Incoming IUPUI freshman point guard Calvin Temple is transferring from the Jaguars in the wake of Head Coach Jason Gardner’s resignation last week. Temple’s transfer was first announced on Twitter by his AAU Coach John Carlisle:
IUPUI Freshman PG Calvin Temple (@TempleCalvin) has entered the transfer portal. #1 PG out of Mississippi in ‘19.
— Hawks Elite (Coach John) (@HawksEliteAAU) September 3, 2019
Temple signed his letter of intent with IUPUI in September before leading Center Hill High School to its first ever Mississippi 5A State Basketball Championship. He was selected to the Commercial Appeal All-Metro team as a senior after averaging 21.4 points, 4.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.
The 6-foot, 180 pound guard looked to have the potential to be a major steal for the Jaguars due to a technicality that cost him his eligibility as a junior at Center Hill. It was ruled that he would not be immediately eligible to play in 2017-18 because his entire household didn’t move to his new residence within the Center Hill school district. This caused larger programs to cool their recruitment of him, and he signed with IUPUI in September.
Temple appeared poised for a significant amount of playing time after IUPUI’s leading scorer Camron Justice graduate transferred to Western Kentucky in April. Justice’s transfer opens up 33 minutes per game and likely pushes last year’s second-leading scorer and Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year Jaylen Minnett into the starting lineup. Now fellow incoming freshman Mike DePersia figures to be the main benefactor of the newly available minutes in the IUPUI backcourt.
While a late-breaking coaching change can often result in a mass exodus IUPUI may escape such a fate, at least in the short-term. Classes started last Monday and outside of top returning scorer Jalen Minnett, most of the team’s top talent has already redshirted. Transferring now, or at the end of the fall semester, would mean burning eligibility for any of those players unable to obtain a waiver from the NCAA.
While the makeup of the roster could protect against an immediate mass exodus, the greater impact may be felt long-term. Several key players — including Campbell transfer Marcus Burk, last year’s leading rebounder Elyjah Goss, Southern Utah transfer Jamil Jackson, and big men Jakoby Kemp and Isaiah Williams — are fourth year juniors and could potentially position themselves for graduate transfers before next season.
While it appears on paper that IUPUI should be in the clear for this season, time will tell if Calvin Temple’s transfer is the first domino to fall in yet another Horizon League mass exodus or just a one-off transfer from a promising talent.
