A free-agent culture: How transfers are killing Cinderella...Up-transfers

[CaribouJim]

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/03/14/college-basketball-transfers-cinderella-ncaa-tournament

Rowsey reference..."UNC Asheville lost star players to up-transfers to Marquette, Louisville and Arizona the past two years".

[TheSultan]

I wish they would have interviewed more than one player. I mean, say what you want about the grad transfer rule, but I don't think there are really any good solutions about the traditional transfer with them sitting a year. Academically kids transfer regularly and easily.

[unclejohn]

I wish they would have interviewed more than one player. I mean, say what you want about the grad transfer rule, but I don't think there are really any good solutions about the traditional transfer with them sitting a year. Academically kids transfer regularly and easily.

I can see both sides of this, but what about the players? The article talks a lot about Seth Curry. He was preparing for his professional future. If he was at a second-tier engineering school and decide to transfer to one of the best ones, would anybody criticize him? How about somebody transferring to a better school so that he or she has a better chance of getting into medical school? Seth Curry's prospects were much, much better coming out of Duke than they would have been at Liberty.
I wonder how Seth wound up at Liberty in the first place. Take a look at Jimmy Butler. His only offer out of high school was Sam Houston State. So he had a choice of that or juco. No way he would be in the NBA if he had spent four years at Sam Houston State. I also cannot blame a player for graduating early and transferring up. It seems that is a pretty fair deal for the school that recruited him, and they get him for three years.

I do find it disturbing that coaches were clearly tampering with Stephan Curry, and I do not doubt there is a fair amount of that sort of thing going on.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Is it a challenge? Sure. But I think it's more common for guys to transfer laterally or down. From Marquette, we've seen Erik Williams, Jamail Jones, John Dawson, Jamal Ferguson, Yous Mbao, Sandy Cohen, and other transfer down because they couldn't compete at this level. I get that it sucks for coaches, but maybe it's time for them to start working the transfer route the other way. Rather than saying "woe is me" when Andrew Rowsey transfers, go find that high-major guy that could be a big contributor for you even though he didn't fit in at the higher level.

I'm hoping Duane doesn't transfer, but if he does, I won't blame him. We have a team with numerous scorers, and while I see a clear place for him to fit in next year, it's possible that he could be a big-time player at a smaller school or even really help a school at the same level if they have a need for guards.

College students transfer all the time. I transferred to Marquette. This entire article and its premise isn't about what's good for student-athletes, it's about treating them like commodities. When you get to the professional level, I suppose that's all it is, but at the collegiate level, I wish coaches would consider what's best for their unpaid employees rather than just themselves.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Is it a challenge? Sure. But I think it's more common for guys to transfer laterally or down. From Marquette, we've seen Erik Williams, Jamail Jones, John Dawson, Jamal Ferguson, Yous Mbao, Sandy Cohen, and other transfer down because they couldn't compete at this level. I get that it sucks for coaches, but maybe it's time for them to start working the transfer route the other way. Rather than saying "woe is me" when Andrew Rowsey transfers, go find that high-major guy that could be a big contributor for you even though he didn't fit in at the higher level.

I'm hoping Duane doesn't transfer, but if he does, I won't blame him. We have a team with numerous scorers, and while I see a clear place for him to fit in next year, it's possible that he could be a big-time player at a smaller school or even really help a school at the same level if they have a need for guards.

College students transfer all the time. I transferred to Marquette. This entire article and its premise isn't about what's good for student-athletes, it's about treating them like commodities. When you get to the professional level, I suppose that's all it is, but at the collegiate level, I wish coaches would consider what's best for their unpaid employees rather than just themselves.