Over the past decade, a trend has been growing in college basketball.

NIU men’s basketball coach Rob Judson has noticed it along with many other college coaches across the nation.

For various reasons, transfers are changing the face of college basketball.

“A decade or two ago transfers were much more rare,” Judson said. “Now they are just a part of college basketball.”

NIU has been no stranger to the trend. Under Judson’s tenure as head coach, he’s seen six different players transfer out of DeKalb, the latest being Paige Paulsen.

A 6-foot-7-inch sophomore from Custer, S.D., Paulsen played two seasons as a Huskie before asking to be released last Thursday.

The rest of the MAC has not been able to escape from transfers either. The top team in the MAC, Miami-Ohio, lost two players before last season. Bowling Green also saw two of its players wanting out.

MAC tournament champion Ohio lost only one player but had five players who transferred in.

But Judson and the rest of the MAC coaches are not alone in watching their players leave for other universities.

A recent study done by the NCAA showed that 45 percent of men’s basketball freshmen from 2003-2004 transferred to different schools. And basketballtimes.com shows a list of all 101 players who transferred last season. Facts like these have not fallen on dead ears.

“Now we always try to recruit players who are heading to the Big Ten and Big 12,” Judson said, “because if they decide to transfer, then NIU may be a good place for them.”

And it seems the new style has worked for Judson.

Coming out of Rochelle High School, Ben Rand was recruited by NIU, but instead headed to Iowa and the allure of the Big Ten. But after his freshman season, Rand decided being a Hawkeye wasn’t for him and transferred to NIU.

“I really feel we have benefitted from transfers,” Judson said. “So we are really excited to see what Ben can do.”

Johnathan Byrd and Cory Sims were two of Judson’s “beneficial” transfers in recent years. Both coming from junior colleges, Byrd was the starting center and the lone senior this past season. Sims was named the team MVP after just his first season as a Huskie.

As the face of college basketball has changed, coaches have adapted.

Teams like the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which faces Illinois today for a berth into the Elite Eight, are using transfers like Ed McCants and Joah Tucker – who average 17.5 and 15.5 points respectively – to help them not just get to the NCAA Tournament, but also make a splash in it.

“Players are always looking for the situation that fits them best,” Judson said. “It can make each year different, but you hope you can use that and build upon it.”