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Historically, this was usually a quiet part of the calendar for college basketball teams who missed the Final Four. The season was still wrapping up and the offseason recruiting had yet to hit full swing. However, that’s no longer the case with the transfer portal and the near 24/7 recruiting cycle. And we’ve already seen that over the last few weeks, with a plethora of Big Ten players announcing their intention to transfer.
While we have a full running list of Big Ten transfers, it seemed like a good idea to put together a list of recent announcements with related thoughts. So, here we go:
Recent Big Ten Transfers:
-Eduardo Andre (Nebraska)
Not much to make of this departure. While he played in 30 games for the Huskers this season, he averaged 11.5 minutes and averaged an underwhelming 3.1 points per game. He was a pretty generic bench player on a bad team. Perhaps he could have developed into something, but this doesn’t look like a huge departure.
-Ben Carlson (Wisconsin)
This was a bit of a surprising one. Carlson arrived with a fair amount of hype and was expected to grow into a nice role on the wing for the Badgers in the years to come. While his numbers weren’t exceptional this year, that’s not exactly shocking to see for a freshman on a championship-level squad. With his home town located in Minnesota, it’ll be interesting to see if he attracts some Big Ten interest.
-Andre Curbelo (Illinois)
This is a big one. While Curbelo failed to meet expectations last season, he was a key contributor for a Big Ten championship squad and had shown plenty of promise during his time in Champaign. And that doesn’t even mention how much his numbers were messed with this year on account of health concerns. It’s hard to think Curbelo’s career won’t be one of those “what if” runs in Illinois history. You wonder what might have been had he been healthy all year. Either way, he’ll now leave a major hole in Illinois’ backcourt. Brad Underwood and staff will have some work to do.
-Marcus Dockery (Maryland)
This isn’t a particularly notable departure for the Terps. To start, Dockery didn’t play much for Maryland last season. He only saw action in eight games and averaged a putrid 4.4 minutes per game. Additionally, with the head coaching change, expect Maryland to see a roster overhaul. Keeping around a depth piece like Dockery makes little sense.
-Michael Durr (Indiana)
Perspectives on Durr are going to vary significantly and rightfully so. He didn’t play much last season, but was stuck behind Trayce Jackson-Davis and arrived with a decent pedigree from South Florida. He seemed like a player with few more in the tank than he got last season. However, Hoosier fans won’t know as he’s heading elsewhere. Assuming Jackson-Davis leaves, Durr’s departure will make things even more challenging upfront.
-Keon Edwards (Nebraska)
This could notable loss for the Huskers. Edwards saw his time fade during last season, but he played significantly early on and even started five games. He also arrived with a decent recruiting profile and it felt like he had a lot of room for improvement.
-Khristian Lander (Indiana)
While unsurprising, Lander’s departure finishes what became one of the more disappointing careers in Bloomington. Despite immense hype and one of the wilder recruiting announcements you’ll ever see, Lander was a complete dud for the Hoosiers. He never found his flow and thoroughly underwhelmed in his two-year career. Perhaps Lander can figure things out somewhere else because it certainly never clicked with Indiana.
-Matthew Mors (Wisconsin)
Mors is another Wisconsin departure that didn’t seem expected, but he was apparently homesick and wanted to return closer to home. Regardless, he was a non-contributor last year so fans won’t miss him much on the court right now.
-Josh Ogundele (Iowa)
Like a few of the departures described above, Ogundele’s decision won’t impact Iowa much in the immediate future. He barely played last year and probably wouldn’t have played a ton next year. However, he was a player with promise who could have grown over time. Fran McCaffery and his staff will need to fill in the roster behind him to make sure there’s depth moving forward. We’ll have to wait and see how it shakes out.
-Rob Phinisee (Indiana)
Like Lander above, Phinisee is another player where many will wonder about what might have happened had he lived up to his potential. Unfortunately, Phinisee could never quite find the consistency to be a top-end Big Ten play. It was always one step forward and another step back.
However, Phinisee did find a nice role off the bench for the Hoosiers last season. And with the departure of Parker Stewart (addressed below), Mike Woodson and staff are going to have a lot of minutes to replace in the backcourt. It figures to be quite a challenge.
-Sam Sessoms (Penn State)
This could be a big one. While Sessoms didn’t attract a ton of attention when he arrived at Penn State, his profile gradually improved and he became a really productive player for the Nittany Lions last season. In fact, he was one of the team’s best players down the stretch and helped lead a Big Ten Tournament run. He’ll now go somewhere else with his extra year of eligibility. Don’t be shocked if it’s somewhere else in the Big Ten.
-Isaiah Thompson (Purdue)
This is a notable departure. While Thompson was far from Purdue’s best player last season, he played 40 percent of minutes on a team that went to the Sweet 16 and could have saw more time next season as well. The Boilers will have plenty of questions going into next season and Thompson’s departure will be another on the list.
-Joe Toussaint (Iowa)
Like Thompson above, Toussaint’s departure is a notable one because of his role for the Hawkeyes last year. He may not have been one of the team’s best players, but he played significantly and in plenty of key spots. Add in some departing players around him and Toussaint seemed to have a viable path to starting. We’ll have to wait and see who McCaffery replaces him with.
-Ryan Young (Northwestern)
This is one of those departures that can be viewed a few different ways. On the one hand, Young was a valuable contributor on a decent but not great Northwestern squad. Losing a player like him in a vital year for Chris Collins isn’t great news. On the other hand, Young was also behind players like Pete Nance and likely going to get passed by younger players. It’s either a big loss or good attrition. Generally, this feels more like the latter. We’ll have to wait and see how it shakes out.