Looking at the departures

Junkie@Inside Sparta posted a list of the departed players since the beginning of Coach Wojcik's tenure. If I may, here it is:

1. Xavier Jones Transferred to Florida Southern

2. Stephon Smith Transferred to Northwood (FL)

3. David Andoh Transferred to Merritt CC

4. Nick Grieves Transferred to Cal State East Bay

5. Louis Garrett Transferred to Dixie State

6. Alex Brown Transferred to Kentucky Wesleyan

7. Dylan Alexander Transferred to Casper CC

8. D.J. Brown Transferred to Texas State

9. Jordan Baker Dismissed from the team due to violating team rules

10. Frank Rogers Dismissed from the team due to violating team rules

11. Matt Pollard Suspended indefinitely due to violating team rules; then transferred

12. Darryl Gaynor, Jr. Transferred to Southern Idaho

There was a grasping of straws if you will in the last year or so of Coach Nessman's tenure, meaning the majority of the recruits were not of the solid WAC contributor level (let alone Mountain West Conference) and some were also not good teammates/citizens. Desperation will do that.

Doing some of this from memory is dangerous at my age (please do point out inaccuracies) but Xavier Jones left the locker room and therefore the team at halftime of an in-season game. I can't find any record of him actually playing at DII Florida Southern.

Stephon Smith brought width to the squad but just never developed a skills set. He had no impact later at Northwood, an NAIA DIII school.

David Andoh (and this is not a judgment but a fact) attended several high schools and several colleges. I believe he left SJSU of his own volition, changed his mind later at some point but the door was closed, if not nailed shut by then. He enjoyed a solid junior year at Liberty University, a D1 school in Virginia, but there is chatter of yet another departure.

Nick Grieves was a Spartan walk-on. As a DII Cal State East Bay senior, he posted an 8.5 points a contest average, shooting 38%, 36% and 56% respectively.

Louis Garrett was not going to help in MWC play and many forget he also received a suspension during his junior season. At DII Dixie State, he averaged 9.6 points plus 3.9 rebounds a game as a senior, shooting 40%, 29% and 78% respectively.

Alex Brown was never able to stay long wherever he was. Suspended from the team as a Spartan, Brown was also sidelined for a violation of team rules just before the season opener at Kentucky Wesleyan. I don't believe he ever played in the Bluegrass State during the regular season.

Dylan Alexander was another walk-on. He just finished his sophomore season at Casper College in Wyoming -- haven't seen any news about his next destination as yet.

D.J. Brown averaged 7.2 points and 2.7 assists this season at Texas State, shooting 37%, 36% and 78%.  I don't know who made the decision about his transfer -- himself or Coach Wojcik.

Jordan Baker self-immolated. If the timeline is as assumed, how does a guy sit out for a season but keep clean and then blows it when he is back on the court? Maybe that assumption is incorrect and something from his redshirt year finally surfaced.

Frank Rogers likewise.

Matt Pollard left of his own volition. He may have become a serviceable backup big as an upperclassmen but his basketball stature earned him zero leeway after he messed up.

Darryl Gaynor II provided some highlight moments this past season but had a long way to go in regards to decision-making and shooting accuracy (granted some of that due to the situation he was in).My sense, simply based on conjecture, is that he both rated himself as a better prospect/talent than most others and didn't want to use any further eligibility on a team looking at another very rough season.

A number of these departures had already happened or were underway before Coach Wojcik became the head coach. Those cannot be tagged to him. Behavioral issues and academic inattention combined to self-write one-way departure tickets for a number of the guys.

On Coach Wojcik's watch, Baker certainly, Rogers to a degree and Gaynor down the line could have talent-wise helped stabilize the program. Yes, player movement is an annual constant nowadays to every program but it's usually guys at the tail end of the roster who are looking for more court time. Misjudgements of character were made.

But what's more disturbing is the shuffling among the assistant coaches. It's Coach Wojcik's choice to hire whoever he wishes to bring aboard, that's a given. But the turnover rate is alarming. Only he can answer this question but are his latest hires based more on trust factors rather than the ability to get more talented prospects to come to Washington Square? The cost-of-attendance outlay currently being determined is going to impact both the basketball recruiting budget and the number of out-of-state signees allowed on the roster. San Jose State University has to re-establish a presence in California. Can this be done with the present assistant coaching staff? Or is it simply more a matter of winning some games before the current Spartan rep lessens its in-state tarnish?

Anyone know?