Gamecocks not immune from college basketball’s transfer carousel

The season was barely over before the announcements began.

Jimmy Whitt was leaving Arkansas. Justin Coleman and Michael Kessens were leaving Alabama. Terry Brutus was leaving Ole Miss. Ray Kasongo was leaving Tennessee. And that was just in the SEC.

It’s a nationwide problem in the game.

College basketball players are in for a year or two, decide they don’t like it and transfer to greener pastures. Or players at smaller schools transfer to schools more in the spotlight. Or graduated players with a year of eligibility transfer for a year in the sun.

Whatever the reason, they leave, which leaves coaches in a constant state of updating and reconstructing their rosters.

“I think it’s 1,300 transfers over the last two years in Division I basketball?,” queried South Carolina coach Frank Martin after his team’s final game. “If you don’t recruit 24-7-365 as if you got to fill 13 spots with today’s culture, you get left without players. So you have to constantly recruit. You can’t stop recruiting.”

Martin’s been doing just that.

Armed with a new contract, he’s been doing the same as almost every other coach in the nation this week – where are the best players, and how can I get them to my school?

The Gamecocks might be facing the same problem as others, although theirs might be discipline-enforced. The status of five players suspended for a “conduct issue” before the NIT hasn’t changed, meaning USC could need a lot more than the three incoming freshmen it currently has.

The Gamecocks are no different from any program in that regard. They might have unexpected shortages and have to fill them.

While the ever-growing transfer list is bemoaned, it can also be a gold mine for coaches looking for players.

“I understand the dynamic of grassroots basketball right now. I understand the dynamic of 1,300 transfers in two years. That’s an average of four per school,” Martin said. “You’ve got to be prepared. You have to be prepared at all times, because 1,300 is a lot of transfers. And if you don’t recruit, then you get left with no players, and that’s no fun.”

The NCAA said that a third of all college students transfer, according to a recent story by The Associated Press. Exact numbers on basketball players weren’t released, but the NCAA knows that 40 percent leave their first schools after two years, and most of them are transfers.

Over the past 10 years through three coaches, USC has had several reps on the transfer list, coming and going. Some have been program-changing recruits (had Devan Downey been a Gamecock for four years instead of three after leaving Cincinnati, he undoubtedly would have topped BJ McKie as USC’s career leading scorer) and some have left USC because of trouble, gone to their new institution and again got into trouble (Mike Holmes, Desmond Ringer).

As the Gamecocks wade into the 2015-16 offseason and see who could potentially help them, they already have some early interest from players (Delaware’s Kory Holden and Presbyterian’s DeSean Murray are reportedly involved). They also are still hunting for unsigned freshmen or junior-college players.

In the past decade, Dave Odom, Darrin Horn and Martin have seen players arrive and depart, but it’s the way the game is structured. Each has hoped to hold on to the good ones, perhaps find a few great ones looking for new homes and not suffer too greatly if some leave.

It’s become harder and harder to keep a roster intact for very long.

“Everyone blames the college coaches – ‘Ah, we’re running players off.’ These kids transfer four or five times in high school. What, you think they’re going to get to college and have an epiphany and stay?” Martin said. “I hope we don’t have to replace so many people, but you don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ll see what happens. I’ve always recruited as though we have to fill 13 scholarships. We never stop, that’s what I believe.”

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Gamecocks not immune from college basketball’s transfer carousel."