The rebuilding challenge for University of Maine men’s basketball coach Bob Walsh just got a bit tougher.

Talented freshman Issac Vann, the Black Bears’ leading scorer this winter, will transfer from the school, Walsh announced Wednesday.

“It certainly hurts to lose such a talented player,” Walsh said, “but we’ve shown an ability – and I have a terrific staff – of recruiting high-level players to the University of Maine.”

Limited by injury to 17 games, Vann nevertheless averaged 16.4 points, most on the team. A 6-foot-6 forward from Bridgeport, Connecticut, Vann is a skillful slasher who also can score from outside. His ability to draw contact resulted in 5.9 free throws per game, another team high.

Less than two weeks ago, Walsh spoke glowingly about Vann to the Press Herald: “We think he’s got a chance to be a terrific player for us for a long time.”

Walsh said he maintains a dialogue with all his players throughout the year, and that in those discussions Vann often spoke of challenging himself at a higher level. Although Vann told Walsh he has no destination in mind, “What he said to me was the (Mid-America Conference) and the Atlantic 10 would be good fits if he had opportunities there,” Walsh said.

After high school in Connecticut, Vann spent a year at a New Jersey prep school and chose Maine over offers from Monmouth and Fairfield, according to Walsh.

Vann didn’t return a call but in a press release said, “I feel I am capable of competing at a higher level and am excited to test my abilities. It is difficult to leave my teammates at UMaine and I’ll always appreciate my time with the Black Bears.”

The Black Bears finished 8-22 in Walsh’s second season, which ended on a nine-game losing streak culminating in the America East quarterfinals at Vermont. The previous winter they were 3-27.

Walsh took over from Ted Woodward, who guided the Black Bears to a 10-year mark of 117-178 (a .397 winning percentage). Maine has never won a conference title or qualified for the NCAA men’s basketball tourney.

Typically an athlete who transfers between Division I schools is required to sit out a year. Walsh said last year there were close to 700 transfers in Division I men’s basketball.

“That’s two for every team,” he said. “It has certainly become a significant part of college basketball and the recruiting process.”

Recent tweets by another freshman, Lavar Harewood of New York, indicate he also may leave the program. But he remains on the roster and like Vann, remains enrolled in classes.

“Lavar and I have had discussions with his family,” Walsh said. “We are still having those discussions.”

Vann is not the first basketball player to leave Orono in search of brighter lights and higher exposure. Three years ago, Justin Edwards transferred to Kansas State after leading America East in scoring. He played two seasons for the Wildcats, and this winter led the team in scoring, rebounding and steals. A member of the Big 12, Kansas State went 17-16.

Rick Carlisle, the coach of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, began his collegiate career in Orono in 1979 and played two seasons before transferring to Virginia, where he was co-captain of a team that reached the Final Four in 1984. Carlisle went on to play for the Boston Celtics.

A Black Bears teammate of Carlisle, Champ Godbolt, left Orono for Holy Cross and became an eighth-round draft pick of the Celtics in 1984.

“I’m not going to say it doesn’t have an impact,” Walsh said of Vann’s departure, “but I don’t think it has a huge impact in what we’re trying to do. We have a lot of good, talented players in our locker room and we’re bringing in more talented players next year. We have a chance to make a big jump.”

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