“This has nothing to do with anyone on the coaching staff,” he wrote on Instagram. “I feel moving forward this is what’s best for me.”
Toppin played a key role off the bench for the Rams and likely would have been a starter next season.
"We are facing a double-edged sword right now," Rhode Island coach David Cox told the Providence Journal. "We recruit high-major guys and, for whatever reason, get some of them. That's been our recipe and it's worked. But that dream to play at a higher level never really leaves them."
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Toppin is the fourth player to leave Rhode Island since the end of the season and one of many to leave the conference. Of course, there’s a growing list of players entering the conference as transfers, too.
Below is a rundown of scholarship players the A-10 has lost since the end of the season March 12 and who is entering the league, according to the list kept at VerbalCommits.com. Only players who averaged at least 1.0 point per game are listed.
Davidson, Fordham and Virginia Commonwealth aren’t included because they have not lost or gained a transfer since the season ended. Grad transfers can play right away in the 2020-21 season, though the NCAA is considering changing the rule that forces most transfers to sit out a season before playing.
Dayton
Leaving: Jhery Matos, 6-5, R-Jr. (grad transfer), G, 1.8 points per game (New school: UNC Charlotte).
Duquesne
Leaving: Frankie Hughes, 6-4, R-Jr. (grad transfer), G, 8.3 (San Diego); Ashton Miller, 6-5, Fr., G, 1.2 (Wagner).
George Mason
Leaving: Jason Douglas-Stanley, 6-2, So., G, 1.1 (Manhattan); Justin Kier, 6-4, Sr. (grad transfer), G, 9.6 (TBA); Goanar Mar, 6-7, Jr., F, 2.4 (TBA).
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George Washington
Leaving: Arnaldo Toro, 6-8, R-Jr. (grad transfer), F, 6.5, (St. John's); Shawn Walker Jr., 6-6, Fr., G, 3.4 (TBA); D.J. Williams, 6-7, Sr. (grad transfer), G, 13.7 (DePaul); Justin Mazzulla, 6-3, Jr., G, 5.0 in four games (Vermont); Mezie Offurum, 6-6, So., F, 2.9 (Mount St. Mary's).
Arriving: James Bishop, 6-2, Fr., G, 3.1 (Previous school: LSU); Ricky Lindo, 6-8, So., F, 1.7 (Maryland); Matthew Moyer, 6-8, R-Jr. (grad transfer), F, 2.0 (Vanderbilt).
La Salle
Leaving: Ed Croswell, 6-8, So., F, 10.0 (Providence)
Massachusetts
Leaving: Samba Diallo, 6-7, So., F, 6.7 (Manhattan); Keon Clergeot, 6-1, G, grad transfer, 5.0 (Southeastern Louisiana); Sean East, 6-3, Fr., G, 9.3 (Bradley).
Arriving: Noah Fernandes, 5-11, Fr., G, 1.4 (Wichita State); Mark Gasperini, 6-10, Jr. (grad transfer), F, 8.9, (American).
Rhode Island
Leaving: Jacob Toppin, 6-7, Fr., F, 5.1 (TBA); Mekhi Long, Fr., F, 3.1 (Old Dominion); Gregory Hammond, 6-5, Fr., G, 1.3 in four games (UMass Lowell); Tyrese Martin, 6-6, So., G, 12.8 (UConn).
Arriving: Malik Martin, 6-6, So., F, 9.0 (Charlotte); Makhel Mitchell, 6-10, Fr., F, 1.0 in 10 games (Maryland); Makhi Mitchell, 6-9, Fr., F, 3.0 in 12 games (Maryland).
Richmond
Leaving: Jake Wojcik, 6-4, So., G, 3.0 (Fairfield).
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St. Bonaventure
Leaving: Bobby Planutis, 6-8, R-So. (grad transfer), F, 5.4 (Purdue Fort Wayne); Matt Johnson, 6-4, Jr., G, 1.7 (TBA).
Saint Joseph’s
Leaving: Lorenzo Edwards, 6-8, R-Jr. (grad transfer), F, 6.9 (TBA); Chereef Knox, 6-5, Fr., G, 4.2 (TBA).
Arriving: Dahmir Bishop, 6-5, Fr., G, 1.6 points in 10 games (Xavier); Jack Forrest, 6-5, Fr., G, 8.9 (Columbia)
Saint Louis
Leaving: KC Hankton, 6-7, So., F, 1.2 (TBA).
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