Loyola?s Gerald Brown wanted to come home. Morgan State?s Boubacar Coly wanted a second chance. Towson?s Josh Thornton just wanted an opportunity to play.
Each player had different reasons for wanting to attend another school, but now share a common bond: They all have played critical roles in turning mediocre teams into contenders.
They also represent a portion of a long list of transfers who left four-year schools to play for Baltimore-area colleges, where they look to lead their team to become the state?s first outside of College Park to make the NCAA Tournament since Navy in 1998.
Towson coach Pat Kennedy said he prefers only to recruit transfers to complement his roster ? even if NCAA guidelines mandate all transfers are ineligible to play in games for a year if they transfer between Division I schools But still, Kennedy felt like Towson, which hasn?t had a winning season in 12 years, needed an infusion of talent to jumpstart a downtrodden program.
Thornton, who sat out last season after transferring from Georgetown, has averaged 12 points in eight games since becoming eligible in December. He joins leading scorer Junior Hairston, who averages 13.7 points a game after transferring from the College of Charleston two years ago. Next season,
Towson will add three more transfers: Brian Morris, a guard from the University of Richmond, and brothers Jarrel and Jimmy Smith, who played at Colorado State.
“I want players who will be able to come in and grow together over a period of time,” Kennedy said. “It?s easier to take a chance on someone when you?ve recruited them before, but when you haven?t, you have to make sure they are the right fit for your team.”
At Loyola, Brown has become the focal point after transferring from Providence three years ago. The former standout at Frederick Douglass High returned to Baltimore to be with his newborn son, J?linkai, and his mother, Pam, who died three years ago from complications from gall stone surgery.
Brown, a guard who averages 18.4 points a game, said playing in the Big East makes him a marked man in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference because of his experience in a high-profile league that often looks down on smaller conferences like the MAAC. He stresses to local players they don?t have to go far to get a quality education and exposure as a player who aspires to play professionally.
“If you?re good,” Brown said, “you?ll get noticed no matter where you play.”
Nowhere have transfers made a greater impact than UMBC (13-7, 5-2 America East), which is in first place in the league after its 62-40 win at Boston University Tuesday night. The trio of James Madison transfers ? guard Ray Barbosa and forward Cavell Johnson, bothseniors, and junior guard Darryl Proctor, who came from Coppin State ? represents nearly 43 of the Retrievers? 76 points per game.
“There are many reasons players transfer,” Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said. “Some guys get home sick, others need to get far away from their current situation while others just need a fresh start.”
Bozeman has had a similar reliance on transfers ? and it has paid off.
Morgan State (9-8, 4-1 MEAC) is tied for second in its conference thanks in part to the play of forwards Marquise Kately (California) and Boubacar Coly (Xavier).
Coly, a 6-foot-9 native of Senegal, leads the conference in blocks (43) and is 10th nationally in rebounds per game (10.6). He hasn?t missed a game in two seasons after sitting out two years at Xavier after suffering several knee injuries.
“I love the game,” Coly said. “But because I wasn?t playing and I thought Ideserved a second chance and I have been given that chance here.”
Staying true to your school?
» Loyola: G Gerald Brown (Providence), Sr.; C Hassan Fofana (Maryland), Sr.; G Joe Miles (Marshall), Jr. F Omari Isreal (Notre Dame), Sr.; Combined points: 31.8. Combined rebounds: 14.1.
» Morgan State: F Marquise Kately (California), Jr.; F Boubacar Coly (Xavier), Sr.; Combined points: 22.1. Combined rebounds: 16.
» Towson: G Josh Thornton (Georgetown), Soph.; F Junior Hairston (College of Charleston), Jr. Combined points: 25.7. Combined rebounds: 12.7.
» UMBC: G Ray Barbosa (James Madison), Sr.; F Cavell Johnson (James Madison), Sr.; G Darryl Proctor (Coppin State), Jr. Combined points: 42.7. Combined rebounds: 20.3..
?Staff writer Dave Carey contributed to this story.
