MVC players who transferred elsewhere

[Da Coach]

Starting this thread to follow all the transfers who left the MVC after last season looking for greener pastures elsewhere (or more NIL cash).
I'll start with a couple UNI guys...

Nate Heise is now at Iowa State- He was a 3rd team All-MVC last season and was UNI's leading scorer with 13.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and he shot 36% from three.
So far at Iowa State (2-0) in the Big 12. He has averaged 17 minutes per game, and has not started either game. He is 2-5 from the floor, and 1-3 from three for a toal of 5 points, and an average of 2.5 ppg. He is 9th on the team in scoring, and is averaging just 1.0 rebound per game.

Bowen Born is now at Colorado State of the Mountain West, somewhat of a lateral move- They are 2-0 so far, and Born also is not starting. He has averaged 6.5 ppg off the bench, but he is just 2-11 from the floor (18%), and is 0-4 from three (0.0%). He has 9 assists and just 1 turnover in wins against North Dakota and Tennessee State.

[Da Coach]

Now some good news if you're a Connor Hickman fan...
Bradley's Connor Hickman is at Cincinnati (2-0 with two blowout wins)- He's has averaged 24.0 minutes per game, and only 1 other player on the team has played more minutes. He started one game of the 2 games Cincinnati has played. He is 6-11 from the floor (54.5%) and 3-7 from three (42.9%),for an average of 7.5 ppg. I watched some of their two games, and he has been impressive on defense, which, along with his shooting, might be why he quickly moved into their starting lineup for game 2, despite their top 4 guards returning from last year's team (one of them, PG Day Day Thomas is out due to injury).

[Da Coach]

Cade Tyson is now at North Carolina- He was a 2nd team All-MVC pick last year, and would have been a preseason 1st team pick this year, and would have gotten votes for the preseason POY if he had stayed.
North Carolina is 1-1 having beaten Elon and lost to Kansas. Tyson he has played a total of 18 minutes (9.0 mpg), 17 minutes of which were in their blowout win over Elon. He was just 1-6 from the floor and 0-3 from three in that game. In the loss to Kansas, he played 1 minute and was 0-1. So for the season, so far, he is getting garbage-time minutes, and is averaging 1.0 ppg on 14% shooting and 0% from three. He is averagin 1.0 rebounds and 0 assists per game. Was it worth it?

Another former Bradley player, Jayson Kent is now at Texas- After a stellar career at Bradley and Indiana State (13.5 ppg and an MVC-leading 8.1 rpg and 63.9% FG% last year) he is not starting for Texas. Texas is 1-1 after a loss to Ohio State and a huge 90-59 blowout over Houston Christian.
Jayson is averaging 17.0 minutes per game and his average is 6.0 ppg and 3.0 rpg. He is 3-9 overall (33.3%) and 2-6 from three (33.3%). They play again tonight at home against Chicago State.

Indiana State's Julian Larry is also coming off the bench for Texas this year, He is averaging 5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, and 4.0 apg after their two games.

[Da Coach]

A few others who are doing well, so far...
Indiana State's leading scorer last year, Ryan Conwell, is now at Xavier- Xavier is 2-0 with home wins over Texas Southern and IU Indy (formerly IUPUI). Conwell is Xavier's leading scorer so far, averaging a team-leading 32.0 mpg and 20.0 ppg. He is 12-23 (52.2%) overall, and 8-16 (50.0%) from three. They play Jackson State tonight.

Tucker DeVries is at West Virginia (2-0)- He is averaging 17.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg, and he is shooting 45% overall, and 50% from three.

And a few former MVC players now at DePaul have started out well.
DePaul is a surprising 3-0, matching their win total for all of last season when they went 3-29.... must be all the MVC transfers they have...
UIC's leading scorer last year, Isaiah Rivera, is now DePaul's leading scorer, 16.7 ppg and 3.7 rpg.

Missouri State's N.J. Benson is not starting and is averaging only 12.7 mpg through 3 games for DePaul. But he is averaging 10.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg

SIU's Troy D'Amico has started all 3 games at DePaul, and is averaging 6.7 ppg and 3.0 rpg.

And Drake's Connor Enright has also started all 3 games for DePaul at point guard. He is averaging 5.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, and 6.3 apg.
I haven't watched any games, but no doubt he has flopped a couple dozen times trying to draw charging fouls.

[Da Coach]

More guys doing pretty well...
Drake's Kevin Overton, who was an All-Freshman pick last year in the MVC (11.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg) is now at Texas Tech. They are 2-0 with blowout wins at home against Bethune-Cookman and Northwestern State. Overton has started 1 game, and is averaging 14.5 ppg, and 3.0 rpg.

Drake's Atin Wright, who was second to Tucker DeVries in scoring for Drake last year (14.1 ppg) is at North Texas (2-0). Wright is averaging 16.0 ppg and 3.0 rpg so far for UNT.

Belmont's Malik Dia is now at Ole Miss. They are 2-0 with a blowout win over LIU and a narrow 66-64 win over Grambling. Dia, now at his 3rd school in 3 years (spent a year each at Vanderbilt and Belmont) is averaging 7.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg.

Illinois State's Myles Foster who made the All-Newcomer's team last year in the MVC (12.4 ppg and 8.1 rpg) is now at Clemson (2-0). Through 2 games, he is averaging 8. ppg and 4.5 rpg off the bench.

Indiana State's Isaiah Swope who was a 2nd team All-MVC last year and averaged 15.9 ppg, second on the team to Robbie Avila, is now at St. Louis. St. Louis is 1-1 with a loss to Santa Clara and a blowout win over Avila University. Swope is averaging 16.0 ppg so far this season.

And Robbie Avila, a 1st team All-MVC player last year and also now at St. Louis, only played 29 minutes in their first game against Santa Clara before leaving with a severe ankle injury. He had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in the game.

[Da Coach]

Also...
Belmont's Ja'Kobi Gillespie, who was a 2nd team All-MVC last year (17.2 ppg) is now starting for Maryland, which is 3-0 with an average margin of victory of 32 points with 3 easy wins. He is averaging 13.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, and 2.7 apg.

Missouri State's Alston Mason at now at Arizona State. He was the 3rd leading scorr in the MVC last year behind DeVries and Avila with a 17.5 ppg average. This season he is averaging 13.0 ppg for Arizona State (3-0).

UIC's C.J. Jones is now at Kansas State. He averaged 11.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and 4.8 apg last year at UIC. This year at Kansas State, he has started both their games (they are 2-0), and is averaging 19.0 mpg, 5.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, and 2.0 apg.

UIC's Toby Okani is also at West Virginia with Tucker DeVries. He has started both their games, and is averaging 8.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg.

Evansville big man Yacine Tuomi is now at Seton Hall. They are 1-1 with a win over St. Peters and a loss to Fordham. Tuomi is starting and averaging 9.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg.

And Missouri State's Chance Moore is now at St. Bonaventure. He is averaging 22.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg in their two wins over CSU-Northridge and Canisius.

[egib52]

Just crazy to see how many productive players left the conference. I do think DePaul's record is mostly the teams they have played.

[yoda]

ISU's Luke Kasubke now at N. Dakota State averaging 2.7 ppg
ISU's Harouna Sissoko didn't get any DI interest, landed at Arkansas-Monticello Weevils, avg 6 ppg, 3 rpg off the bench
SIU's Scottie Ebube, now at Wyoming, 11ppg, 2 rpg, hitting 77% FG%
SIU's Clarence Rupert, now at Iona, 17.5 ppg, 6 rpg, hitting 62.5% FG%
SIU's AJ Ferguson now at Murray State, 9.5 ppg, 6 rpg
SIU's Cade Hornecker now at Abilene Christian, 4.5 ppg but definitely better looking hair
SIU's Trey Miller, now at UT-Rio Grande Valley avg 8.7 ppg
Evansville Ben Humrichous doing well at U of I - 14.5 ppg, hitting 53.8% from 3-pt
Drake's Colby Garland went to Longwood, now avg 10 ppg
same with Drake's Carlos Rosario - now 10 ppg at ORU
Drake's Chico Johnson who was so deep in the playing rotation that I am sure nobody's ever heard of him, went to USC-Upstate and now starts & gets 20-25 min per game averaging 7 ppg
Darnell Brodie is awaiting word on whether his transfer to USC-Upstate will go thru and grant him 4 more years of eligibility then he plans to retuire and collect Social Security.

There's plenty more on all the other MVC transfers (almost too numerous to count) some doing well, others getting little playing time.

As for Drake's Conor Enright - there's a whole thread on the Reddit message board about the game and here's one of the comments:
" Fast start for DePaul leading Mercer 14-9. The bigs have 9 of those. 5 from David Skogman and Troy D'Amico the Southern Illinois transfer with an four point play. Isaiah Rivera getting the kind bounce from 3.

....Everyone in the Missouri Valley is used to seeing Conor Enright flop like that."

[Tommy]

....Everyone in the Missouri Valley is used to seeing Conor Enright flop like that."[/i]

[BUfan14]

Now some good news if you're a Connor Hickman fan...
Bradley's Connor Hickman is at Cincinnati (2-0 with two blowout wins)- He's has averaged 24.0 minutes per game, and only 1 other player on the team has played more minutes. He started one game of the 2 games Cincinnati has played. He is 6-11 from the floor (54.5%) and 3-7 from three (42.9%),for an average of 7.5 ppg. I watched some of their two games, and he has been impressive on defense, which, along with his shooting, might be why he quickly moved into their starting lineup for game 2, despite their top 4 guards returning from last year's team (one of them, PG Day Day Thomas is out due to injury).

His game 2 box scores numbers (of course it doesn't factor in defense) were not great. His stats are mostly buoyed by the first game. The second game he was 1-5 overall, 0-3 from three, 0-1 from the line, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, with 3 fouls, and a turnover in 25 minutes. As with any transfer from the Valley to a high major, it will be fascinating to see when the competition grows how he will do. The teams they have played so far are not exactly high level teams.

I do expect he will be at least a solid player for them on both ends, but what is the ceiling he can reach? Will it have made a transfer worth it in the end? Seemed like a good kid, so I hope he is happy and productive.

[Tommy]

Only Connor's I care about are Connor Dillon and Connor Linke.

[yoda]

..Tucker DeVries is at West Virginia (2-0)- He is averaging 17.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg, and he is shooting 45% overall, and 50% from three....

very tough news for the two time MVC Player of the Year Tucker DeVries. It was revealed that he has played much
of the past two seasons with a nagging right shoulder problem. After he (and his Coach/Father) transferred last spring
to West Virginia, he underwent surgery. They never fully revealed the nature of the shoulder issue on the arm he uses
for shooting, but it sounds like possibly a shoulder labrum tear.

He rehabbed over the summer and was pronounced cleared for this season.... but after their first 8 games,
he's averaging 15 ppg and hitting almost 50% of his 3-pointers - suddenly they announced he is
"out indefinitely with an upper body injury" .. rumored to be a recurrence of the same shoulder problem.
Possibly they are considering keeping him out to preserve a potential medical redshirt since he's still played
few enough games to qualify. Multiple sources see him as a likely 1st round pick in the NBA Draft,
but those plans could be upset if his season end badly - needing surgery again.

[egib52]

very tough news for the two time MVC Player of the Year Tucker DeVries. It was revealed that he has played much
of the past two seasons with a nagging right shoulder problem. After he (and his Coach/Father) transferred last spring
to West Virginia, he underwent surgery. They never fully revealed the nature of the shoulder issue on the arm he uses
for shooting, but it sounds like possibly a shoulder labrum tear.

He rehabbed over the summer and was pronounced cleared for this season.... but after their first 8 games,
he's averaging 15 ppg and hitting almost 50% of his 3-pointers - suddenly they announced he is
"out indefinitely with an upper body injury" .. rumored to be a recurrence of the same shoulder problem.
Possibly they are considering keeping him out to preserve a potential medical redshirt since he's still played
few enough games to qualify. Multiple sources see him as a likely 1st round pick in the NBA Draft,
but those plans could be upset if his season end badly - needing surgery again.

With the possibility of him being an NBA player, I am surprised that they didn't take an ultra cautious approach.

[tomahawk chop]

His game 2 box scores numbers (of course it doesn't factor in defense) were not great. His stats are mostly buoyed by the first game. The second game he was 1-5 overall, 0-3 from three, 0-1 from the line, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, with 3 fouls, and a turnover in 25 minutes. As with any transfer from the Valley to a high major, it will be fascinating to see when the competition grows how he will do. The teams they have played so far are not exactly high level teams.

I do expect he will be at least a solid player for them on both ends, but what is the ceiling he can reach? Will it have made a transfer worth it in the end? Seemed like a good kid, so I hope he is happy and productive.

Hickman in the two games I saw took a total of 4 shots in each game and only made 1 in each game. He gets minutes but he is not used much in their offense. He more then likely is getting more money but if it was me I would rather have more playing time.

[BUfan14]

Hickman in the two games I saw took a total of 4 shots in each game and only made 1 in each game. He gets minutes but he is not used much in their offense. He more then likely is getting more money but if it was me I would rather have more playing time.

His numbers right now are pretty pedestrian and his worst since his freshman year. It appears in the last game (which was decent, but game after three straight poor offensive performances) he was not in the starting lineup. He appears to be firmly entrenched in the rotation either way, but it has to be weird after being a go to guy and leader here to being just another guy his senior year. Money aside, I wonder if he would make the same decision today? Of course, he will almost assuredly be in the tournament this year if that was his main motivation, and he wouldn't have been able to say that here. Though maybe with him back this year, who knows what would have happened.