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NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest transfer busts of the 2017-18 season

By Tristan Freeman

LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 12: Cullen Neal
LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 12: Cullen Neal /
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OMAHA, NE – MARCH 25: Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE – MARCH 25: Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

SO Sam Cunliffe – Kansas Jayhawks

2017-18 stats: 2.0 ppg 0.6 rpg 0.3 apg

Transferring is all about decisions. The right one can set you up for success, and the wrong one can set you back big-time. And the former Sun Devil is the perfect example.

After starting the first 10 games for Arizona State, the former top-50 decided to transfer mid-season to Kansas.

Along with Froling, it just seems like transferring in the middle of the college basketball season is a bad idea if it can be avoided. Rotations are usually set, and coaches like for things to be as stable as possible. But if a player can crack that rotation, then it can be worth it.

Unfortunately for Cunliffe, he never could get minutes. After playing double-digit minutes in his first five games, he played just a combined 21 minutes in the next nine games. And against Seton Hall, Clemson, and Duke he failed to even get on the court. This was an utter disaster considering that the Jayhawks had very little depth outside of their starting five.

That won’t be the case next season, with Kansas getting a bunch of either five-star recruits, or five-star transfers who will be taking Cunliffe’s place.

Next: Top 10 transfers from the 2017-18 season

Assuming he’s on a regular academic schedule, Cunliffe would either leave now and sit another season, or ride the bench and become a grad transfer for the 2019-20 campaign. I can’t say that leaving Arizona State was a good or bad idea, but I do know that Kansas wasn’t a good fit. And that’s unfortunate because he is a very talented athlete.

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