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The Trail Of Transfers

PROMISES, EXPECTATIONS COLLIDE

By Victoria Sun
Special to Recruiter’s Handbook
October 25, 2008

No matter how irritated he became, former Oregon forward Drew Viney heeded the advice and encouragement from his parents, Mona and Jamie.

They told him to be patient, trust his coaches and things might work out.

Unfortunately, they never did.

So before last season ended, Drew decided he needed to transfer to salvage what was left of his collegiate basketball career.

After averaging 31 points and 12 rebounds per game as a senior at Villa Park High School (Calif.), he turned down scholarship offers from Cal, Florida, USC, Washington, Washington State and Arizona to attend Oregon.

According to Viney, Ducks head coach Ernie Kent and his coaching staff convinced the 6-feet-7 Viney that he would be a starter or at least the first guy off the bench. But after playing in only 12 games and averaging just 6.9 minutes per contest for the season, Viney’s expectations never blossomed to fruition.

Viney spent the year dealing with a broken foot that wasn’t discovered until months after he arrived on campus, dispelling the notion that he was lazy due to the injury. He also watched his playing time fluctuate drastically even after he was completely healed.

"I had higher expectations than what actually went down," said Viney. "I was promised some things and they didn’t happen.

"Then a lot of little stuff built up and it just got worse as it went on. When I first got there I was told I was going to be one of the top five guys or the top sixth man. Then the first couple games, I was one of the last people off the bench so it was kind of demoralizing."

A few months later came the final blow that compelled Viney to eventually transfer to Loyola Marymount, where he says he is very happy with Lions’ first-year head coach Bill Bayno.

In the days leading up to the Ducks’ game at USC, he was told that he would get major minutes. Playing in front of family and friends, and perhaps most importantly, USC head coach Tim Floyd, was supposed to be a special moment for Drew. Floyd was the first one to offer him a scholarship, and this was a chance for Viney to show that he made the right decision.

But he never made it off the bench.

"I was in better shape than I was before they found out my foot was broken, and he didn’t even put me in the game. At that point I decided it’s time for me to go."

Viney is one of approximately 290 Division I players who decided to pack their bags and transfer after the 2007-08 season, many claiming that they were misled during the recruiting process. Conversely, college coaches frequently cite unrealistic expectations heaped onto players by those close to them, creating a toxic environment that threatens to spread to the rest of the team.

Clearly, coaching changes, the quest for more playing time, irreconcilable differences and the desire to be closer to home all are factors in the annual mass exodus.

But the increased numbers also indicates a shift in the way a player transfer is perceived.

In the past, when a player transferred he was generally labeled selfish or considered a pariah off the court.

"Today, it’s not considered a bad thing at all," said UNLV head coach Lon Kruger. "You try to find out why it didn’t work at the other school, and sometimes transferring is a good thing.

"If a young guy is in a situation that’s not emotionally good or if he isn’t getting enough playing time, I wouldn’t want a kid to be stuck with a decision he made as a 17-year-old."

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