There are a number of players transferring this year and lots of people are upset by this. GIL BERNARD FOR EXAMPLE HAS PICKED UP ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE STATE. Rutgers Prep has picked up two D1 players, including one of the best juniors in the state. I personally happen to know many of the kids in the Shore who are changing schools. Right now there are 6 players who have decided to transfer in the Shore Conference. Five will remain in the Shore and one has decided to leave the area to finish high school. The decision for a player and their family to change schools is never easy, especially for seniors. Most kids have developed relationships with fellow students, teachers and of course teammates. So to make it seem like kids who are transferring is so easy is silly. It also doesn’t always come down just to basketball.
The players who are transferring this year are taking advantage of the state rule that allows a player to transfer without sitting out 30 days like in the past. Now senior’s who transfer currently have to sit 20 days. Nobody understands the reason for this rule and it is being challenged in court. My guess is that the NJISSA doesn’t want kids leaving programs high and dry after three years. But what they feel to realize is that if a school has not developed a program during that seniors time. That senior has also been done a disservice as well and been left high and dry. I personally believe those kids have every right to leave without sitting. There is much at stake for many kids going into their senior year. They may be trying to get a free education, they may be trying to use basketball as means to gain entry to a college, they many otherwise not be able to gain admission too. These are facts and in the case of this year’s current group of transfers many in my opinion are leaving on solid ground. Let me give you some examples.
TRANSFER #1 is leaving because she and her schools head coach simply do not get along. The player and the players family have lost trust in the coach be it right or wrong. This is how the young lady feels and is not enjoying playing for her coach. This is a very common thing at all levels and all sports. Her reason for transferring are in my opinion legit. She has a number of scholarship offers on the table and wants to continue the recruiting process in another environment. So much that she is willing to sit the 20 days.
TRANSFER #2 is a D1 player with D1 offers on the table. But she is 100% going to continue the recruiting process. Her reasons are simple, her high school team simply will not have enough players to even run an open gym this fall. Next the roster will be made up of girls who rarely play or train. They have basically one returning varsity player and the school may not have enough players to even run a fall program. This player is a senior and I believe is wisely transferring. She has a very good case and nobody can fault her.
TRANSFER #3 is also a D1 player. She simply is looking for a better education and a different environment. She is a junior in one of the best programs in New Jersey. But she saw limited time last year. This was very disappointing to the young lady and made her decision even easier. She had no real issues with her coach or teammates. I believe she is simply looking for a new start. This player has worked very hard on her own to develop her skills sets. More importantly, basketball played a very small role in her decision. This was 100% an education first decision. By transferring to her new school it will position her to get in to an elite D1 or high academic college.
TRANSFER #4 is very tricky because she simply has made it clear. She want to attend a basketball program that has a program with year round basketball players. There is nothing more to it, she is simply taking advantage of the new rules and it not doing anything wrong or trying to beat the system.
Now these four players for example will affect lots of things. First they will certainly hurt the programs they are leaving. But remember kids graduate every year and programs move on. There certainly will be kids in programs that will lose playing time. But I would tell those kids transferring be very careful. If starting means more than minutes. Just remember often a coach will not start a transfer…yes even a D1 transfer and I have seen it. Coaches often do this to keep the peace and sometimes have relationships with families who they are friends with. In the end people just need to get use to the fact that kids will be changing schools every year now. You have kids who are off to college next year. They need to be prepared because Scholarships are no longer 4 year deals. So coaches especially those with D1 players, need to run programs that help prepare kids. Scholarships are year to year and a kid playing an entire season in programs where the coaches are not developing kids or having competitive practices could ruin a kids future. Just go look at the college transfer portal. More importantly I believe parents and kids need to do a better job of learning more about a schools program before attending. Not every program has a Pre, Post and in season program. Some programs are multiple sport programs and others are not. Some programs feature mostly D1 players while other focus on just the experience of high school sports and if the scholarship comes with even better. But either way, we are in a new world and the days of kids sticking around just because they have friends in a school are over… There is so much more that comes with a kids to decision to stick around or not.
MONDAY…. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION