Mid-Season Transfer List Increasing?

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Maybe I am getting old, but it sure seems like the list of high profile kids transferring mid-season is increasing - at least this year anyway.

December is always a popular transfer time because a recruit can play in January 12 months later if they enroll at the new school in January (so they only miss the non-conference play of the next year). Usually, the transfers are sophomores at BCS conference schools transferring to mid and lower DI schools for playing time.

This year though it seems there are some high profile freshman making transfers from one BCS school to another. As the internet speeds up the delivery of information and everything else we "need", maybe it is also creating more expediency in expectations of playing time for athletes.

The Alex Legion (Kentucky) and Lavel Lucas Perry (Arizona) were both very surprising freshman transfer announcements. Legion was a Top 50 recruit who was averaging 17 minutes and 6.7 points per game. Those are very good stats for a freshman, but maybe Alex is trying to compare himself with the fab freshman this year including Gordon, Mayo, Rose and Love. If so, he is in for a lot of disappointment as that is a tough group to hang with.

Lavel Lucas Perry was averaging 9.8 minutes and 4.0 points - again pretty good stats for a freshman, but he was in the shadow of freshman sensation Jerryd Bayless. Maybe that got under his craw or maybe he only went to Arizona because of Lute Olsen and he doesn't think he is coming back. In either case, it is a surprising transfer given the playing time and points he earned in the first five games.

This morning we learn that Casaan Breeden is transferring from Florida State. Breeden is a junior so after the transfer and sitting out a year, he will only have 1.5 years of eligibility remaining. Breeden was 2005 Mr. Basketball in South Carolina so he certainly had expectations for playing time and success at the DI level. This year he was averaging 14 minutes, 4.7 pts and 2.4 rebs per game - middle of the pack type stats. Seems like a disruptive move at this point in a college career.

This will be an interesting trend to watch in the coming years. For a full list of mid-season transfers check out the College Hoop Blog at Fox Sports