Transfers/Seniors with Remaining Eligibility

[nescac1]

I believe that Spencer Freedman will be returning for NYU next year.  He noted in an early season interview that he had another year left (in addition to COVID year, he was hurt for a year at Harvard).  If so he's a sure-fire pre-season all-American, and NYU, with its four top scorers returning and a brand new facility to help draw recruits, could be a big factor nationally. 

[Riley Zayas]

From UMHB, Josiah Johnson and Kyle Wright both have the opportunity to come back for another year, which would be huge. Johnson already has UMHB's all-time scoring record...crazy to think this is only his 3rd season in Belton.

[Stretch4]

Freedman is certainly an AA candidate and a huge piece of NYU making more noise on a national level should he return next year, but does anybody else find it kind of ridiculous that he is turning 25 years old in June and still playing college basketball? I know by current NCAA rules he has another year of eligibility left, but at some point there should really be some type of age limits considered.

[Greek Tragedy]

I don't think so. If there's the Covid year, a redshirt injury year etc, why not, as long as he's playing by the rules? Todd Chin was a near-30 yr old goalie who led Stevens Point to the hockey national championship in '89. He served in the military prior to going to UWSP, I believe. There are numerous other circumstances that could cause someone to not attend college right after high school.

[nescac1]

There are going to be lots of dudes playing college sports this year and next who are in the 23-25 range.  First of all, lots of athletes now take a prep year to begin with.  Add in a redshirt year and/or a COVID gap year and many college hoops players are in their sixth year out of high school right now, or next year.  Freedman is actually the perfect example of how college athletics should work.  He was robbed of two years of competition through no fault of his own. Now he gets to play four years of the sport he loves at a high level while earning a Harvard degree plus a prestigious two year graduate degree from NYU. That's a heck of a lot of better than the SEC model where guys play a couple years at most, barely attend class, rarely get a degree, and are exploited by athletic departments making millions of dollars off their athletic exploits.

[Stretch4]

For the record, Spencer Freedman graduated high school (not prep school) in June of 2018 and promptly turned 20 two weeks later. While his classmates were graduating high school at 18, he was graduating at 20. The reason he was able to do this is because the California high school athletic governing body has a rule that states you can still be eligible to play sports in high school as long as you are 19 or younger on June 15th (he was 19 and 350 days at that point). The vast majority of states follow a August 31st or Sept 1st date for this. These rules are typically in place for hardship scenarios and kids with social or economic disadvantages.  Freedman is obviously an outstanding student (having first attended Harvard and now NYU), there was no academic or hardship reason for him to still be in high school at 20 years old. So clearly an orchestrated effort that started in middle school to get him the opportunity to play D1 basketball at an elite institution - which worked, so good for him. Heck, I guess it could be even more distorted had he attended a prep school for a year after high school. When you attend an Ivy league school as an athlete, you know you are signing on for only four years of eligibility at that institution. So that choice was made by he and his family. He had no intention of playing D3 basketball at any time in his career. I get it, things happened and here he is at NYU for two years and will still be playing next year as he approaches age 26. Nothing against Freedman as I am sure he is an outstanding young man, but this can't be the example of how D3 athletics should work. 

[stlawus]

I go back and forth on how I think about all this.  On one hand I do think players should be able to play 4 full seasons if they are eligible, on the other hand I do find it a bit ridiculous that there are 24/25 year olds competing against 18 year olds.  No matter the talent, there is a major competitive advantage when you're 24 years old playing against an 18 year old.  I personally would have no issue with an age limit of 23, but that will never happen.   There is a worrying trend in division III of things starting to model division I.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

For a kid going to Harvard and NYU, it probably wasn't an effort to maximize basketball, it was likely an effort to maximize his academic achievement.  Malcolm Gladwell had an interesting podcast on this phenomenon in his most recent season - the very top academic institutions and programs have an inordinate amount of "over-age" students.  Kids learn better the older they are, so there's been a trend in the last generation, to start kids a year late or hold them back between middle and high school to improve their academic performance against their peers and maximize their chances of getting into a selective school.

Not saying this is what happened with Freedman, but his story looks like the stories of a lot of kids at Ivy League schools, regardless of athletic participation.

[nescac1]

Two seniors with a fifth year of eligibility already looking to transfer and play while earning a grad degree (likely to a scholarship situation): Dan Carr from Augustana and Cory Mitchell from IWU.  I'm sure they won't be the last! 

[nescac1]

Reported on the NESCAC board: Wesleyan's Preston Maccoux and Colby's Will King are both looking to transfer and use their last year of eligibility.  I'm not sure what level they will end up at, but if either ends up on a D3 program, that would be a big-time addition and potential difference-maker for a really good team. 

Maccoux is a very athletic two-way wing who can do a bit of everything (score in the post, shoot the 3, attack off the bounce) and is an excellent defender. He's a good fit on basically any team.  Will King is one of the most unusual players to come through NESCAC in some time: he's a 6'5 point guard who is neither quick nor much of an outside shooter (though occasionally he can get hot), but he is an outstanding passer with uncanny court vision and also very crafty off the dribble attacking the basket, very hard to keep out of the lane despite his lack of elite athleticism, and at his size gives a lot of versatility on defense.  The D3 equivalent of Kyle Anderson, kind of ...   

[Gregory Sager]

Two seniors with a fifth year of eligibility already looking to transfer and play while earning a grad degree (likely to a scholarship situation): Dan Carr from Augustana and Cory Mitchell from IWU.  I'm sure they won't be the last!

Add a third from the CCIW: 6'5" Carthage swingman Fillip Bulatovic, a three-time All-CCIW honoree who scored over 1300 points during his career as a Firebird, is also looking for a school where he can play his Covid year as a grad student.

[nescac1]

Full list of guys looking to transfer so far.  All have one year of eligibility left other than Pearson, who has two; I believe only Pearson would not be a graduate transfer.

Logan Pearson, Plattesville
Will King, Colby
Preston Maccoux, Wesleyan
Filip Bulatovic, Carthage
Dan Carr, Augusta
Cory Mitchell, IWU
Lucas Heflin, IWU

Very strong group of players who will make an impact wherever they end up.  I'm sure more will be added to the list soon ...

So far, top seniors / grad students who are returning for another year to their current program are:

Jeff Hunter, Keene State
Spencer Freedman, NYU

Some top names to watch who still have a year of eligibility and whose intentions are unknown:

Dylan Thoerner - Tufts
Miles Mallory - RMC
Josh Talbert - RMC
Levi Borchert - Oshkosh
Josh Angle - CMC
Austin Grunder - Cortland
John Lowther - WPI
Josiah Johnson - MHB
Brendan Mora - Pomona
Ryan Clement - HSC
Jack Clement - OWU
Collen Gurley - Mount Union (even though it would be his sixth year, he did not play at Youngstown State after transferring and he has a COVID year)

[SpringSt7]

Did anyone move up to D1 last year outside of Sam Peek, Matthew Schner, and Luke Yoder? Trying to track down anyone else but none are coming to mind. I know Yoder struggled but overall I think most of the movers up have been success stories and would imagine that will factor into most D1 staffs calculus in regards towards considering D3 transfers.

[Gregory Sager]

Full list of guys looking to transfer so far.  All have one year of eligibility left other than Pearson, who has two; I believe only Pearson would not be a graduate transfer.

Logan Pearson, Plattesville
Will King, Colby
Preston Maccoux, Wesleyan
Filip Bulatovic, Carthage
Dan Carr, Augusta
Cory Mitchell, IWU
Lucas Heflin, IWU

Very strong group of players who will make an impact wherever they end up.  I'm sure more will be added to the list soon ...

The word on Twitter is that UWRF's 6'8" sophomore center Rodrick Payne (16.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg), a first-team All-WIAC selection, is about to step through the portal as well.

[nescac1]

Seems like it could be quite a different look for WIAC next year (other than Whitewater, who seems like it will be the overwhelming favorite to repeat as champions).  Of the 10-man all-league team, eight are either listed as seniors or looking to transfer up -- and the two remaining players are on Whitewater.  Whitewater also has two of the six non-seniors on the Honorable Mention list, one of only two returnees on the all-defensive team, and the newcomer of the year returning.

SpringSt7, I think that's the entire list of D3 to D1 moves last year ...