Transferring Talent: All-Americans Surface After Switching Schools
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 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, could have their first transfer in that category this season - Duke guard Seth Curry (Liberty) and KU center Jeff Withey (Arizona). If voters are really paying attention, there could be a third transfer A-A as guard Marshall Henderson is spearheading Ole Miss' resurgence after attending Utah, Texas Tech and a junior college in Texas.
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. Curry, Henderson and/or Withey could join the following alphabetical list of All-Americans who began their collegiate career at another four-year school:
| Transfer All-American | Pos. | Original School | All-American 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 |
| Eric "Hank" Gathers | F-C | Southern California 86 | Loyola Marymount 88-90 |
| Gerald Glass | F | Delta State (Miss.) 86-87 | Mississippi 89-90 |
| Joey Graham | F | Central Florida 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 |
| William "Red" Holzman | G | Baltimore 39 | City College of New York 41-42 |
| Wesley Johnson | F | Iowa State 07-08 | Syracuse 10 |
| Greg "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 |
| James "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 | 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.