College basketball transfers

The actual 'reasons why' truths will probably never be known because they won't be made for public consumption, and that's both understandable and fine. But let's look at what is public knowledge in specific situations rather than simply bemoaning the numbers of transfers that take place in college basketball.

First though, one further note: there is no crisis. The world is not ending because young people are changing their minds. Look at how many jobs people nowadays work at in their lifetimes. Heck, check out the divorce rate in this country. People no longer feel ball-and-chained to their current situations. Sure, some depart from situations that could become workable and eventually fulfilling and need to own their mistake but how many of us, particularly the transfer scolders, can claim to never having made an error in judgment even at a much later age than an 18-year-old kid?

Anyway, back to basketball and some specifics.

Joey Frenchwood signed with Montana State and new Head Coach Brian Fish last May. He wasn't a holdover recruit from departed Coach Brad Huse's tenure -- Fish wanted Frenchwood and vice versa. For perspective, Fish was probably in catch-up mode and scrambling for prospects having just been hired. The 6-foot-1 freshman guard started nine conference games for the Bobcats, averaging 11 minutes in league play, which is a curious situation in itself. Two other players leaving the MSU program alongside Frenchwood were also first-year Bobcats, one a freshman and the other a junior college transfer. This after a 7-23 season. Let's see if a season at a community college or another D1 landing spot appears this month.

Trevor Dunbar was a late signee with new Washington State Coach Ernie Kent. To say that Kent needed an infusion of talent into the Cougar program is an understatement. Dunbar's height -- 5-foot-9 -- was a recruiting concern but not an element that turned Kent away as he had some successful smaller backcourters while at Oregon. In 16 games at just under 10 minutes an outing, Dunbar posted a 24/17 assist-to-turnover ratio as a frosh. However, two other talents dominated the ballhandling duties: 6-foot-2 sophomore Ike Iroegbu finished the season with 106/60 assist-to-turnover numbers and 6-foot-2 freshman Ny Redding earned a 101/56 figure. It seems like a situation where Kent wasn't sure of Iroegbu, whose passing numbers a year earlier were 45/41 and brought in two others -- Dunbar and Redding -- with the hope that someone in the group would step forward. Entering 2015-16 as the third point surely wasn't a desirable situation for Dunbar. Also, Kent interestingly just received a commit from a JC point. Message board chatter indicates Kent may want Iroegbu to play some at the two and that Redding needs to demonstrate some improvements in his game because Iroegbu was shifted to the point due to Redding's deficiencies. As for Dunbar, it's hard to see how his recruiting prospects can be better than as a prep senior but he can play. At what level does he pursue?

JoJo McGlaston had a frustrating freshman season at Utah State with his sophomore one just a little less so. But why he decided on such a choreographed system of play in the first place is baffling. Granted, mastering such and pairing it with his remarkable athleticism at 6-foot-5 would have increased his hoops value immensely but this pairing just didn't take place. As a frosh, he shot 34% (21-61), 42% (9-21) and 40% (4-10) respectively in 8.3 minutes a game. In his sophomore go-around, it was just under 22 minutes a contest, shooting 32%, 33% and 61% respectively alongside a 58/40 assist-to-turnover ratio. There's a bundle of promise remaining within McGlaston but it needs to be tempered with better when-to-do-what decisionmaking.

Darin Johnson is the most recent departure, having spent two years up at Washington but not finding a role to play and suffering from a loss of confidence in his shooting. With a team lacking consistent scorers and especially impotent from outside, these needs didn't dovetail with Johnson's strengths. In just over 17 minutes a contest in 2015-15, he shot 30% overall, 19% from beyond the arc yet 78% from the foul line (36%, 24%, 78% as a freshman). He's big at 6-foot-5, with solid size at 200 pounds but appears best at slashing to the basket. However, opponents will lay off him until he makes them pay from both middle distance and outside. With two seasons of eligibility remaining, he's still an attractive signee but it's going to be at the mid-major level so that his dribble-drives will face lesser resistance in the paint. Regaining a higher confidence in his shot will be the key to his future odds for success but it really needs to be one where he is situated alongside at least two solid long-distance shooters.