Who have been the best hoops players after transferring away from NU?

[SmellyCat]

I was thinking about this today when someone mentioned Roper at the end of the ND bench, but are there any transfers who have gotten better after leaving NU? Sure, some have gone to better team situations, like going to North Carolina or Duke (though you can argue that NU did better in those years than UNC or Duke did after Nance/Young left), but did any become better? I mentioned on another thread that I hate that other schools get the best years of a player that NU develops, but then I couldn't think of any good examples. We really do a good job of holding onto our stars and rarely have to have the pain of watching them excel elsewhere.

Going back to the 1990s, we had Geno Carlisle and Rex Walters, but am I forgetting anyone since then? Has there been a player this century who did so well at his new school that we really really wished he were still in purple?

 

[GatoLouco]

Benson or Rap can be argued they would have strenghtned our team had they stayed.

They did not set the world on fire, it was in a mid major environment, but they would have helped.

Don't think they fit the "really really" wish they had stayed though.

 

[SmellyCat]

Yeah, if they are the best NU has lost, that's pretty good. I know we thought the sky was falling when Young and Nance left, and they were ok for their new teams, but NU got better after they left so we didn't feel that pain. I know I was worried about losing Boo and Barnhizer and have been happy to see they made it to their last years.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

I have to admit I was wrong about Roper. Thought he was going to be a big loss.
Had the talent, but I guess the desire isn't there... or Shrewsberry has a bunch or good players.
Looking back though, Collins gave him lots of minutes as a freshman, but Roper made little to no progress his sophomore season.
He, like others, wanted to get up and down the court.

 

[Cataria]

I have to admit I was wrong about Roper. Thought he was going to be a big loss.
Had the talent, but I guess the desire isn't there... or Shrewsberry has a bunch or good players.
Looking back though, Collins gave him lots of minutes as a freshman, but Roper made little to no progress his sophomore season.
He, like others, wanted to get up and down the court.

He was injured a lot and that set him back and allowed other guys to step up. He would have played at the end of last year!

 

[Catreporter]

He played more last year for a mediocre Notre Dame team in transition with a new coach, but it looks like they have recruited over him.

 

[macarthur31]

Benson or Rap can be argued they would have strenghtned our team had they stayed.

They did not set the world on fire, it was in a mid major environment, but they would have helped.

Don't think they fit the "really really" wish they had stayed though.

During the Collins era, I always wondered "what-if" for Rapolas Ivanauskas as he had a compelling tool-set (and embodied Collins' affinity for stretch bigs). Even though he was a key player at Colgate, he was "a guy" against kenpom Tier A+B teams - in 6 games in '19 (NCAA-bound Red Raiders Squad), he had a 84.3 ORTG, 3.9%OREB, 18.2% DREB, 17-41/41.5% 2FG, 4-14/28.6 3FG. For perspective, 'Cats played 21 of 34 games last year vs Tier A+B teams, so in essence analogous to a B1G schedule.

He closed his D1 career playing 16.3% Min for Cincinnati, which was kp113 rated, and mid-tier in the American Athletic Conference - and he actually left the squad to play pro ball in Lithuania during that season. Which was understandable as I believe behind the scenes was tumultuous that season.

Maybe if we go alt-universe and pulled the grad transfer after 4 healthy years at Colgate, he may have been a solid contributor? -A notch above Tydus? He remains a pro in Lithuania, so it verifies he's got some chops.

 

[GatoLouco]

During the Collins era, I always wondered "what-if" for Rapolas Ivanauskas as he had a compelling tool-set (and embodied Collins' affinity for stretch bigs). Even though he was a key player at Colgate, he was "a guy" against kenpom Tier A+B teams - in 6 games in '19 (NCAA-bound Red Raiders Squad), he had a 84.3 ORTG, 3.9%OREB, 18.2% DREB, 17-41/41.5% 2FG, 4-14/28.6 3FG. For perspective, 'Cats played 21 of 34 games last year vs Tier A+B teams, so in essence analogous to a B1G schedule.

He closed his D1 career playing 16.3% Min for Cincinnati, which was kp113 rated, and mid-tier in the American Athletic Conference - and he actually left the squad to play pro ball in Lithuania during that season. Which was understandable as I believe behind the scenes was tumultuous that season.

Maybe if we go alt-universe and pulled the grad transfer after 4 healthy years at Colgate, he may have been a solid contributor? -A notch above Tydus? He remains a pro in Lithuania, so it verifies he's got some chops.

Wasn't Rap POY in the Patriot one year?

When he went to Cincy, his numbers seemed to confirm what you mentioned, at a higher level he was just "a guy".

But it bears saying Cincy was going through some 💩at the time. Rap jumped ship before an all out scandal that ended with the coach being fired. I think the official story he told is that he had the chance to play professionally in Lithuania (I believe he does not count towards limits on foreign players as he as citizenship).