Malachi Flynn will transfer to San Diego State

Former Washington State Cougars point guard Malachi Flynn ended his second time through the recruiting process by announcing via Twitter on Monday that he intended to transfer to the San Diego State Aztecs.

SDSU has been a popular destination for WSU transfers, as Xavier Thames and Valentine Izundu both landed there after leaving Pullman. There’s one difference, however: Those two committed to play for legendary coach Steve Fisher when the program was still one of the top ones on the west coast.

Who knows if that will continue to be the case under Brian Dutcher, whose team made it into the NCAA tournament this year only because it won the Mountain West Conference, which has become a one- to two-bid league. I’ll let you all decide what it says about your school’s “Pac-12” program when a player chooses that over staying for his final two years of eligibility.

Flynn — who will sit out a year per NCAA transfer rules — figures to take over at the point for senior-to-be Devin Watson when he graduates in a year, and Flynn will have two years of eligibility remaining. To my eye, the MWC is a good landing spot for Flynn, who is a good player but maybe not a good enough athlete to lead a top 25 program on a nightly basis.

(Then again, I never would have though Xavier Thames could possibly have become the MWC player of the year, so I probably don’t actually know anything.)

It also is worth noting: There was no transfer drama this time around with a departing Kent player, and as harsh a critic as I’ve been of Kent, I’m glad he didn’t do what he did last time and left Flynn free to go where he wanted.