They are the eighth and ninth transfers during the tenure of coach John Thompson III, who has had at least one player transfer during or after each of the last six seasons. The rate of departure is matched in the Big East only by St. John’s, who has had at least one transfer each of the last five years.

“Ninety percent of all transfers in college basketball are because of playing time,” Thompson told the Associated Press. “Each case is different, and I have made it a point not to talk about specific cases. We’ve had people leave here for academic reasons, which haven’t become public. We’ve had people leave here for personal reasons. For the most part, we just say they’re transferring.”

Yet, after Georgetown was upset by Ohio in the first round of the 2010 NCAA tournament, Thompson was asked if his offensive system holds back his players. Similar questions have arisen after the Hoyas were again bounced in their first game this March by VCU, leaving McDonald’s All-Americans Austin Freeman and Chris Wright with one NCAA win during their four-year careers.

“That was a main reason,” Macklin recently said after a predraft workout for the Wizards. “It’s not really bad on players. I think it helps you. Your basketball IQ gets higher by playing the Princeton-style offense, but just for me, it wasn’t the type of offense for me. I don’t think it best fit me. I think it was best for those guys like Roy and Jeff.”

Macklin failed to adapt, averaging 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds off the bench as a sophomore, and Monroe’s arrival made his prospects even more dour. But after a year of sitting out and maturing, Macklin was an entirely different player at Florida, where he started and averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds last season.

Nikita Mescheriakov, who was looking for minutes after being relegated to spot-up shooter duty before leaving the Hoyas in late 2009, rediscovered his game after regaining eligibility in the last half season at Wake Forest.

“When you play the Princeton, you always have to think where to go, you have to read other players,” Mescheriakov said. “It definitely makes it more difficult. Sometimes you don’t feel like you’re playing basketball, you’re almost programmed with the next thing you got to do.”

Another role player, Omar Wattad, left after the 2008-09 season and blossomed this year at Chattanooga, averaging a team-high 14.3 points per game. He said it was because of playing time, not the system.

“It’s absolutely nothing against Georgetown,” Wattad said. “It was great, but I felt like I had a better opportunity to showcase my talent, and that’s all it was.”

With younger players coming in ahead of them, Sanford and Benimon faced similar dilemmas, as well as the misconception that can arise when players in a Princeton offense go pro.

“I think a lot of people underestimate how talented we are coming from Georgetown because we’re in the Princeton offense so you can’t really do whatever you want,” recently graduated guard Chris Wright said.

Multiple players have said Thompson is preparing to tweak his scheme this offseason, but don’t misinterpret adjustments for personnel as any change in the ideals that guide his philosophy as coach. The Hoyas are likely to expand as much on any specific changes they make as they are about why any future players decide to transfer.

“At the end of each, we evaluate our program as a whole,” Thompson said, “and there are things you change, and things you don’t change, and how we play is part of that equation.”

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