Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Photo by: Hawaii Media Source
Transfer U: Davis’ Raiders see big impact from transfers once again
12/28/2017 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Four-year players are a valuable asset for any college basketball team, not only for their experience on the court, but also for their maturity in the locker room.
Middle Tennessee's men's basketball team is no different in that it has two fourth-year guys, Giddy Potts and Edward Simpson, who are critical to the success of this year's squad. But, as has become a Kermit Davis staple, the Blue Raiders are also led by a cast of transfers.
Behind redshirt seniors Nick King and Brandon Walters and junior Antwain Johnson, transfers make up over 63 percent of Middle Tennessee's scoring (588 out of 927 total points). They've no doubt been crucial to the team's 8-4 start against the 18th ranked strength of schedule in the nation.
"I think here, at our level, it's hard to do it with strictly high school guys," Davis said. "You have to have a mixture of good high school, junior college and four-year transfer players. I just think you have to have that blend of different guys if you're going to compete at a high level."
The scoring output from transfer players is nothing new for Davis and the Blue Raiders.
In his 16 years as head coach at MT, Davis has made a name for himself among the coaching ranks for getting the most out of one- or two-year transfer players. They've made up 50.7 percent of the total Blue Raider scoring over that span, and 13 times have accounted for more than 44 percent of the team's single-season points.
What's Davis' secret to getting the most out of guys who maybe weren't as effective at other places? Simple. He just recruits the right players and gives them the tools to be successful both on the court and in the classroom.
"I think there are a lot of different ways to get players, as long as we're recruiting the right guys that come from good programs," he said. "This campus is very junior-college-transfer friendly. We have a great student academic center that does a great job, and we have a wide variety of options available to student-athletes. You're not pigeon-holed here."
Transfer players aren't always just role players for the Blue Raiders, either.
Last season, JaCorey Williams was named MT's second Conference USA Player of the Year in his only season dressing in blue and white. Before him, LaRon Dendy, in his only year for the Blue Raiders, was named Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2012.
King could be on his way to becoming the third transfer player to win player of the year honors in his only season for Middle Tennessee. He currently ranks 10th in the country with 23.3 points per game and has already been named C-USA Player of the Week three times.
What's different about King from Williams and Dendy is he came to Murfreesboro ready to play right away. He's a graduate transfer who was eligible to suit up this season after playing at Alabama in 2016-17, whereas Williams and Dendy both had to take a redshirt year after transferring from Arkansas and Iowa State, respectively.
The redshirt season has worked wonders for Davis' transfers in the past, but King has been a unique case this season.
"That's just the different facets of recruiting now," Davis said. "You can have a graduate transfer who can come in and play right away, and Nick is our first one. There's a lot of thought that goes into that when you bring a guy like him in.
"The redshirt year for those guys like LaRon Dendy and JaCorey Williams was just unbelievable. They wouldn't have had the senior year they had without a really good redshirt year to help understand how we go about business, work academically and progress as a player."
Davis has a personal perspective when looking for transfer players, because he was in their shoes at one time.
He started his college career at Phillips County Community College in 1978 in search of a bigger scholarship than what he was offered out of high school. He would then transfer to Mississippi State, where he played for two seasons before becoming a graduate assistant there.
That experience helped lay the groundwork for what has eventually become a staple of Davis' program at Middle Tennessee.
"I was a junior college player and a junior college coach. I understand that there are a lot of good guys and good people who come out of junior colleges," he said.
"Sometimes guys can make a mistake and learn from it, and sometimes they don't. They have to come in here with a great competitive spirit and love basketball, and when they do those things, we can have a lot of success."
If the Blue Raiders continue their successful ways this season, look to their transfers as a big reason why.
Middle Tennessee's men's basketball team is no different in that it has two fourth-year guys, Giddy Potts and Edward Simpson, who are critical to the success of this year's squad. But, as has become a Kermit Davis staple, the Blue Raiders are also led by a cast of transfers.
Behind redshirt seniors Nick King and Brandon Walters and junior Antwain Johnson, transfers make up over 63 percent of Middle Tennessee's scoring (588 out of 927 total points). They've no doubt been crucial to the team's 8-4 start against the 18th ranked strength of schedule in the nation.
"I think here, at our level, it's hard to do it with strictly high school guys," Davis said. "You have to have a mixture of good high school, junior college and four-year transfer players. I just think you have to have that blend of different guys if you're going to compete at a high level."
The scoring output from transfer players is nothing new for Davis and the Blue Raiders.
In his 16 years as head coach at MT, Davis has made a name for himself among the coaching ranks for getting the most out of one- or two-year transfer players. They've made up 50.7 percent of the total Blue Raider scoring over that span, and 13 times have accounted for more than 44 percent of the team's single-season points.
What's Davis' secret to getting the most out of guys who maybe weren't as effective at other places? Simple. He just recruits the right players and gives them the tools to be successful both on the court and in the classroom.
"I think there are a lot of different ways to get players, as long as we're recruiting the right guys that come from good programs," he said. "This campus is very junior-college-transfer friendly. We have a great student academic center that does a great job, and we have a wide variety of options available to student-athletes. You're not pigeon-holed here."
Transfer players aren't always just role players for the Blue Raiders, either.
Last season, JaCorey Williams was named MT's second Conference USA Player of the Year in his only season dressing in blue and white. Before him, LaRon Dendy, in his only year for the Blue Raiders, was named Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2012.
King could be on his way to becoming the third transfer player to win player of the year honors in his only season for Middle Tennessee. He currently ranks 10th in the country with 23.3 points per game and has already been named C-USA Player of the Week three times.
What's different about King from Williams and Dendy is he came to Murfreesboro ready to play right away. He's a graduate transfer who was eligible to suit up this season after playing at Alabama in 2016-17, whereas Williams and Dendy both had to take a redshirt year after transferring from Arkansas and Iowa State, respectively.
The redshirt season has worked wonders for Davis' transfers in the past, but King has been a unique case this season.
"That's just the different facets of recruiting now," Davis said. "You can have a graduate transfer who can come in and play right away, and Nick is our first one. There's a lot of thought that goes into that when you bring a guy like him in.
"The redshirt year for those guys like LaRon Dendy and JaCorey Williams was just unbelievable. They wouldn't have had the senior year they had without a really good redshirt year to help understand how we go about business, work academically and progress as a player."
Davis has a personal perspective when looking for transfer players, because he was in their shoes at one time.
He started his college career at Phillips County Community College in 1978 in search of a bigger scholarship than what he was offered out of high school. He would then transfer to Mississippi State, where he played for two seasons before becoming a graduate assistant there.
That experience helped lay the groundwork for what has eventually become a staple of Davis' program at Middle Tennessee.
"I was a junior college player and a junior college coach. I understand that there are a lot of good guys and good people who come out of junior colleges," he said.
"Sometimes guys can make a mistake and learn from it, and sometimes they don't. They have to come in here with a great competitive spirit and love basketball, and when they do those things, we can have a lot of success."
If the Blue Raiders continue their successful ways this season, look to their transfers as a big reason why.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballFacility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Coach Nick McDevitt interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Chattanooga NIT 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
