The Ivy League’s longstanding policy of only extending eligibility to student-athletes in their first four years of undergraduate enrollment, as expected, is prompting an increasingly long list of talented seniors becoming graduate transfers.
Atkinson considering his options
2019-20 Ivy men’s co-Player of the Year and Yale graduate transfer Paul Atkinson will cut his transfer list after the beginning of the season Wednesday, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog. Atkinson reportedly remains in regular touch with N.C. State, Notre Dame, Miami, Stanford, Texas, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Georgia, Kansas, SMU, Xavier and Virginia Tech.
Atkinson led the Ivy League in field goal percentage in all three of his seasons at Yale, averaging 17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 63% shooting from the field as a junior as the Bulldogs claimed the Ivy League championship. Atkinson criticized the Ivy League on Twitter earlier this month for what he said was terrible communication with student-athletes leading to the league’s decision to cancel winter sports.
Big Red, big transfer portal queue
Cornell men’s seniors Jimmy Boeheim, Bryan Knapp and Terrance McBride have entered the transfer portal, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium. Boeheim plans to remain at Cornell and earn his finance degree there in the spring before considering which schools to play for next season, according to Matthew Gutierrez of The Athletic.
Choh prepares to go
Brown senior and two-time All-Ivy second-teamer Tamenang Choh will enter the transfer portal for a fifth year of eligibility, according to Bill Koch of the Providence Journal.
“Being in the Ivy League, you can’t be a grad player,” Choh noted to the Journal. “That kind of hurt even more. Definitely, I probably would have come back and played here for a fifth year at Brown.”
Choh was one of the Ivy League’s most versatile players, averaging 13.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as a junior in characteristically stat sheet-stuffing fashion.
“I’m hoping to go somewhere where I can have a lot of minutes, play a lot and be an important part of the team,” Choh said. “That’s the risk you kind of have to take being recruited by a new program and new coaches.
“Is this a place I can play? Is it a place where I’ll be playing low minutes off the bench? I definitely want to be with a program where I can contribute and help pursue the end goal of winning a championship.”
Tiger transfers
Ryan Schwieger and Jerome Desrosiers are entering the transfer portal, noted an Asbury Park Press story by Jerry Carino focusing on the dislocation that Princeton men’s Mitch Henderson is feeling due to the cancellation of the season. Schwieger led the Tigers in assists last season, averaging 10.7 points per game, including 37.3% shooting from three-point range. Desrosiers averaged 5.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game as a junior, draining three three-pointers in three different Ivy contests.
Taylor leaves the Big Green
Dartmouth junior Asha Taylor announced on Twitter Wednesday that she will be graduating early and will have two years of eligibility as a graduate transfer. Taylor made 12 starts last season, averaging 6.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game.
Something Richmond in the state of Denmark
Richmond Aririguzoh has signed a contract with Horsens Idræts Basketball Club in Horsens, Denmark, where he will play in the Basketligaen league.
“I equate signing my first professional contract to the feeling I felt from the transition to college basketball from high school,” said Aririguzoh. “Not a lot of people are able to do this in terms of sheer percentages, so I’m really blessed to have been able to progress my game forward to a point where I’m in this situation. A lot of that had to do with how I was able to develop once I got to Princeton and how the coaching staff prepared me to be the best version of myself regardless of the goals and how that ultimately has helped put me in the position I’m in right now. I feel the same way I felt after getting to college from high school, which means it’s just work now. How can I distinguish myself at this level? I look forward to figuring that out and putting in the work.”
Aririguzoh’s production skyrocketed dramatically over the course of his career at Princeton, making the transition from a limited role in his rookie and sophomore seasons to a standout paint presence at both ends of the floor as a junior and senior. earning All-Ivy first-team recognition last season.
Assigned to bench duty
The Boston Red Sox named Princeton men’s hoops alum Will Venable ’05 bench coach Friday. Venable had been the Chicago Cubs’ third-base coach and finished 26th in Princeton history in scoring (1,010 points), fourth in steals (155) and eighth in assists (253), earning all-Ivy first-team recognition as a junior.