SEC and other college basketball transfers

[jbcarol]

Former Mississippi State guard Rodney Hood will transfer to Duke or Ohio State and a decision will be announced Tuesday, according to BuckeyeSports...

[jbcarol]

Transfers are a hot topic on SEC Coach's conference call

"Too many people are making too big of a deal on transfers at the Division I level," Frank Martin said. "Kids are transferring three or four times in high school, it's not like they are going to get to college and all of the sudden have an epiphany and decide to do things differently."

"We're dealing with a society issue, because it's instant gratification," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "I think when guys go to college their freshman year and if they experience some adversity the first thing they think about is should I leave, should I transfer."

Of the 445 players on the Division I transfer list, only 15 are leaving SEC schools. One involved a player going from one SEC school to another, with South Carolina center Damontre Harris going to Florida.

"It's obvious there's too many," Barbee said. "I think all of the coaches would agree. But the flip side is 'What is the answer to it?' I don't think any of us have it."

Donovan blamed the high-transfer rate on rigid NCAA recruiting restrictions involving coaches contacting prospective athletes. He said coaches don't get a chance to know players well enough in high school before they reach campus.

[jbcarol]

Former Mississippi State swingman Rodney Hood is headed to play for coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, Dave Telep of ESPN.com is reporting and multiple other outlets have confirmed.

"I feel like coach (Mike Krzyzewski) and the staff can get the most out of me as a player and academically," Hood told ESPN. "I liked the teammates and felt like we have a good chance to compete for a championship."

He chose Duke over Ohio State.

Hood, who left Mississippi State after the retirement of coach Rick Stansbury at the conclusion of the season, averaged 10.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in his freshman year with the Bulldogs.

He will be eligible to play for Duke at the beginning of the 2013-14 season.

[jbcarol]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/60700/3-point-shot-dukes-hood-likely-1-and-done

[jbcarol]

The real statistical rise in the transfer market comes from "up-transfers." Luke Winn defines up-transfers as situations when a player moves from a mid-major to a high-major school, or from a mediocre program to a recent national champ, or from an unknown to an elite mid-major (Butler, Gonzaga, etc.). Instead of the traditional transfer flow -- wherein players moved downward or laterally in a bid for more playing time -- the past few years have seen the number of up-transfers double even as the rest of the transfer pool grows at a rate of around 2 percent.

[jbcarol]

The Syracuse saga of Mookie Jones is apparently over.

The guard who had been suspended for cyberbullying says he will not return to the Syracuse basketball team, telling the Syracuse Post-Herald that eligibility issues will keep him from returning to the basketball team.

As a sophomore, Jones 44.6 percentage from three-point range was the second-best mark in school history.

[jbcarol]

Reports that Jelan Kendrick is transferring to Indian Hills CC. 

Memphis and Ole Miss were previous stops for the McDonald's All-American.

[jbcarol]

There have been almost 450 college basketball transfers since the end of the season. Jeff Goodman and CBS Sports updates the list. With fall semester approaching, many have not landed a new school.

[jbcarol]

Backup guard Ben Eblen will not be back for a fourth season, he and Alabama coach Anthony Grant announced Wednesday.

His departure means Alabama is down to 10 players on scholarship, including forward Devonta Pollard, a highly regarded freshman.

Steele, a fifth-year player, will be the only senior on a team that will feature four sophomores.

[jbcarol]

Former Iowa State forward Calvin Godfrey's plans to transfer to LSU have fallen through after the player was unable to meet academic requirements.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Godfrey spent his freshman season at Iowa State before playing at Howard College in Texas last season. He was one of new LSU coach Johnny Jones' first recruits...

Godfrey averaged 12.6 points and 7.0 rebounds at Howard last season.

He played at Iowa State in 2010-11 before being dismissed from the team following an arrest for marijuana possession. Godfrey had also been suspended earlier that season for violating unspecified team policies.

[jbcarol]

Devonta Abron will be eligible to play in '12-13 for TCU per Coach Trent Johnson.

Abron left Arkansas to be closer to home in Texas.

[jbcarol]

Arsalan Kazemi is leaving Rice.

Kazemi, of Iran, averaged 12 and 10 last year for the Owls. Originally interested in  Kentucky, Texas, Oregon, Ohio State, Florida and Cincinnati, Kazemi has reportedly met with Dana Altman.

[jbcarol]

Almost half of the college basketball players who declared intention to transfer have not landed at another school to play basketball.

[jbcarol]

Altman lands Kazemi

Oregon had only three players taller than 6-foot-6 on its 2012-13 roster as recently as a month ago.

Now frontcourt depth could go from one of the Ducks' glaring weaknesses to one of their greatest strengths.

Two weeks after promising 6-foot-11 junior college transfer Waverly Austin transferred to Oregon after he couldn't get academically eligible at South Florida, the Ducks have also reportedly landed Rice transfer Arsalan Kazemi. The 6-foot-7 senior has been one of Conference USA's top interior players the past two years, averaging 15.2 points and 11 rebounds as a sophomore and 12.1 points and 10.3 rebounds last season.

Kazemi reportedly will petition for a waiver to play right away next season rather than sitting out the customary one year penalty. It seems like a long shot the NCAA would grant that waiver request unless there's compelling evidence not publicly available yet, but the possibility of having Kazemi next season certainly is intriguing for the Ducks.

[jbcarol]

Billy Donovan, Jr. transfers to Florida from Catholic as a walk-on.

He will sit out the '12-13 season unless he can get a waiver from the NCAA proving that he is moving closer to his family.

[jbcarol]

Jay Bilas ‏@JayBilas
Bummer Maryland's Dez Wells denied immediate eligibility. Too bad he doesn't have a relative with the sniffles or didn't play for his dad.

[jbcarol]

Jay Bilas ‏@JayBilas
Bummer Maryland's Dez Wells denied immediate eligibility. Too bad he doesn't have a relative with the sniffles or didn't play for his dad.

Dez Wells appealed the NCAA decision and is being allowed to play '12-13 for Maryland.

[jbcarol]

6-8 redshirt sophomore Daniel Alexander is transferring from A&M.