As important as freshmen are to Duke and Kentucky, for many teams transfers are the new faces who make the biggest impact. In October, Luke Winn and I projected the top 100 D1 transfers in the Top 11 conferences for SI. I thought with college basketball entering a quiet week (finals at many schools) that this was a good time to see how those various transfers are doing so far.
It is still way too early to draw statistical conclusions about anyone. Miami FL’s Angel Rodriguez shows a nice example of why we don’t want to look at small samples. At his best, he was the guard making clutch threes on the road at Florida to steal the victory. At his worst, he was 2 of 15 in a home loss to Green Bay. With small samples and vastly different schedules, it is way too early to draw a firm conclusion about who deserves all-conference honors.
That said, I still like looking through the stats because they remind us which transfers are being relied on heavily (playing 30+ minutes per game) and which transfers are failing to earn their coach’s trust. To that end, I present a new list of 100 transfers in the top 11 conferences.
Notes: Antoine Mason (Niagara to Auburn), Joe Coleman (Minnesota to Saint Mary’s), Ibby Djimde (Illinios to Southern Illinois) and Ian Chiles (IUPUI to Tennessee) have all been out early due to injuries, so I am not going to show their stats. Johnny Zuppardo (Arkansas St. to Mississippi St.) is out for the year. Christophe Varidel (Florida Gulf Coast to Alabama) has also retired from basketball since our SI column went live.
The following D1 transfers are likely to be available at the semester break: Alex Murphy (Duke to Florida), Jesse Morgan (Massachusetts to Temple), Devin Coleman (Clemson to Temple), Jameel McKay (Marquette to Iowa St.), Luke Fischer (Indiana to Marquette), Eric McClellan (Vanderbilt to Gonzaga), Jamal Aytes (UNLV to BYU), Chier Ajou (Northwestern to Seton Hall), and Savon Goodman (UNLV to Arizona St.). Side note: there are other important players who may become eligible at the semester break who are not D1 transfers, notably SMU’s Markus Kennedy, Auburn’s Trayvon Reed, and Miami FL’s Ivan Cruz-Uceda. Fred Richardson (Oregon to Colorado St.) is a D1 transfer who hasn’t been playing due to an early season suspension.
You would think without all these players, I would have trouble finding 100 D1 transfers in the Top 11 conferences, but I did not. There were a few players who surprised me by becoming eligible (notably TayShawn Thomas, Danuel House, and Ben Emelogu), and a few players who have been pleasant surprises (Butler’s Austin Etherington has been able to play from the start of the year despite his summer foot injury.) Thus I still have a full list of 100. All stats are through Saturday’s games.
MPG = Minutes Per Game, Pct Poss = Percentage of Possession’s used when on the floor.
Barely Contributing (17 players)
Player |
New Team |
Prev Team |
MPG |
Pct Poss |
Ortg |
PPG |
Prev. PPG |
Dominic Woodson |
Tennessee |
Memphis |
12 |
19 |
94 |
3.5 |
2.5 |
Quevyn Winters |
Washington |
Duquesne |
11.8 |
25 |
86 |
4.7 |
9.6 |
Abdel Nader |
Iowa St. |
N. Illinois |
11.8 |
21 |
76 |
3.5 |
13.1 |
Sheldon Jeter |
Pittsburgh |
Vanderbilt |
11.4 |
16 |
129 |
4.3 |
5.5 |
Deuce Bello |
Missouri |
Baylor |
10.6 |
15 |
91 |
3.1 |
2.4 |
Calvin Godfrey |
Memphis |
Southern |
9.8 |
19 |
94 |
2 |
13.1 |
Junior Lomomba |
Providence |
Cleveland St. |
9.5 |
8 |
93 |
1.4 |
5.9 |
Antwan Scott |
Colorado St. |
Grambling St. |
8.2 |
16 |
85 |
1.2 |
15.7 |
Brandon Perry |
San Diego |
CS North. |
8.2 |
27 |
80 |
3.2 |
6.3 |
Montray Clemons |
San Francisco |
DePaul |
8 |
22 |
99 |
3 |
1.3 |
Ryan Bass |
Dayton |
Oakland |
6 |
17 |
76 |
1.3 |
9.3 |
Jeremiah Kreisberg |
Northwestern |
Yale |
5.4 |
12 |
71 |
0.4 |
5.6 |
Uche Ofoegbu |
San Francisco |
SMU |
4.8 |
21 |
89 |
1.6 |
0.6 |
Keaton Miles |
Arkansas |
West Virginia |
4.5 |
10 |
68 |
0.3 |
2.7 |
Branden Bolden |
Kansas St. |
Georgetown |
4.2 |
31 |
56 |
1.2 |
0.0 |
Keith Armstrong |
East Carolina |
Robert Morris |
3.2 |
0 |
0 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
Hunter Mickelson |
Kansas |
Arkansas |
3.2 |
19 |
127 |
1.5 |
5.4 |
Dominic Woodson played early in the season for Tennessee but he is now sitting out until he gets his academic situation in order. Even without Woodson, Tennessee picked up an impressive win over Kansas St. this weekend.
Were it not for the fact that Kansas freshman Kelly Oubre is barely playing, the fact that Hunter Mickelson is barely playing would probably be a bigger headline. Mickelson, once a Top 100 recruit, is playing less than expected for his second straight team.
Shelton Jeter is probably the next biggest name on this list. He was expected to be an important contributor for Pittsburgh, and he does appear to be a natural scorer. But after the team’s loss at Indiana, he didn’t play in this weekend game against Duquesne. The message boards speculate that Jeter’s defense may have kept him out of the lineup, and head coach Jamie Dixon certainly wants to clean up that area of his team’s play.
I thought after Rodney Bullock went down for Providence, that Junior Lomomba might play a larger role for the Friars, but Providence has often gone with a two-PG lineup this season.
Rotation Player, No Clear Role (25 players):
Player |
Team |
Prev Team |
MPG |
Pct Poss |
Ortg |
PPG |
Prev PPG |
Richaud Pack |
Maryland |
NC A&T |
27.1 |
16 |
119 |
8.6 |
17.0 |
Aaron Brown |
Saint Joseph's |
West Virginia |
24.1 |
21 |
107 |
10.1 |
1.2 |
Remy Abell |
Xavier |
Indiana |
24.1 |
16 |
130 |
8.9 |
4.0 |
Trey Zeigler |
TCU |
Pittsburgh |
22.8 |
20 |
98 |
6.6 |
4.4 |
Rodney Purvis |
Connecticut |
NC State |
22.5 |
22 |
80 |
7 |
8.3 |
Cleon Roberts |
La Salle |
Georgia Southern |
22.1 |
17 |
101 |
6.2 |
8.7 |
Jabarie Hinds |
Massachusetts |
West Virginia |
21.9 |
21 |
94 |
8.5 |
7.4 |
Dimitri Batten |
Boston College |
Old Dominion |
21.1 |
16 |
98 |
6.6 |
11.0 |
Bishop Daniels |
Rutgers |
Miami FL |
20 |
22 |
73 |
5.6 |
5.0 |
Ben Emelogu |
SMU |
Virginia Tech |
19.4 |
14 |
85 |
3.6 |
10.5 |
Justin Edwards |
Kansas St. |
Maine |
19 |
22 |
89 |
5.8 |
16.8 |
Tiel Daniels |
Colorado St. |
Southern Illinois |
18.4 |
16 |
89 |
3.1 |
7.7 |
Ricky Kreklow |
Creighton |
California |
18.4 |
18 |
99 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
Justin Martin |
SMU |
Xavier |
17 |
21 |
115 |
7.5 |
11.7 |
Angelo Chol |
San Diego St. |
Arizona |
16.7 |
24 |
97 |
6.6 |
1.9 |
Terence Smith |
Mississippi |
Tenn. Martin |
16.6 |
12 |
73 |
2.1 |
14.6 |
Kedren Johnson |
Memphis |
Vanderbilt |
16.4 |
19 |
66 |
3 |
13.5 |
Dwight Tarwater |
California |
Cornell |
16.3 |
13 |
107 |
4.3 |
7.1 |
Mike Shaw |
Bradley |
Illinois |
16.2 |
18 |
70 |
3.4 |
0.9 |
Darius Leonard |
Wake Forest |
Campbell |
15.8 |
16 |
108 |
5.1 |
10.2 |
Joe Thomas |
Miami FL |
Niagara |
15.2 |
9 |
106 |
1.6 |
3.4 |
Austin Etherington |
Butler |
Indiana |
15.1 |
13 |
115 |
4.2 |
2.0 |
Julian Royal |
George Mason |
Georgia Tech |
13.4 |
23 |
68 |
3.6 |
1.7 |
Anthony Lee |
Ohio St. |
Temple |
13.4 |
17 |
112 |
5 |
13.6 |
Derrell Robertson |
San Francisco |
DePaul |
12.1 |
16 |
69 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
Bishop Daniels is hurt, Justin Martin has been hurt, and Rodney Purvis has been battling injuries as well. Those players may still play a bigger role as the season progresses.
Some of the players on this list were never expected to be huge contributors. Joe Thomas has filled in admirably with Ivan Cruz-Uceda still out for Miami FL, but he isn’t a long-term starter.
But there are other names on this list that I expected to produce more. I’m shocked how little playing time Ohio St.’s Anthony Lee has received this season. In our SI projections, we had Marc Loving as a break-out player, and we thought that would limit Lee’s minutes. But Lee is playing even less than we guessed.
Josh Pastner is one of the worst player development coaches in my database. He wins by recruiting, not by developing players. But for Kedren Johnson to go from being an effective scorer at Vanderbilt to a player who is averaging 3 points per game with a paltry 15 percent assist rate is shocking.
I thought Terrence Smith might be a sleeper for Mississippi as he was an outstanding three point shooter and scorer with his former team. But I have a lot of problems with Mississippi’s lineup. Too many players have been playing rotation-level minutes, and it isn’t clear that the team knows who should be taking the shots right now.
Kansas St. is another team that has been a big disappointment. I thought Justin Edwards and Stephen Hurt were going to be valuable contributors, and that was why I was so high on Kansas St. on the preseason. But even though Edwards usage has fallen with his new team, his efficiency has not gotten any better.
Finally, in my Terrapins Watch Item: Maryland’s Richaud Pack hasn’t been an elite shooter, assist man, or scorer so far, but with Evan Smotrycz and Dez Wells injured, it has been invaluable to have a player that knows where to be offensively and defensively.
Relishing the role of PG (10 players)
Every one of these players has an assist rate over 20%:
Player |
Team |
Prev Team |
MPG |
Pct Poss |
Ortg |
PPG |
Prev PPG |
Keith Shamburger |
Missouri |
Hawaii |
32.1 |
16 |
102 |
7.9 |
9.3 |
Cody Doolin |
UNLV |
San Francisco |
32.1 |
12 |
133 |
7.1 |
13.0 |
Jordan Baker |
San Jose St. |
Pepperdine |
32 |
27 |
83 |
11 |
11.4 |
Anthony Hickey |
Oklahoma St. |
LSU |
26 |
18 |
107 |
7.9 |
8.4 |
KC Ross Miller |
Auburn |
New Mexico St. |
23.6 |
25 |
79 |
7.4 |
8.3 |
Josh Heath |
Georgia Tech |
South Florida |
23.4 |
17 |
119 |
6.5 |
2.6 |
Mislav Brzoja |
Evansville |
Villanova |
23.1 |
25 |
118 |
10.6 |
0.1 |
Ahmad Starks |
Illinois |
Oregon St. |
23 |
19 |
112 |
8.1 |
10.4 |
Jonathan Octeus |
Purdue |
Colorado St. |
22.9 |
17 |
117 |
6.8 |
13.4 |
John Gillon |
Colorado St. |
Ark.- Little Rock |
15.9 |
22 |
147 |
8.4 |
10.6 |
I wasn’t sure whether Jonathan Octeus could be a full-time PG, as his assist rate was just 12% and 14% the last two years at Colorado St., but his assist rate is 24% this season for Purdue.
Josh Heath is the player who has surprised me the most in this group. He did not look ready to play last year as a freshman at South Florida, but he appears to have turned the corner this off-season. His 6 for 6 night against Northwestern was a big difference-maker in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Three Point Specialists (8 Players)
Player |
Team |
Prev Team |
MPG |
Pct Poss |
Ortg |
PPG |
Prev PPG |
Bryn Forbes |
Michigan St. |
Cleveland St. |
29 |
13 |
135 |
10.3 |
15.6 |
Katin Reinhardt |
USC |
UNLV |
28.9 |
21 |
88 |
9.6 |
10.1 |
Aaron Cosby |
Illinois |
Seton Hall |
24.8 |
21 |
104 |
9.9 |
12.6 |
Frank Rogers |
San Jose St. |
San Francisco |
24.8 |
26 |
91 |
10.4 |
1.8 |
Nick Zeisloft |
Indiana |
Illinois St. |
22.1 |
13 |
128 |
7.5 |
6.9 |
Paul Jesperson |
N. Iowa |
Virginia |
21 |
14 |
128 |
6.1 |
4.7 |
Farad Cobb |
Cincinnati |
Chattanooga |
20.9 |
18 |
119 |
7 |
5.7 |
TJ Cline |
Richmond |
Niagara |
16.2 |
30 |
127 |
10.7 |
7.9 |
I thought Reinhardt would be more of a scorer and creator for USC, but some of his struggles can be blamed on USC’s extreme youth.
Rebounding Specialists (15 Players)
Player |
Team |
Prev Team |
MPG |
Pct Poss |
Ortg |
PPG |
Prev PPG |
TaShawn Thomas |
Oklahoma |
Houston |
28.6 |
16 |
93 |
8.1 |
15.4 |
Jon Horford |
Florida |
Michigan |
28.4 |
17 |
123 |
10.3 |
3.8 |
Darion Clark |
USC |
Charlotte |
27.2 |
19 |
96 |
8.6 |
6.2 |
Demarco Cox |
Georgia Tech |
Mississippi |
25.6 |
22 |
100 |
10 |
4.2 |
Desmond Simmons |
Saint Mary's |
Washington |
25.3 |
16 |
118 |
7 |
5.2 |
Charles Mitchell |
Georgia Tech |
Maryland |
24 |
26 |
99 |
10.4 |
6.5 |
Jaylen Bond |
Temple |
Texas |
22.8 |
16 |
94 |
5.2 |
2.8 |
Achraf Yacoubou |
Saint Louis |
Villanova |
22.1 |
28 |
83 |
8.6 |
2.9 |
Chris Washburn |
TCU |
UTEP |
22 |
18 |
122 |
8.2 |
4.5 |
M.J. Rhett |
Mississippi |
Tennessee St. |
21.6 |
15 |
104 |
6 |
10.9 |
Robert Sampson |
Georgia Tech |
East Carolina |
21.5 |
17 |
88 |
5.1 |
9.1 |
Robert Upshaw |
Washington |
Fresno St. |
16.8 |
23 |
121 |
9.2 |
4.1 |
Michael Kessens |
Alabama |
Longwood |
16.5 |
23 |
96 |
6.2 |
13.7 |
Stephen Hurt |
Kansas St. |
Lipscomb |
15.4 |
20 |
111 |
6 |
11.5 |
Moses Abraham |
Nebraska |
Georgetown |
15.2 |
12 |
94 |
2.7 |
1.9 |
Jon Horford is scoring at a higher clip than expected, but with most of Florida’s players posting disappointing numbers, he has had to.
Among all the D1 transfers on this list, Robert Upshaw leads the way with 24 blocks. Chris Washburn is second with 14.
Major Scorers (25 Players)
Player |
Team |
Prev Team |
MPG |
Pct Poss |
Ortg |
PPG |
Prev PPG |
Myke Henry |
DePaul |
Illinois |
29 |
28 |
112 |
17.3 |
3.2 |
Trevor Lacey |
NC State |
Alabama |
34 |
22 |
129 |
16.8 |
11.3 |
Bryce Dejean-Jones |
Iowa St. |
UNLV |
32 |
23 |
124 |
16.3 |
13.6 |
Sheldon McClellan |
Miami FL |
Texas |
32 |
23 |
126 |
16.3 |
13.5 |
Jordan Price |
La Salle |
Auburn |
30 |
33 |
96 |
16.1 |
5.4 |
Kyle Wiltjer |
Gonzaga |
Kentucky |
25 |
26 |
128 |
15.9 |
10.2 |
Ricky Tarrant |
Alabama |
Tulane |
25 |
26 |
123 |
15.3 |
15.7 |
Chase Fischer |
BYU |
Wake Forest |
28 |
21 |
119 |
15.2 |
4.5 |
Devonta Pollard |
Houston |
Alabama |
32 |
24 |
107 |
14.8 |
3.9 |
Aaron Brown |
Boston College |
Southern Miss |
30 |
28 |
92 |
14.3 |
9.9 |
Eric Weary |
Houston |
New Mexico St. |
24 |
23 |
128 |
14.2 |
1.1 |
Angel Rodriguez |
Miami FL |
Kansas St. |
31 |
28 |
105 |
13.9 |
10.9 |
Stanton Kidd |
Colorado St. |
NC Central |
34 |
20 |
118 |
13.9 |
14.5 |
Matt Carlino |
Marquette |
BYU |
31 |
23 |
113 |
13.8 |
13.7 |
Julien Lewis |
Fresno St. |
Texas |
33 |
26 |
90 |
13.3 |
11.2 |
Stefan Moody |
Mississippi |
Florida Atlantic |
24 |
29 |
103 |
12.9 |
15.7 |
Jalen Jones |
Texas A&M |
SMU |
24 |
26 |
107 |
12.4 |
14.0 |
Keith Hornsby |
LSU |
UNC Asheville |
35 |
18 |
102 |
12.2 |
15.0 |
Josh Gray |
LSU |
Texas Tech |
34 |
22 |
94 |
12 |
9.3 |
Aaron Bright |
Saint Mary's |
Stanford |
37 |
18 |
102 |
12 |
5.9 |
Danuel House |
Texas A&M |
Houston |
29 |
18 |
119 |
11.8 |
13.6 |
Jonathan Holton |
West Virginia |
Rhode Island |
25 |
21 |
121 |
11.5 |
10.2 |
Terry Whisnant |
East Carolina |
Florida St. |
28 |
21 |
108 |
11.5 |
5.2 |
Cavon Baker |
Houston |
Florida Atlantic |
28 |
24 |
92 |
11.2 |
2.6 |
Byron Wesley |
Gonzaga |
USC |
27 |
23 |
111 |
11.1 |
17.8 |
Myke Henry had his coming out party in last week’s upset of Stanford. It may be a little bit of a surprise that Henry is leading this list, but he was a Top 100 recruit out of high school.
The top players in our preseason forecast have been scoring at a high rate. Sheldon McClellan, Matt Carlino, and Trevor Lacey have all been prolific in the early going. Jalen Jones is a little lower than expected, but had I known that Danuel House would have been eligible, Jones projection would have been slightly lower.
BC’s Olivier Hanlan gets all the hype, but BC’s Aaron Brown was a key player for a Southern Miss team that shared the C-USA crown last year. Brown had 16 points in Boston College’s surprise win against Providence over the weekend.
LSU’s Josh Gray received a little more hype due to his prolific JUCO scoring, but Keith Hornsby has actually equaled his scoring this year for LSU. In Thursday’s surprise win against West Virginia, both players played a big role. Horns