This post could mean something but also very little

The subject matter of this post is absolutely going to be open to interpretation. Our biases, conscious or unconscious, will definitely come into play as will our fan-dom leanings. With that in mind...

Transferring is the name of the game, now more so now than any other time in the history of college basketball. But transferring, in and of itself, is neither a positive or a negative in relation to a basketball program. It simply is what it is and each case demands a 'playing out' of the situation before any accurate 'value label' be attached.

However, we fans typically don't operate in such a manner. What is seemingly going to better 'our' team -- a transfer -- is a positive and who gives a damn what the fans of the newly arrived player's former school think and feel. The shoe is on the other foot when the situation is reversed.

Call this a prejudicial-driven activity.

Recently, some New Mexico State fans were bemoaning the shakiness of the Aggie roster amid the seemingly perennial comings and goings of players.

But it's a blade that cuts both ways.

Sure, JayDee Luster (playing time), DeAngelo Jones (playing time), Paris Carter (academics) and earlier Wendell McKines plus Herb Pope headed elsewhere in the 'recent' past. Of course, McKines and Pope later recanted. At least for now.

But we also recall that in the not too distant past that Justin Hawkins, Martin Iti, Fred Peete and Trei Steward all simultaneously arrived as D-1 transfers in Las Cruces and we've been unable to unearth any Aggie fan lamentations about there being too many transfers taking place when this happened.

So as previously stated, 'getting' rather than 'losing' players is viewed as a positive by the fans of the teams adding players to their rosters and typically vice versa for schools having players move on to elsewhere.

Also, NCAA rulings regarding initial college eligibility are also appearing more in the headlines than at any other time. The primary factor for this is that in addition to the traditional high schools, a number of would-be collegians now enroll in non-traditional 'schools'-- and we use that term loosely. So kids attending these makeshift alternative high schools have their NCAA eligibility questioned because these basketball factories have a well-earned reputation for being academically deficient. The NCAA has gone so far as stating it will not accept academic credits for anyone attending these fraudulent businesses.

Try this link for further details on that subject.

So that got us looking at the current NMSU men's basketball roster and the 'high schools' of the student-athletes:

Jahmar Young (Laurinberg Prep)

Johnny Higgins (Notre Dame Prep)

Herb Pope (Aliquippa HS) who almost went to prep school in Florida as a junior

Jonathan Gibson (Calvary Christian Prep)

Terrance Joyner (Genesis One Christian)

Robert Lumpkins (Kilgore College) (H.D. Woodson HS)

Wendell McKines (Richmond HS)

Hamidu Rahman (American Christian HS)

Troy Gillenwater (Stoneridge Prep)

Gordo Castillo (Las Cruces HS)

Chris Gabriel (JSerra Catholic HS)

Five of the Aggies were involved in some sort of prep school, some more than one:

** Laurinberg Prep
** Notre Dame Prep
** Calvary Christian Prep
** Stoneridge Prep
** Genesis One (which closed in 2007 and morphed into Mississippi Elite Christian Academy)

All of these 'schools' have come under NCAA scrutiny -- of which it is important to note doesn't necessarily prove guilt.

Here's a link to some of Stoneridge Prep's history, along with mention of Calvary Christian Prep.

One other note: Talented prepster Faisal Aden, out of God's Academy in Dallas, TX was also signed by NMSU but was unable to make the academic eligibility cut in 2008. Here one link and also another on the reputation of that institution and it isn't good.

Now this isn't 'proof' in the sense that it could be used in any court of law or the such but it certainly appears New Mexico State has populated its roster with a number of student-athletes who haven't exactly arrived from the most stable (a crucial point) or academically-driven of settings.

Is this also a factor in the Aggie roster makeup/shakeup of 2008-2009 and will it possibly be a contributor to any turnover in the future?