The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Number of transfers hurting mid-majors
Transfers turning mid-majors into minor league for Power 5 schools
The building blocks were in place.
Cane Broome staked his claim as the point guard of the future during a breakout sophomore campaign in which he averaged 23.1 points per game and was tabbed Northeast Conference Player of the Year. Quincy McKnight, a former St. Joseph High School star, emerged as a trusty sidekick and a weapon in the backcourt as a freshman.
In a perfect world, Broome and McKnight would’ve taken Sacred Heart, a program with zero NCAA tournament appearances, to the next level. They would’ve transformed the Pioneers into the next George Mason, Butler or Davidson (not to mention a handful of other Cinderellas).
But that’s not what happened — not even close.
Broome and McKnight played only 27 games together at Sacred Heart in 2015-16, each bolting after their sophomore seasons. Broome transferred to Cincinnati. McKnight, an All-NEC pick last season after averaging 18.9 points and 4.9 rebounds, transferred to Seton Hall.
The unexpected departures left Anthony Latina, the head coach at Sacred Heart, asking, “What if?”
“Obviously we could’ve used Cane last year. We probably would’ve been picked to win the league,” Latina said. “We probably would’ve won the league, truth be told.”
Instead, the Pioneers went just 13-19, including 8-10 in league play, and were bounced in the first round of the NEC Tournament. This year’s team will return four starters, and some quality role players, but nobody of the same caliber as Broome or McKnight.
“We have a good nucleus back, and we’re really pleased with recruiting,” Latina said. “We’ll have the most depth of talent that we’ve had in a while and the best leadership in a while.
“We have a group of guys that
are all-in, where winning is their No. 1 priority.”
Latina has been unlucky, but the reality is, he’s not alone. Players are transferring at a rapid pace, leaving coaches to wonder how they can adapt.
‘World of immediate gratification’
According to a study released last month by the NCAA, about 40 percent of men’s basketball players who commit to a Division-I program directly out of high school wind up elsewhere by the end of their sophomore year.
“Years ago, with college, you didn’t even play your freshman year. You hoped to play a little as a sophomore and a little more as a junior, and then play a lot as a senior,” said former Hofstra and Fordham head coach Tom Pecora, who is now on Baker Dunleavy’s staff at Quinnipiac. “We kind of live in a world of immediate gratification. A lot of young players want to have an impact right away.”
There are 351 DivisionI schools. Over 700 players — roughly two per team — transferred last year.
The grass-is-greener mentality that’s spread throughout the sport has made it infinitely more challenging for mid-major and low-major coaches to build and sustain winning programs. It’s changed the way they construct their rosters. In many ways, it’s left them with no choice but to expect the worst and hope for the best.
“It does change in terms of, ‘Well, we don’t need a two-guard,’ ” Latina said. “Well we might need a two-guard, so we better have somebody waiting in the wings. There better be somebody who we think can be very good at some point because they may be thrust into action a little sooner than we anticipated.”
Maine thought it would have former Bunnell High School star Issac Vann back to help it rebound from an 8-22 finish in 2015-16, but Vann, who led the Black Bears with 16.4 points per game, wasn’t satisfied. Wanting more exposure, the 6-foot-6 forward left the America East for VCU. He will have three years of eligibility remaining after sitting out last season.
“I think a lot of players probably make the wrong decision the first time around, where they commit to a school too quickly,” Vann said. “Maine was the only official visit I took. I feel like I could’ve taken more.”
The transfer market has grown to a point where many coaches now see it as college basketball’s version of free agency. And like the real-life version, it’s ruled by the big boys.
“I know a lot of mid-major and low-major coaches feel like they’re a minor league system,” Pecora said. “We’re going to develop these guys, and we’re going to make them good players . ... If you redshirt them and they’re on track, you’re only going to get them for three years, and the year that they’re probably going to blossom and be a great player for you is when you’re going to lose them.”
Quinnipiac’s top two scorers transferred — Mikey Dixon to St. John’s and Peter Kiss to Rutgers — after head coach Tom Moore was fired. Fairfield lost Curtis Cobb, the team’s second-leading scorer (12.1 points per game) last year, to UMass. Even UConn watched Juwan Durham, Vance Jackson and Steven Enoch leave after missing the Big Dance for the second time in three seasons.
Fighting a losing battle
Damion Lee’s decision to leave Drexel for Louisville before the 2015-16 season shined the spotlight on the fifth-year transfer market, which has swelled to neverbefore-seen levels. Lee, an All-Colonial Athletic Association wing, averaged 21.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in his final season with the Dragons. He was eligible immediately after earning his undergraduate degree from Drexel.
According to the NCAA, there were only 15 graduate transfers across Division-I in 2011. That number ballooned to 68 in 2015 and 87 in 2016.
“They go from having the best player in the league and a chance to compete for a championship to struggling that year. Then (head coach Bruiser) Flint gets let go,” Pecora said.
The fifth-year transfer rule is in place to reward student-athletes who have graduated early and wish to pursue a graduate degree at another school. It allows them to play elsewhere without having to sit out a year. But some coaches see high-major coaches abusing the rule.
“Unfortunately you see schools compiling lists of fifth-year transfers in advance, and you see coaches going through the back channels to recruit those players,” said former Long Beach State, South Florida and Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg, who is now an analyst at ESPN. “It’s unethical, but unfortunately it’s part of the culture today.”
Is there an easy way to prevent players from transferring? The short answer is no. But a strong playercoach relationship can go a long way toward encouraging them to stay.
“I do think a heightened awareness of our identity and culture is really important because — this is probably a more direct or succinct answer — we truly want four-year guys in our program,” Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said.
“I think we want guys ... that are in it for the long haul. You certainly just have to be aware of that.”
And, in some cases, that still isn’t enough.
“You just hope that the relationships and the trust you develop, you just hope that there’d be love in return,” Greenberg said. “It’s not guaranteed.”