i'm categorizing their decision to transfer, not them as people, or any of their decisions prior to transferring.
re. how we know their situs - we can only go by the available info and logical inferences based on it. which tells us that whatever relationships they had with their coaches, they weren't so bad that the coaches wouldn't play them. and neither coach has a rep as being difficult to play for in general.
we can also view their situs and realize that joseph isn't going to go anywhere that's better. he's a good, but not great high-major guard with one semester of eligibility. that's not particularly attractive to anyone except programs that could never normally get a player that good, or those with a dire 1 year pg gap. and among those, he's further limited to programs with a spare ship this year.
franklin, as a freshman, is more attractive, and will have more choices, but he'll still lose a full year of eligibility. he's not going to go anywhere that's better for 2.5 years than cal is for 3.5 years.
even if their situs have some hidden element that rationally makes staying untenable, each is a Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!) for leaving at the semester. they lose a year of eligibility and gain nothing. in franklin's case, i think you can also argue that 1 semester isn't enough time to evaluate his situ at cal, and he should wait another semester for that reason as well.
