From Peon to Pedestal: Small-College Stars Still Shine at Big-Time Level
Niagara coach Chris Casey hopes guard Emile Blackman continues to make the progress he displayed at the end of the 2012-13 campaign before tagging along with his coach from LIU Post. In his last six small-college games, Blackman averaged 16.8 ppg and 4.8 rpg while shooting 52% from the floor and nearly 58% on three-pointers. Niagara struck small-school lightning at the turn of the 21st Century when Mercyhurst (Pa.) transfer Demond Stewart became Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference MVP in 2000-01.
Despite what you might read elsewhere, a striking number of major-college standouts started their careers playing for a four-year small college before transferring. Of course, the most prominent player in this category is all-time great Elgin Baylor. After leaving College of Idaho, Baylor became an NCAA unanimous first-team All-American with Seattle in 1957-58.
More than 30 different players became NCAA Division I conference all-league selections in the 1980s and 1990s after beginning their careers with a small four-year college. In 2013-14, Weber State swingman Davion Berry (transfer from Cal State Monterey Bay) became the fourth player thus far in the 21st Century to earn MVP honors in a DI league after transferring from a small college.
Michigan recently added forward Duncan Robinson from Williams (Mass.) but the odds are against him making a huge impact in a power conference similar to what Gerald Glass did in the SEC for Ole Miss after departing Delta State. Who will be next player to join the following chronological list of first-team all-conference selections since the NCAA playoffs expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985 after starting their college careers playing for non-Division I four-year schools?
| Season | First-Team Selection | Pos. | Division I School | Conference | Four-Year Small College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-85 | Curtis High | G | Nevada-Reno | Big Sky | Tennessee-Martin |
| 1984-85 | Jim McCaffrey | G | Holy Cross | Metro Atlantic | St. Michael's (Vt.) |
| 1984-85 | Bob McCann | C | Morehead State | Ohio Valley | Upsala (N.J.) |
| 1985-86 | Oscar Jones | G | Delaware | East Coast | Winston-Salem State (N.C.) |
| 1985-86 | Jim McCaffrey | G | Holy Cross | Metro Atlantic | St. Michael's (Vt.) |
| 1985-86 | Bob McCann | C | Morehead State | Ohio Valley | Upsala (N.J.) |
| 1985-86 | Jerry Stroman | F | Utah | Western Athletic | Benedict (S.C.) |
| 1986-87 | Marchell Henry | F | East Carolina | Colonial Athletic | St. Andrews (N.C.) |
| 1986-87 | Avery Johnson | G | Southern (La.) | SWAC | Cameron (Okla.) |
| 1986-87 | Bob McCann* | C | Morehead State | Ohio Valley | Upsala (N.J.) |
| 1986-87 | Ron Simpson | F | Rider | East Coast | Adelphi (N.Y.) |
| 1987-88 | Avery Johnson* | G | Southern (La.) | SWAC | Cameron (Okla.) |
| 1987-88 | Larry Jones* | F | Boston University | ECAC North Atlantic | C.W. Post (N.Y.) |
| 1988-89 | Gerald Glass | F | Mississippi | SEC | Delta State (Miss.) |
| 1989-90 | Gerald Glass | F | Mississippi | SEC | Delta State (Miss.) |
| 1990-91 | Marcus Kennedy* | F-C | Eastern Michigan | Mid-American | Ferris State (Mich.) |
| 1990-91 | Tony Walker | F | Saint Peter's | Metro Atlantic | Kean College (N.J.) |
| 1992-93 | Leon McGee | G | Western Michigan | Mid-American | Michigan Tech |
| 1993-94 | Tucker Neale* | G | Colgate | Patriot League | Ashland (Ohio) |
| 1994-95 | Tucker Neale | G | Colgate | Patriot League | Ashland (Ohio) |
| 1995-96 | Johnny Taylor | F | UT-Chattanooga | Southern | Knoxville (Tenn.) |
| 1996-97 | Johnny Taylor* | F | UT-Chattanooga | Southern | Knoxville (Tenn.) |
| 1996-97 | Raymond Tutt | G | UC Santa Barbara | Big West | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) |
| 1997-98 | Andrew Betts | C | Long Beach State | Big West | C.W. Post (N.Y.) |
| 1997-98 | Chad Townsend | G | Murray State | Ohio Valley | St. Edward's (Tex.) |
| 1999-00 | Matt Gladieux | G | Coastal Carolina | Big South | Bellarmine (Ky.) |
| 2000-01 | Demond Stewart* | G | Niagara | Metro Atlantic | Mercyhurst (Pa.) |
| 2001-02 | Justin Rowe | C | Maine | America East | Clearwater Christian (Fla.) |
| 2003-04 | Miah Davis* | G | Pacific | Big West | Cal State Stanislaus |
| 2004-05 | Yemi Nicholson* | C | Denver | Sun Belt | Fort Lewis (Colo.) |
| 2012-13 | Davion Berry | G-F | Weber State | Big Sky | Cal State Monterey Bay |
| 2013-14 | Davion Berry* | G-F | Weber State | Big Sky | Cal State Monterey Bay |
*Ten of these players were named conference MVP.
NOTE: Tennessee-Martin subsequently moved up to the DI level.