Transfers To Impact Two Women's Teams

Some of the best players to ply their wares in the MAAC have come via transfer from higher-level programs.

Luis Flores of Manhattan began his career at Rutgers, came to the MAAC for his sophomore season and was twice the conference's Player of the Year; Andre Collins spent three years at Maryland before transferring to Loyola where he led the MAAC in scoring as a senior.

Loyola's front court right now, a good one with center Shane Walker (who began at Maryland) and Erik Etherly (Northeastern), is made up of two transfers.

Ryan Schneider played three years at Vermont before transferring to Marist, where he had an all-star caliber senior season.

And, so it goes. Nearly every conference program has benefitted from a transfer from a four-year school.

But, notice, that "trend" has occurrred almost exclusively on the men's side.

It doesn't happen as often for women's programs. Outside of Maureen Magarity, who initially played at Boston College before transferring to Marist (where her father, Dave Magarity, was serving as the men's coach), your hoopscribe can't think of another truly impact women's transfer. Please feel free to use the comment section to jog my memory.

But, suddenly, two women's programs have added transfers who, by all accounts, should be standout players when each becomes eligible in the 2012-13 season.

Two months ago Marist was able to bring in Tori Jarosz, a strong post player who saw limited time this past season as a freshman at Vanderbilt. Listed as either 6-foot-2, or 6-3, Jarosz is a true center who impacts games at both ends of the court.

She not only joins the conference's strongest program, but fills a tough-to-find position ... a true inside player ... at this level. She will have three seasons of eligibility once she can begin playing in games.

The other impact transfer landed at Siena recently as 5-8 point guard Janine Davis joined the Saints after playing two seasons at George Washington University. She will have two seasons of eligibility remaining starting in 2012-13.

Davis, a native of Jamaica, N.Y., appeared in 28 games (13 starts) at GW as a freshman and led the team in assists. Her time as a sophomore was limited due to some injuries.

Prior to college she was ranked the 20th-best high school point guard in the country, with a Scouts Grade of 90, according to ESPN HoopGurlz, while she played at St. Michaels' Academy. She led that program to New York State's Federation Tournament championship.