The rest
Chris Vogt chose a similar strategy, following John Brannen from Northern Kentucky to Cincinnati, and was also one of the few to see their production increase. The 7-foot-1 Vogt, then a sophomore, received a waiver and went from averaging 4.5 points in 12.9 minutes per game to 11.0 points in 28.5 minutes at Cincinnati.
Michal Miller went on to a solid career at Wright State, albeit with some accommodations for the numerous health issues that may have concerned Arizona’s training staff four years ago.
Could she have had that success in the Pac-12? Perhaps, but Miller has said that she was already thinking about leaving before the coaching change. She stated that she didn’t think previous head coach Niya Butts cared about correcting and improving the team, but she also didn’t “mesh” with Barnes.
However, Barnes said that there was very little opportunity to even get to know Miller.“She probably practiced with our team like two or three times,” Barnes said. “She was never really available. So I think those are medical decisions.”
As to why Miller was able to get cleared to play elsewhere despite multiple concussions, Barnes said that it’s possible that Arizona was stricter for historical reasons.
“I remember when I was a college athlete, an athlete passed away,” she said. “And then you think of (Shawntinice Polk), right? I think our school will probably be more stringent on some of those things because of what’s happened, and I think that’s normal. I think any department that’s gone through that will be more stringent because you have to be. I mean, Polkey was going to be a star WNBA player. She died in the training room.”
After a year at Trinity Valley Community College, Miller found her way to Wright State. It was a good fit for her.
Miler made 60 starts over 61 appearances and helped her team qualify for just its second NCAA Tournament berth in school history during her junior season. She averaged 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game over her two-year career there and ended with a slash of 35/29/65.
Loudon Love was the Player of the Year in the Horizon League. Javion Hamlet earned POY honors in Conference USA. Loren Cristian Jackson claimed the award in the MAC.
All three could have been grad transfers, being wooed by no shortage of high-major programs, some of which have been compiling a list of mid-major standouts eligible to grad transfer since before the season even began.
Instead, all three players stayed loyal.
They didn’t even peek around to see who was waiting in the wings, who was ready to pounce if they decided to go the route of what is certain to be at least 200 grad transfers from around the country.
In a day and age in which it’s common to bolt for what so many believe might be greener pastures, Love, Hamlet and Jackson turned down the glitz and glamour of high-major hoops to become the exception in today’s college basketball.
“There are no guarantees if I leave and go somewhere else,” Love said. “But I know what I have here, and I don’t see any reason to change.”
When the now 6-foot-8, 255-pound Love arrived on campus, he was overweight at 325 pounds and many figured he’d be better-served to go the football route. He got serious college football looks back in high school, but his passion was on the hardwood, and Love wound up following Scott Nagy to Wright State after initially committing to Nagy’s former school, South Dakota State.
Love was still recovering from a torn ACL his senior year of high school and agreed with Nagy that it was best for him to sit out his freshman season to get into shape. After dropping some weight, Love has been one of the best players over the past three seasons for Nagy in the Horizon and was considered the best player in the league this season after averaging 15.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
But he never really gave heading somewhere else for his final college season any thought until an elderly woman implored him not to leave Wright State at an autograph session prior to the season.
“Loyalty is a big thing and has always been a big character trait for me,” Love said. “A lot of schools told me to play football, but Coach Nagy saw my potential. I trust him and the bond I have with the staff and the players. I’m happy at Wright State and am not going anywhere.”
“He’s one of the best I’ve ever coached,” said Nagy, whose coaching career began nearly 30 years ago as an assistant at Illinois. “Super loyal. I can’t even explain the connection we’ve had, but I honestly wish he was more selfish. He’s just a great teammate, and we were never worried about him leaving as a grad transfer.”
1986
4. East first round: No. 14 Cleveland State 83, No. 3 Indiana 79
Being that this is just the second year of a 64-team bracket, Cleveland State becomes the first true Cinderella of the modern era. Behind the heroics of Ken "Mouse" McFadden, the Vikings are the first small-conference team to make the Sweet 16, and of course the lowest-seeded to do it as well. This game is also the first time a Bob Knight-coached team loses in the first round. Oh by the way, the '86 tourney had two No. 14-over-No. 3 seeds: Arkansas-Little Rock over Notre Dame was the other.
6. East Sweet 16: No. 7 Navy 71, No. 14 Cleveland State 70
Imagine if the NCAA Tournament delivered Navy vs. Cleveland State in today's age? Great as this bracket has remained for decades, that just doesn't seem possible anymore. Of course, Navy made it so far because it had a unique star: David Robinson. Here he scores 22 points -- including the winner with four seconds to go -- grabs 14 rebounds and blocks nine shots (second best in tournament history) in one of the all-time Cinderella Sweet 16 matchups, which was hosted by New Jersey's Brendan Byrne Arena. Robinson boasts tournament-bests -- 27.5 points and 11.8 rebounds on average -- but Duke's Johnny Dawkins (26.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) wins the East's MOP.
Green Bay Phoenix
Northern Kentucky Norse
UIC Flames
