USF Men’s Basketball: Everyone Is Transferring. Seriously, Everyone.

So the USF men’s basketball team has like three players left … OK, I’m exaggerating. Seven. For now.

Everyone is transferring. And rightfully so. As someone who shall remain nameless said in TDS Slack: “They were promised lemonade and got pee.”

Here’s who you’ll miss if you choose to:

F Luis Santos. After an expected loss in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament, big fella’s decision to transfer could actually be considered unexpected. Not the fact that he wanted to leave, but the fact that he was the first player to make his move. He wasted NO time. He’s been around for two seasons, and in my opinion proved himself towards the end of this one. Maybe the departures of Jaleel Cousins and Chris Perry, and not-so-greatness of Ruben Guerrero, allowed this. I don’t know if he can physically get any stronger (his calves are the size of my head) but if he does and continues to improve during the year he’ll have to sit out. He could probably be a force somewhere else.

G Geno Thorpe. After Jahmal McMurray bounced, Geno took over and led the team in scoring... although not to many victories. A lot of people were excited to see what he would do after transferring from Penn State, and I ACTUALLY heard him get compared to Russell Westbrook at one point while he was sitting his season out. Speaking of which, he’ll graduate this summer and won’t have to sit out as a graduate transfer. He didn’t individually disappoint, but didn’t exactly live up to that Westbrook comparison either. Also... he got left at the airport. No, I couldn’t let that go without being said here.

G Jake Bodway. Don’t you dare ask “Who?” because he’s clearly a favorite among the staff and you better not even think about slandering him here. The walk-on is walking off. (I can’t be the only person to have ever been so corny. Fight me.)

C Ruben Guerrero. This was arguably the most surprising transfer announcement. Except there are really no surprises when you’ve followed USF men’s basketball all season (see also: trash record, NCAA investigations, firing the head coach midseason, suspensions, dismissals, players being left at the airport). Will the 7-footer be missed? Probably not so much on the court - he was inconsistent and his numbers were not impressive. But maybe off the court. He won the 2015-16 NCAA Division I Male Sportsmanship Award, received the USF Spirit Award twice, and was a member of the USF Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

F Bo Zeigler. The Stan Heath era is officially over with this guy’s departure. Bo, who was ranked by ESPN as the nation’s No. 22 SF coming out of Detroit Community School, is set to graduate in May and plans to go ball out somewhere else as a graduate transfer. And you know what? Kudos to him for sticking around as long as he did (it seemed like 10 years, though he just finished his redshirt junior season). Though it always felt like he could’ve done a little bit more, his passion for the game and fire on the court - not to mention several disgusting dunks - provided energy that the team needed at the time, and will surely be appreciated elsewhere.

Malik Fitts. Can we just point out the fact that he announced his decision to transfer on Twitter with a screen shot of Notes? #WeDidItFirst... oh, and he forgot to sign it. AMMATURE.

OK, back to business. The freshman had a decent season, and a couple of big games that allowed some buzz to be created around him. Not like Jahmal McMurray “I think I might be good enough for the NBA now” buzz, but enough for people to start looking at his stats. Apparently he had “an enjoyable freshman year.” Lol ok.

Side note: it’s cute how he thanked the fans for sticking around throughout the season, but along with forgetting his signature, he forgot to thank the media. I mean its cool, though... whatever. *lets it slide* and also *lets him think about it while he sits out a year*

So basically, the Bulls still have Tulio Da Silva and Troy Holston*. And a few others who didn’t really make any kind of noise during the 2016-17 season. And Malik Martin, who was sitting out a transfer year. But keep your eyes open, fam, because it seems like someone is leaving every day around here.

*for now.