High Profile Transfers

There are a number of mid-season transfers who are leaving their present schools and looking to play elsewhere.
It is being rumored that Illinois State is looking at some, after all they are widely known as Transfer U.
And who knows, maybe one will land at Bradley.

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13928

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14077


But there's one who is generating a literal feeding frenzy with lots of top schools going after him...
Jio Fontan of Fordham.....a name some will know but others will be unfamiliar with.
The kid was the darling of the east coast press in high school, and got rated as a Top-150 recruit, but chose Fordham seeking instant playing time....
And he did get a ton of playing time, starting and playing every game, even as a freshman.

He's a good player but surely not a mega star...although you'd never know that from the buzz that now surrounds his leaving and transferring.
He played for a hideous team (Fordham), and couldn't help them win more than 4 games in the past 2 seasons...(Fordham was 3-25 last year and was only 1-4 when Fontan bolted this season)

In fact, their winning percentage of 17% without Fontan (they are now 1-4 without him this season)- is actually better than how they've done WITH him in the lineup...(4-29, 12% winning pct.)

But the two real turning points in his career at Fordham were the mass defections last season by lots of other disgruntled players who were ticked about the playing time the untested newcomers were getting (Trey Blue left then, too) - and then, a horribly embarrassing loss, a 24 point whacking by the Manhattan Jaspers over Fordham a couple weeks ago that led to the Fordham coach getting fired and Fontan quitting at Fordham.
In that game, the guy Fontan was guarding...Antoine Pearson, was named MVP, had 16 pts, 3 rebs, 5 steals, while PG Fontan was only 2-9, 0-3 from 3pt, and had SIX turnovers....and only 2 assists...
Seriously, you'd have thought Fontan was going up against Derrick Rose.....but instead, this was only Manhattan and unknown Antoine Pearson!!
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/jasper_juggernaut_in_tk2ElKtni3gY9avZEYO5MN

(BTW- one of the guys who is just a sub for Manhattan is an ex-Chicago Boys to Men player, who hits 14% of his shots from the floor and 16% of his FT attempts, Djibril Coulibaly)
http://www.gojaspers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=52462&SPID=5439&DB_OEM_ID=12500&ATCLID=1609354&Q_SEASON=2009

Fontan is only 5-11 (tops), and 160..
and averages 15 ppg and 4.2 assists..
he makes 35% of his FG attempts, and only 25% on 3-pointers!!
He's only a 61% career FT shooter and rarely ever grabs a rebound...

As noted...it is even rumored that some of the turmoil there at Fordham that has resulted in so many losses
(Fordham has lost 29 of the 33 games that Fontan has played there at Fordham), the firing of the head coach, and then the transfer of virtually all of their talent, even Trey Blue who transferred to ISU, was in part due to the selfishness of their point guard, Fontan, and the seemingly unwarranted huge bulk of playing time he was getting.
The guy is a huge ball hog...he averages taking 15 shots a game, and considers himself a prima donna and superstar...
But then, can you blame him, as the press out there went wild treating him like the next coming of....Sebastian Telfair!!

Now that he is transferring, he is being pursued by Indiana, Tennessee, Miami, Maryland, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Alabama and a few other SEC & ACC schools.
And frankly, I can't understand the mania that's going on over a guy who really doesn't appear to have proven anything...
There are long threads on the message boards at USC, Tennessee, Indiana, and several other schools that desperately want the guy...even though he is obviously a real risk!

The press is helping out with stories like this.......
"Fontan is in Demand"
http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1029170

Now he is saying he'll transfer to USC.....they're desperate for some talent....so he should be able to get playing time right away...

But -
wherever he transfers, he can't play until the 2nd semester next year which will be his junior year...
so he has only 1.5 seasons remaining...so you have to wonder is all the frenzy worth it??

I guess I just don't understand the mania and frenzy for mid-major transfers, who never put up numbers that were all that awesome, even at terrible schools, and even thought they were part of the huge problem that has happened at Fordham.
I guess time will tell............but there's alreday a 5-11 PG on the USC roster, sitting the pines and never getting much playing time...
rapper 'Lil Romeo! (Percy Miller)
http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/miller_percy00.html
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a couple stories on the Valley ...

Drake gets ready for game with Bradley:
http://www.godrakebulldogs.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&ATCLID=204862392


I think this guy is a Southwest Missouri player (MSU):
http://nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/indiana/article_8b6523c2-966f-5fc3-b261-b8585214e1ac.html


ISU's Kellen Thornton shows off his tats...talks about the tragedy of losing his mother.
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/article_3cbcf058-f0fb-11de-96ab-001cc4c002e0.html


Nice story of the Ole Miss players taking theit tme to do something speacial for a 9 year old fan...
http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=12840&SPID=739&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=2600&ATCLID=204862403


Kirk Wessler files this report from the Illinois-Mizzou game:
http://www2.pjstar.com/index.php/wessler/merry_christmas2/


Justin Gant mention:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/139309485