Transfers Nationally?

[Phantom Warrior]

The past several years I've seen listes published of all players who've said they are transferring. Each year the list grows longer. I believe last year it approached 1,000 names.

I have not seen anything like that so far this year. Wondering if the number of transfers is in a downward trend after years of climbing/soaring.

Anyone else seen anything regarding transfer lists or number of transfers this year? I realize some names will pop up in June, but by the end of May, there have usually been quite a few such lists published.

[milkbone]

The last list I heard of had alittle under 700 transfers this season so far.

[TedBaxter]

http://verbalcommits.com/transfers/2017

Don't know if this includes all of the transfers.

[Phantom Warrior]

Thanks. If this is a current list, maybe the rate of transfers is actually slowing down a bit. I hope so. It's really gotten out of control.

[Markedman]

I really don't think it is going to slow down since many of them are viewed to be a positive by both coaches and players.

Some good players will always leave for their own reasons and that will upset coaches and fans who wanted them to stay.....i.e. Blankson and Uthoff etc.....but the majority are guys that didn't play at all or as much as they wanted......in those cases both player and school can benefit from a fresh start.

Just the reality of the situation....

[TedBaxter]

It's not going to slow down unless you get rid or the parent and AAU influence. I'm not saying all parents and AAU coaches are bad. It's just that they see more ability in their players than what they show on the floor.

How about this high school situation that I just became aware of? A girl from my hometown open enrolled as a freshman at a neighboring school that has better athletic programs and she played on youth basketball teams with some players at that school. As a freshman she was a varsity member of the golf and basketball teams that went to the state tournament. As a sophomore she was a member of a state tournament golf team and a sectional basketball team, but apparently didn't like the environment of the school. The rumor is that she will now transfer to a third school to be with some girls who play for an AAU team that is coached by this girls dad and the dad of one of her AAU teammates from this new school. This new school is a Division 5 school instead of the Division 3 school she was attending and they don't have a girls golf team and get this, she has to drive through 3 school districts to get to this school, which is 40 miles one way from home. Her dad then approached the golf coach of the school district they live in to see if she could play with that schools golf team, so he's asking for her to play golf at a school district that has had to fork out around $15,000 so far so she can attend other public schools. The only way she could play golf is if her new high school could petition her to be on a co-op team with a neighboring school and who knows how the WIAA would rule on that.

Parents are fucked up in a lot of instances and do they think that maybe her open enrolling into districts and taking playing time away from others might be a reason she didn't feel comfortable there and what about this new school? They've been in the last 2 Division 5 state tournaments and how do some of the girls coming up feel about a new girl coming in?

[DCwarrior]

I think the days of redshirting players will be a thing of the past at most D1 schools (especially at low and mid majors schools). Most coaches now probably don't want to take the risk of losing the kid for his final season as a graduate transfer by doing so. I think some coaches will be even try to push a kid back early from an injury rather than using a medical redshirt year for fear of losing him as grad transfer later on.

[Mucrisco]

It's not going to slow down unless you get rid or the parent and AAU influence. I'm not saying all parents and AAU coaches are bad. It's just that they see more ability in their players than what they show on the floor.

How about this high school situation that I just became aware of? A girl from my hometown open enrolled as a freshman at a neighboring school that has better athletic programs and she played on youth basketball teams with some players at that school. As a freshman she was a varsity member of the golf and basketball teams that went to the state tournament. As a sophomore she was a member of a state tournament golf team and a sectional basketball team, but apparently didn't like the environment of the school. The rumor is that she will now transfer to a third school to be with some girls who play for an AAU team that is coached by this girls dad and the dad of one of her AAU teammates from this new school. This new school is a Division 5 school instead of the Division 3 school she was attending and they don't have a girls golf team and get this, she has to drive through 3 school districts to get to this school, which is 40 miles one way from home. Her dad then approached the golf coach of the school district they live in to see if she could play with that schools golf team, so he's asking for her to play golf at a school district that has had to fork out around $15,000 so far so she can attend other public schools. The only way she could play golf is if her new high school could petition her to be on a co-op team with a neighboring school and who knows how the WIAA would rule on that.

Parents are fucked up in a lot of instances and do they think that maybe her open enrolling into districts and taking playing time away from others might be a reason she didn't feel comfortable there and what about this new school? They've been in the last 2 Division 5 state tournaments and how do some of the girls coming up feel about a new girl coming in?

I feel like I should respond to this. I know you have taken shots at AAU in the past and you are lessening that by saying not all AAU coaches are bad. However, I am questioning why you are singling out AAU. I know of many cases where HS coaches are responsible for transfers as well. I know of a coach of a state championship team that described the success of their program due to the recruiting kids from other districts. Of course this was after a few beers while sitting in a hot tub. I know of a girl who is transferring into another school district because that coach recruited her to the school. This girl is in 6th grade!

The transfer issue is not just due to parents and AAU coaches. I think you have to look at the much larger picture. The first is the sharp rise of organized sports. Kids are no longer learning their game in parks and driveways. Not only do they play on club teams, they go to trainers. The amount of money that parents put into organized sports is insane. With the dollars, time, and hard work that goes into a kid's interest in a sport, they don't want to watch their kid sit on the bench.

Second, we live in a world of instant gratification. This is probably the biggest reason for transfers. We are all guilty of this. When your web page does not load within five seconds, how angry do you get? How many times do you look at your phone per hour? In addition, kids do not need adults for information. They have their phones for that. So, kids don't want to wait their turn on the bench. They are condition for instant gratification. Add in all the participation awards and attitudes for always trying to be fair, this generation is all about what's in it for me.

[TedBaxter]

I feel like I should respond to this. I know you have taken shots at AAU in the past and you are lessening that by saying not all AAU coaches are bad. However, I am questioning why you are singling out AAU. I know of many cases where HS coaches are responsible for transfers as well. I know of a coach of a state championship team that described the success of their program due to the recruiting kids from other districts. Of course this was after a few beers while sitting in a hot tub. I know of a girl who is transferring into another school district because that coach recruited her to the school. This girl is in 6th grade!

The transfer issue is not just due to parents and AAU coaches. I think you have to look at the much larger picture. The first is the sharp rise of organized sports. Kids are no longer learning their game in parks and driveways. Not only do they play on club teams, they go to trainers. The amount of money that parents put into organized sports is insane. With the dollars, time, and hard work that goes into a kid's interest in a sport, they don't want to watch their kid sit on the bench.

Second, we live in a world of instant gratification. This is probably the biggest reason for transfers. We are all guilty of this. When your web page does not load within five seconds, how angry do you get? How many times do you look at your phone per hour? In addition, kids do not need adults for information. They have their phones for that. So, kids don't want to wait their turn on the bench. They are condition for instant gratification. Add in all the participation awards and attitudes for always trying to be fair, this generation is all about what's in it for me.

Good points. You have a PM.

[IWB]

Crisco - I know you have good points and I know you do a great job with your program. Yes, there are good AAU coaches and bad AAU coaches. There are good high school coaches and bad high school coaches. There are good parents and bad parents.

But...I would like to point out a massive difference between girls AAU and boys AAU. SHOE COMPANIES.

No, I am not just talking about sponsorships. My kid plays AAU right now and I can walk into any tournament and immediately point out half a dozen coaches that have no idea what they are doing, but are coaching some of the best, most powerful programs out there. Why? Some day hoping to cash in.

Examples -

Player 1 - AAU Coach forced him to go pro early. AAU coach got a cut of his contract and also a cut of his shoe contract.

Player 2 - Handler/wanna be agent got a cut of his contract, got a cut of his shoe contract.

Player 3 - Big time player - since he went pro, his AAU coach and shoe company contact pretty much follow him around the country, every city, every game. Hmm...why?

All three examples are different shoe companies. All three examples started here in Milwaukee.

You see so many crap coaches preying on young kids, usually those of single mothers. I was in a meeting for a 6th grade team a couple of years ago. Parents of probably 15-20 kids, where the coach said, "Every player here is good enough to get a college scholarship." Really? I could point to 13-18 of them that are not.

I can give examples of parents taking cash, I can give examples of parents taking cash for delivering someone else's kid. It all ties to the sleazy side of AAU, and I don't know that it exists as much on the girls side as it does on the boys side simply because of the potential size of the NBA salaries and shoe company contracts.

Again Crisco, I understand everything that you said and agree, but the potential 'gold mine' that a superstar with a shoe contract can be on the boys side brings these tools out of the woodwork.