A-10 men’s basketball hit hard by transfer bug

The Dayton men’s basketball team has experienced a relatively quiet offseason in one key respect: none of its players has transferred since the end of last season.

That makes the Flyers part of a small group in the Atlantic 10. According to a list of college basketball transfers on VerbalCommits.com, 11 of the 14 teams in the conference have seen a total of 26 players transfer since the end of the 2014-15 season. That number doesn’t include players who left during the season.

Dayton has had its share of players leave in recent years — Alex Gavrilovic and Khari Price last season, for example — but will return everyone except senior Jordan Sibert.

“It’s just the way it is now,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “It’s college basketball’s culture right now. When you add in the graduate transfers, it really becomes free agency for about a month and a half to two months, which isn’t fun.

“You’re trying to build a team. You scout and you schedule. Next thing you know, the team you scheduled is a lot different two months later. It’s a wild time of year in college basketball. It’s something the college coaches in general are trying to get a grip on.”

George Washington, Rhode Island, George Mason, Richmond, St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis all lost three players. Dayton, Davidson and La Salle were the only teams not to lose any.

While most of the transferring players had small impacts with their teams last season, there are some key contributors on the list, including: Fordham’s Eric Paschall (15.9 points per game); George Washington’s Kethan Savage (11.8); Massachusetts’ Derrick Gordon (9.8); Duquesne’s Jordan Stevens (8.9); George Mason’s Isaiah Jackson (8.7); Saint Louis’ Austin McBroom (6.7); Virginia Commonwealth’s Terry Larrier (6.6); and Richmond’s Alonzo Nelson-Ododa (6.6).

Academic honors: Seven Dayton teams were honored by the NCAA last week for their Academic Progress Rates: baseball, football, men's golf, women's cross country, women's golf, women's tennis and women's track.

Each year, the NCAA recognizes programs that earned multi-year APRs in the top 10 percent of their sport. This is the fourth straight year Dayton has had more teams honored than any school in Ohio.

Football, men’s golf and women’s golf have received the honor 10 years in a row, or all 10 years the APR has existed.

On Wednesday, the NCAA released four-year APRs (2010-11 through the 2013-14 academic year) for individuals teams. The Dayton men’s basketball program earned a multi-year APR of 974, tying for seventh in the A-10. The national average in men’s basketball is 961.

The Dayton women’s basketball team scored a 995, tying Davidson for first in the A-10. The Dayton baseball program posted a perfect score of 1,000, ranking 16th in the nation and leading all Ohio schools. Men’s golf, women’s cross country, women’s golf and women’s tennis also recorded perfect scores.

The Dayton football team recorded a 994, the best in the Pioneer Football League and fourth in the nation.

Sibert update: Sibert announced Friday he had scheduled workouts with the Magic, Suns, Knicks, Mavericks, Wizards and Clippers and was talking to six more teams. Earlier this month, he worked out for the Spurs.

About the Author