loyola Marymount 1989-90 (35.3 ppg) Southern California
Kevin Bradshaw U.S. International 1990-91 (37.6 ppg) Bethune-Cookman
Greg Guy Texas-Pan American 1992-93 (29.3 ppg) Fresno State
Charles Jones Long Island 1996-97 (30.1 ppg) and 1997-98 (29 ppg) Rutgers
Courtney Alexander Fresno State 1999-2000 (24.8 ppg) Virginia
Ruben Douglas New Mexico 2002-03 (28 ppg) Arizona

NOTE: Burgess and Bradshaw served in the U.S. military.

Some transfers thrive right away in their new surroundings. Following is an alphabetical list of players who played for a four-year school before transferring and becoming a two-time Division I conference MVP:

Player Pos. School Conference MVP Years Original University
Jon Collins F Eastern Illinois 1985 and 1986 in Mid-Continent Northern Illinois
Luis Flores G Manhattan 2003 and 2004 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Rutgers
Steve Hood F James Madison 1990 and 1991 in Colonial Athletic Association Maryland
Charles Jones G Long Island 1997 and 1998 in Northeast Rutgers
Kurk Lee G Towson State 1989 and 1990 in East Coast Western Kentucky
Dwayne Polee G-F Pepperdine 1985 and 1986 in West Coast Athletic UNLV
Carlos Rogers C Tennessee State 1993 and 1994 in Ohio Valley UALR
Steve Rogers F Alabama State 1991 and 1992 in SWAC Middle Tennessee State
Clifford Rozier F Louisville 1993 and 1994 in Metro North Carolina
Carey Scurry F-C Long Island 1984 and 1985 in ECAC Metro Southeastern Oklahoma State

NOTE: Southeastern Oklahoma State was not an NCAA Division I institution.

Often forgotten is the following alphabetical list of standout players who briefly attended a current major college but never played varsity basketball for that university before transferring to another school: