College Basketball 2012-13: Most Surprising Moments of the Offseason

The college basketball offseason is always filled with twist and turns.

Transfers, coaching changes, new recruits and draft declarations populate the landscape as college basketball die-hards try to keep track of everything—while also keeping tabs of the MLB season, NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, NFL draft, The Masters, the French Open and the Triple Crown.

Yeah, that's a lot of stuff.

Which is why Bleacher Report is here for you.  We keep tabs on everything even when you can't. 

So when you find yourself wondering if you missed anything surprising in college basketball since March Madness, you are just a click away.

1. Big Ten Returnees

There was a point during the offseason where it seemed like any underclassman with a shot at being drafted was declaring.  Take the money and run.  Who needs degrees anyway? Why risk a possible injury?

And then there was the Big Ten. 

The nation's best basketball conference from top to bottom seemed to have an invisible magnet that kept the majority of their superstars from entering the NBA draft.

Lottery pick lock Cody Zeller decided to return to Indiana along with his teammate Christian Watford. 

Yeah, that Christian Watford.

Not only did that allow Indiana to return their entire starting five from last year's Sweet Sixteen team, but they also will add one of the nation's top recruiting classes for good measure.

Michigan, noticing that they might actually need some players to compete in the Big Ten next year, had to be relieved when their two backcourt superstars Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., decided to return for another season.

And then, not be outdone, Ohio State saw the return of Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft, which helped soften the blow of losing Jared Sullinger.

2. Austin Rivers and C.J. McCollum

Just to recap, the No. 15 seed Lehigh Mountain Hawks defeated the No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils in the opening round of last season's NCAA tournament.

C.J. McCollum was the best player on the floor that night, outclassing Duke diaper-dandy Austin Rivers and carrying his Mountain Hawks onward to face the Xavier Mountaineers.

McCollum, a junior, has NBA-ready skills.  His season could not have ended on a much better note, and one would think that it would be a perfect time for McCollum to ride off into the sunset, bid a happy farewell to his beloved Mountain Hawks and join the NBA ranks.

Rivers, on the other hand, ended his season with an embarrassing loss to a 15-seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  Brilliant at times and showing his youth at others, Rivers certainly had the talent to enter the NBA draft. 

But he wouldn't end his Duke career on THAT note.  Not going down to a 15-seed.  Not with a chance at another full season to develop under Coach K.  Surely there is still an importance on winning, and a desire to build a Blue Devil legacy?

Apparently not.  I suppose Rivers was satisfied to end his college career losing to a team from the Patriot League.  One and done.  Thanks for playing.

And McCollum?  The dude is hungry for more.  Perhaps he can top last season's memorable run, but probably not. 

It doesn't matter.  McCollum represents a dying breed in the game today.  Dedication to a program, giving everything one has for all four years and committing to your team no matter what.  Kudos to C.J.

3. Transfer Rate

The NCAA reported a statistic that noted 40 percent of college basketball players today will change schools within their first two seasons.

This statistic is alarmingly high, but it seems to explain the high rate of transfers that we've seen so far this offseason.  The amount of transfers that have taken place is so high that it is nearly impossible to track, and it seems to be an extension of society's instant-gratification personality trait.

With that being said, some of the more notable transfers include: Alex Oriakhi to Missouri (from Connecticut), Khem Birch to UNLV (from Pittsburgh) and Jared Swopshire to Northwestern (from Louisville).

4. Providence Friars

Quick. 

Which team has the No. 6 overall recruiting class for the 2012-'13 NCAA basketball season?

If your first thought was the Providence Friars, I don't believe you.

Sure, Ed Cooley is a great young coach, and yes, the Friars are coming off of a season in which the program seemed to be taking some positive steps forward—but the sixth-best recruiting class in the nation?  For a 15-win team?

That's certainly a surprise for me.

The Friars have landed a pair of ESPN Top 100 recruits in Ricardo Ledo and Kris Dunn, which has their 2012 recruiting class rated above the likes of traditional basketball powers: Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, Kansas and Indiana.

5. Coaching Carousel

While each college basketball offseason provides a never-ceasing rotation of the coaching carousel, this spring provided a few notable head-scratchers:

Seth Greenberg was shockingly let go by Virginia Tech after nine fairly decent seasons of keeping Virginia Tech squarely on the bubble.  Greenberg himself seemed blindsided by the whole ordeal as he was hosting a recruit when he was informed of his fate.

At Mississippi State, Rick Stansbury dubiously "retired" after being unable to stop his team's utter free-fall to end the season.  The Bulldogs spiraled from being the No. 15 ranked team in the nation to an embarrassing first round NIT loss to Massachusetts.  

I use the word "retired" lightly as Mississippi State reports that their all-time winningest basketball coach will have another job within the athletic department.

In 2005-'06, the Duquesne men's basketball team won just three games. Ron Everhart took over the program the following year and went an astounding 99-89 over the next six seasons, including being ranked in the Top 25 during the 2010-'11 season.  His surprising firing seemed to be the university's direct response to the transfer of their best player, T.J. McConnell.

6. The Curious Case of Charles Carmouche

Credit goes to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.com for being on top of this one.

Although you most likely have never heard of him, Memphis guard Charles Carmouche dealt with a small case of knee tendonitis during his 2011-12 campaign.  He was medically cleared to play in January following a suspension—but he just didn't.

Carmouche immediately applied for a fifth year of eligibility following the season, and he was granted one.  This was shocking enough, considering Notre Dame guard Tim Abromatis was denied an added year of eligibility despite shredding his ACL in November.

But naturally, Carmouche gets the benefit of the doubt for his sore knees.

I suppose that the NCAA must have just been defending their student athletes, right?

You know, since Carmouche immediately announced that he was going to transfer from Memphis after the season—clearly the sign of an intervening third party who must have directed Carmouche's decision to not play out the remainder of the 2011-'12 season (even after he was medically cleared).

This enabled Carmouche to gain his aforementioned extra year of eligibility and allow him to transfer to another school as a "grad student" transfer without having to sit out a season.

And of course, Abromaitis, already studiously having acquired his MBA degree, would be harshly denied by the NCAA—because he had tried to do things the right way, and use the rule in the way it was intended.

What is this?  Another sign of NCAA corruption?

Surprise, surprise.