URI Basketball Lost 8 Players Last Year - Where Are They Now?

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Jim Malachowski, Sports Columnist

After the 2022-23 basketball season ended, the URI basketball team had to deal with the departure of eight of their scholarship players. Brayon Freeman was kicked off the team in February. Malik Martin graduated, having used up his eligibility. The other six players entered the transfer portal and left. This number of departures in a single year was unprecedented. The entire starting lineup was gone. 90% of the offense walked out the door.

 

Staggering Number of Players Enter the Transfer Portal

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Ram supporters were wondering and asking what was going on with the program. As the summer months passed and the new season approached, it became apparent that in this new era of college basketball with the portal and name, image, and likeness (NIL) money, this number of departures is not unusual. Eight Atlantic-10 teams lost five or more players to the transfer portal. UMass, Dayton, VCU, and George Mason all lost six players. Approximately 4,550 scholarship athletes are playing Division 1 basketball. 1,815 players entered the transfer portal this year. An astounding 40% of all players decided to pack their bags and hope to move on to a new team.

Transferring to a new school is a major decision for any college student. It is even more significant for an athlete seeking playing time and glory. Should the player attempt to move up to a more competitive conference and play in the big time? Or would it be best to move sideways, staying with a similar level of competition? The other option is to move down to a lower-rated conference to have a greater chance at playing time and stardom.

 

Who Transferred and Where Are They

Let’s look at the players who transferred from URI and see how they are doing. Did they move up, down, or sideways? Are they getting playing time and scoring points? Is the grass greener?

 

Ishmael Leggett – 6’3” Guard

Leggett transferred to the University of Pittsburg, which plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), one of the premier conferences in the county. Pitt lost four guards from last year and needed an experienced player to go along with the two highly-rated freshman guards they were bringing in. Leggett has fit in well and has started every game. He is averaging 30 minutes a game and scoring 14 PPG with 6.4 RPG. His move-up has worked exceptionally well for him.

 

Jalen Carey – 6’3” Guard

Last April 3rd, Carey declared for the NBA draft and entered the transfer portal. Things have not worked out for him. No team in the NBA expressed an interest. He reportedly was in discussions with Temple, but it is now reported he has decided to play professionally, probably in Europe.

 

Sebastian Thomas – 6’1” Guard

Thomas signed with the University of Albany, which plays in the American East Conference. This conference is considered a mid-major but at a lower tier than the Atlantic 10. Member teams include Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Bryant, and U Mass Lowell. The American East Conference is currently rated five conferences below the A-10 by Bracketologists.com. The smaller pond has served Thomas well, as he is the starting point guard for the Great Danes. He is the team’s star and leading scorer, averaging 32 minutes per game, 16.8 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 4.3 RPG.

 

Abdou Samb – 6’8” Forward

Samb transferred to Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), which is an interesting school. This long-standing collaboration between Indiana University and Purdue University will be split into two separate universities next fall. The newly formed Indiana University Indianapolis will retain all the athletic programs. Samb will be playing for his third school in three years.

IUPUI is a member of the Horizon League, which ranks 19th of the 32 conferences in NCAA basketball. Schools in the Horizon League include Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Northern Kentucky, and Wright State. This conference is a considerable step down from the A-10, currently rated as the 9th-best conference in the country.

Samb is coming off the bench for IUPUI and is averaging 18 minutes per game, scoring 4.7 PPG with 2.8 RPG. The Jaguars were 5-27 last year and are off to a 3-6 start.

 

Alex Tchikou – 6’11” Forward

Moving closer to home was not a criterion for Tchikou. He is a native of Paris, France, and after leaving Rhode Island, he moved further west to the University of Detroit Mercy. This is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. Tchikou is an interesting player. Coming out of high school, he was a 4-star recruit and signed with the University of Alabama. He ruptured his Achilles tendon just before the start of his freshman season and was redshirted. He only played three games for Alabama the following year and then transferred to URI. Tchikou has not played this year. He is a two-time transfer. A court decision this week has put a temporary hold on the NCAA’s restrictions on two-time transfers. Tchikou’s eligibility to play immediately is now unclear.    

Detroit Mercy plays in the Horizon League. Tchikou has gone from Alabama, which plays in the SEC – a Power Five conference, to the A-10, and now to the Horizon League, a lower-tier conference. The three schools he has attended could not be more different. Coming out of high school as a highly sought-after recruit, he could not have imagined his college career would take this course.

 

Louis Hutchinson - 6’7” Swingman

Charleston Southern University from the Big South Conference is the new home of Louis Hutchison. The Big South is currently rated as the 22nd-best conference in the county. Some members are High Point, Presbyterian College, Radford, and UNC Ashville. Hutchinson is starting for the Buccaneers, averaging 19 minutes per game, 4.9 PPG, and 2.0 RPG. Stepping down to a lower-rated conference has gotten Hutchinson a starting position, but he is logging only about half a game on average in terms of playing time.

 

Brayon Freeman – 6’2” Guard

Freeman was released from the URI basketball team on February 3rd, 2023. He was the second-leading scorer, averaging 14 PPG. The Rams were 8-14 at that time and were in the thick of A-10 conference play. From that point, the Rams won only one of their remaining nine games. Freeman is a scorer but may have been a problem all year. In November, he missed a game categorized as “out indefinitely.” His benching was a coach’s decision, not an injury. This past summer, he signed with Coastal Carolina University of the Sun Belt Conference, which is 23rd in the country. He is a second-time transfer coming to URI from George Washington. The NCAA denied his waiver request to play immediately. Freeman was looking at sitting out a year until this week’s court decision put the current NCAA transfer rules into question.

 

Bonus Coverage

The Mitchell twins have entered their fifth year as they get the extra year of eligibility due to the blanket COVID-19 extension. Initially enrolling at Maryland, in 2022, they left URI for Arkansas.

 

Makhi Mitchell – 6’9” Forward

During the 2022-23 season, Makhi started 31 games, playing 20 minutes per game. He averaged 7 PPG with 5.3 RPG. He played in all three of Arkansas’ NCAA Tournament games, averaging 17 minutes and 5.7 points. He has played in all 10 games this year, starting in 3. He is averaging 15 minutes per game with 6 PPG and 3.2 RPG.

 

Makhel Mitchell – 6’10” Forward

This Mitchell brother’s time in Arkansas has not worked out well. Last year, he averaged 13 minutes per game, scoring an average of 3.8 points with 3.3RPG. Makhel Mitchell left Arkansas and transferred to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This will be his fourth team, as he is a three-time transfer -Maryland to URI to Arkansas to Arkansas Little Rock. Before this week’s court decision, Mitchell needed a waiver to play this year. Depending on how things play out in court and with the NCAA, Mitchell may soon be on the court dominating the very weak Ohio Valley Conference.

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