Everybody’s national freshman of the year is on the move. The closest the women’s game has to a one and done, if you will.
According to a Durham Herald Sun blog post Thursday afternoon, Diamond DeShields is transferring from North Carolina, destination unknown.
Writer Harold Gutmann’s post quoted Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell as saying she did not “know or understand” why DeShields was leaving. 
The Naismith Hall of Famer, who was sidelined this season to undergo treatment for leukemia, said in a statement to the Herald Sun that “it breaks my heart that I will not have the opportunity to coach Diamond and help develop her on and off the court. I love her and wish her well.”
DeShields, who was named the nation’s top freshman by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, espnW and others, led UNC to the Elite 8 and a No. 7 ranking in the final national polls.
The Tar Heels were considered an early Top 5 preseason pick for the 2014-15 season, along with defending NCAA champion UConn and South Carolina.
A 6-foot-1 guard from Norcross, Ga., was one of four heralded freshmen to sign with North Carolina, along with Allisha Gray, Stephanie Mavunga and Jessica Washington.
Under associate head coach Andrew Calder, the Tar Heels heavily relied on those freshmen, going 27-10 and upsetting No. 1 seed South Carolina in the Sweet 16. DeShields led the team with an 18 ppg average, followed by Gray (13.9), sophomore forward Xylina McDaniel (11.9) and Mavunga (10.7).
UNC had no seniors and had signed in-state guard Jamie Cherry, a Top 100 national prospect.
DeShields’ departure is one of the most stunning in the women’s game in recent memory, although a brief take on the Swish Appeal blog stated without elaboration that the transfer “had been rumored for the past couple of weeks.”
That DeShields didn’t give Hatchell a chance to coach her is just as hard to fathom. Hatchell’s leukemia is now in remission and it’s likely she’ll return to the sidelines next season, but the Tar Heels certainly will have a very different feel about them.
DeShields made the Tar Heels her team almost from the outset, with her swagger and bodacious play, and now she’s gone, leaving many to wonder the reasons why. She hasn’t gone public today, but her Tweets from yesterday included the following:
• “There’s no price on your peace. Do what u have to do to get it.”
• “Been praying a lot lately.”
Read into that what you will.
The news came the day after the team banquet, which DeShields attended.
There’s already quite a bit of speculation about where she may land next, in particular SEC schools close her metro Atlanta home, as well as why she’s doing all this. I can’t pretend to know.
Mike Flynn’s already Tweeted out five schools whose names he’s heard the most on the early “rumor list” — South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee (where DeShields’ mother ran track), Kentucky and Texas.
There may be many others too, but this story quite clearly has only just begun.
