Put a basketball spin on this age-old question: If a Division I basketball player with career averages of 1.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game transfers schools, does it make a difference?

That's what I had to ask myself last Wednesday when Marquette announced that sophomore forward Patrick Hazel will leave the university after the current academic semester.

Hazel is the final link to former Marquette coach Tom Crean's 2007 recruiting class (his last before he bolted to Indiana). He is a memorial of sorts, a lasting example of Crean's inability to cultivate even mediocre low-post talent.

But Hazel wasn't the only member of that 2007 class that flopped at Marquette. He was part of a three-player class that has to rank among the worst in the history of Marquette's men's basketball program. If you're going to miss the graduating "Big Three" class, just be glad you're getting rid of the last of the "Little Three" as well.

Think about it.

The supposed gem of the 2007 recruiting class was 6-foot-8 forward Trevor Mbakwe, who injured his knee before the 2007-'08 season and only appeared in 11 games. He averaged 1.5 points and 2.1 rebounds before transferring to Miami Dade (Fla.) Community College in August.

Sure he tore it up for the Sharks last season, averaging 13.0 rpg, and was named the NJCAA Southern Conference player of the year. But there's no guarantee that talent will translate when he suits up for Minnesota next season.

And don't forget guard Scott Christopherson, the 6-foot-3 shooting specialist who had trouble getting himself on the court to actually shoot. His 18-game Marquette career ended after he put up 1.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists in his freshman season, then transferred to Iowa State.

If you doubt the lack of impact Christopherson would have had under coach Buzz Williams, consider this — in Crean's system Christopherson couldn't even beat out then-sophomore guard David Cubillan for playing time. This season Williams treated Cubillan like he had the plague, and even played an admittedly injured Dominic James ahead of him in the NCAA Tournament. Do you really think Christopherson would've been any different?

That brings us back to Hazel. Want to wrap up his time at Marquette in 21 words? Here's a quote from Williams early in the 2008-'09 season: "I've stopped practice more times as it relates to Pat Hazel's mistakes, maybe, than the rest of the team combined."

You might not be able to tell he's gone, since he spent every minute of every game after a Feb. 14 win over St. John's on the end of the Golden Eagles' bench.

In retrospect the most productive player from that 2007-'08 season might be walk-on Robert Frozena. At least he's still on the bench cheering. Was Crean even trying at that point?

Anyway, there's a chance that Hazel was an excellent teammate and a reasonably decent human being. The same goes for Mbakwe and Christopherson. But I'm not trying to hand out awards for congeniality.

In my opinion — and with the noted exception of James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews — the fewer Crean holdovers left on Marquette's campus the better. Hazel's departure will allow Williams to bring in an extra recruit next season.

Maybe Williams won't prove any more adept at evening out Marquette's well-known guard-first mentality. But don't forget that guard Jimmy Butler wasn't added onto the 2008 recruiting class until Crean left, and he was the most productive member of the group.

And that brings me back to that original question — when Hazel transferred from Marquette last week, did it make a difference?

Of course. It made the Golden Eagles better.