7 Potential Cinderella Stars Who Transferred From Major Programs
The NCAA Tournament bracket is officially set, meaning diehard college basketball fans are filling out tons of brackets and getting ready for their favorite time of the year. On the other hand, another large chunk of folks
Either way, there are teams a lot of people haven’t heard of in this year’s bracket, teams that could be potential Cinderella stories. With that, the players on those teams are even more unfamiliar to most fans. Some of these under-the-radar players were once part of more well-known programs, though, the teams who are on national television every night and have monster fanbases.
Here, we’ll look at some of these guys: players who were once a part of Power-5 programs now playing at lesser-known or small universities.
7 Potential Cinderella Stars Who Transferred From Major Programs
Rapolas Ivanauskas, Colgate
(transferred from Northwestern)
No. 15 Colgate vs. No. 2 Tennessee
Colgate won 11 consecutive games, including three in the Patriot League Tournament, to get to the NCAA Tournament. Ivanauskas is their best player, leading the team in points (16.4 PPG) and rebounds (7.9 RPG) after playing three games for Northwestern as a redshirt freshman.
Javon Bess, Saint Louis
(transferred from Michigan State)
No. 13 Saint Louis vs. No. 4 Virginia Tech
Bess was a straight-up stud in the A-10 this year, earning recognition on the conference’s All-Defensive Team and Second Team All-Conference Team while leading the Billikens in scoring (15.3 PPG). Now a senior, Bess was once a regular starter for Michigan State during the 2015-16 season. It should be noted that the Billikens also have a few other notable contributors who used to play at Power-5 programs: DJ Foreman (Rutgers) and Tramaine Isabell (Mizzou).
B.J. Stith, Old Dominion
(transferred from Virginia)
No. 14 Old Dominion vs. No. 3 Purdue
Stith, a Virginia native, is an ace scorer and shooter, averaging a team-high 16.9 points per game while making a team-best 71 three-pointers at ODU. He’s now in his third season with the Monarchs but as a freshman, he played for one of the best programs in the country, Virginia.
A.J. Harris, New Mexico St.
(transferred from Ohio State)
No. 12 New Mexico St. vs. No. 5 Auburn
As a freshman, Harris was firmly in Ohio State’s rotation, even starting a handful of games for the Buckeyes. After sitting out a year, he’s now become a star for the best team in the WAC. This year, he led the Aggies in assists (3.4 APG) and steals (1.0 SPG) while scoring almost 10 points per night (9.6 PPG).
Aubrey Dawkins, Central Florida
(transferred from Michigan)
No. 9 Central Florida vs. No. 8 VCU
Dawkins finished his freshman year (2014-15) on fire for Michigan, starting the final seven games of the season and scoring 31 points in the Wolverines Big Ten regular-season finale. After losing some playing time as a sophomore, he transferred to UCF and sat out a year. Last season, unfortunately, he missed the entire year with an injury before making his
Ahmaad Rorie, Montana
(transferred from Oregon)
No. 15 Montana vs. No. 2 Michigan
Now a senior, Rorie is Montana’s second-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game and their leader in assists at four per game. As a freshman, however, Rorie started 15 games for the Oregon Ducks and played in both of their NCAA Tournament games. Montana, a No. 15 seed, also features Oregon State transfer Kendal Manuel who has played in all 34 of their games while averaging 8.9 points per game.
Tyler Sharpe, Northern Kentucky
(transferred from Louisville)
No. 14 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 3 Texas Tech
The Norse are an exciting team to watch for and Sharpe is a big reason why. This year, the junior guard has made a team-best 85 three-pointers while putting up 14.1 points per game. Before coming to Northern Kentucky, however, Sharpe was one of Rick Pitino‘s recruits at nearby Louisville. You can find the complete NCAA Tournament bracket here.