College basketball transfer portal 2023: Storylines, rules, contender needs, names to know – 247Sports

Monday signals the opening of college basketball’s transfer portal –– otherwise known as the sport’s Pandora’s box. Coaches throughout the country are juggling a ton of responsibility right now. Delegating a staff to retain top talent and scan the transfer portal for the right fit is a key priority for correct roster-building. Oh, and toss in the fact that 68 teams are preparing for the NCAA Tournament, 32 more are in the NIT and 16 others will compete in the CBI. A total of 116 coaching staffs have to handle the transfer portal while also prepping for March Madness.
It’s no easy task.
“I wish that it would start a little later than the day right after Selection Sunday,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood told Fox Sports’ John Fanta. “You would hope you don’t have someone on your team, as you’re heading to the tournament, who is looking at the portal, but I would also be wrong to say that it won’t happen. Somebody who isn’t playing or getting minutes is going to be looking for a new destination. I’ll be shocked if there’s a tournament team not dealing with that, and look, you have to stay on top of transfers at every moment because that’s essential in building a roster.”
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Let’s dive into the things to know as the transfer portal gets ready for a Noah’s Ark-on-steroids bonanza.
The most important new rule is the just-instituted NCAA transfer windows. Numerous graduate transfers have already entered the transfer portal, but Monday kicks off the 60-day window for the rest of the prospective transfers to hop in the portal to examine their options. The one-time transfer rule is still intact, per usual. If a player has not transferred yet, they are immediately eligible.
“Like their peers in the general student population, college athletes choose to transfer for any number of reasons,” said Jere Morehead, president at the University of Georgia and chair of the Board of Directors. “We believe the changes enacted enable member schools to adapt to students’ needs, while also positioning students for long-term academic success. These changes to NCAA rules recognize further study is needed on graduation rates before we consider authorizing multiple transfer opportunities with immediate eligibility. We will continue to review potential modifications to transfer rules as the landscape evolves over time.”
New Coach: Georgetown, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, St. John’s, Cal and Ole Miss are already on the hunt for a new coach. Heavy roster turnover is almost a guarantee. Last cycle, first-year coaches like LSU’s Matt McMahon and Missouri’s Dennis Gates basically had to build a whole new team from scratch using the portal.
Teams In Need Of A Spark: This can either be staffs that will be on the hot seat in 2023-24 (Stanford) or schools that are in the early stages of a rebuild and need to upgrade the roster aggressively using the portal.
Teams That Are Always Aggressive: Arkansas coach Eric Musselman is a madman in the transfer portal. The running joke is that Arkansas will offer everybody and anybody –– maybe to get the smoke off the transfer targets it actually wants. Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes is terrific at finding gems in the portal. Expect him to be up to his old tricks again. Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger has developed a real knack at rebuilding his roster using the portal.
It is not easy to be a mid-major coach right now. There are plenty of examples of guys who have transferred up from the mid-major ranks and turned into major weapons at the Power Six level. Siena transfer Jalen Pickett has turned into an All-American at Penn State. Indiana State transfer Jake LaRavia jumped up to Wake Forest and turned into a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. New Mexico State transfer Sir’Jabari Rice has arguably been Texas’ best player this season. Kentucky would be lost without Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves.
Plenty of great players made the wise decision to stay (looking at you, Oral Roberts’ superstar Max Abmas), but the taste of Power Six hoops will be too good to pass up for some of the best players at that level looking to raise their profile even more.
It’s also hard to look at underwhelming teams like Michigan or Oklahoma and not expect some real attrition from rotation players. There are plenty of coaching decisions in the coming days that will absolutely create some havoc, too.
UCLA: Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell played a ton of minutes throughout their fabulous careers. Both of UCLA’s superstars could use their free COVID year to run it back at UCLA for a fifth season. If they both opt to pursue professional opportunities, UCLA could have some major playing time to sell to some of the top talents in the transfer portal.
Kansas: Jalen Wilson (top 40 pick) and Gradey Dick (lottery pick) seem destined to hear their names in the 2023 NBA Draft. Kevin McCullar is another one to watch with the Jayhawks. He could run it back if he gets feedback from NBA decision-makers that he needs to show more as a featured scorer/shot-maker. It’s no secret that Kansas usually gets what Kansas wants in the transfer portal. With a potential featured role to sell, KU could be armed to be a major player in the portal.
Creighton: The Bluejays could theoretically get all five starters back next season. But Trey Alexander, Baylor Scheierman, Arthur Kaluma and Ryan Kalkbrenner are all on NBA Draft boards. Those stay-or-go decisions could impact the Bluejays’ entire transfer portal gameplan.
Duke: Tyrese Proctor, Dariq Whitehead, Dereck Lively II and Kyle Filipowski will all have intriguing decisions to make. Whitehead could boost his stock in a big way after an injury-plagued freshman year and look to cash in on what is perceived to be a weak 2024 NBA Draft. But a smart team could be interested in taking Whitehead later in the first round hoping to buy low on one of the top prospects in the class. Filipowski’s stock might not ever be higher after a fabulous freshman season at Duke. Proctor and Lively have been terrific as of late. Proctor could be an absolute superstar in Year 2 at Duke.
Illinois: Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins are two top-50-ish NBA Draft prospects who will have fascinating decisions to make. Illinois has been a major player in the transfer portal, but Brad Underwood could be a little hamstrung until Shannon and Hawkins make final decisions.
Name, image and likeness is going to be an absolute factor in the transfer portal. Nijel Pack signed a two-year, $800,000 deal with LifeWallet that included a car. Miami was all smiles after it helped them land the prized Kansas State guard. You could argue Pack was underpaid after he helped the ‘Canes win a share of the ACC championship. Money moves will be made. It’s no coincidence that some of the teams who continue to dominate the transfer portal also have structured NIL opportunities set up.
Except for Wake Forest. Steve Forbes is just good at his job, contrary to what now-retired Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim thought when he quipped that “Wake Forest bought a team.” Boeheim later rescinded that quote and apologized to Forbes –– AKA college basketball’s transfer portal whisperer.
Fardaws Aimaq, F, Texas Tech: Aimaq was one of the top transfer portal options last season, but it never really clicked at Texas Tech. A preseason foot injury really messed everything up. Aimaq rushed back by conference play, but the 6-foot-11, 245-pound big man was not at his best. Even at less than 100%, Aimaq averaged 11.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 11 games.
B.J. Mack, F Wofford: Mack is an absolute beast. The Wofford big man averaged 16.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 49.2% from the field and 33.5% from downtown. It’s the second year in a row that Mack averaged more than 16 points per game. Dozens of high-major programs have already reached out to Mack.

Kamari Lands, W, Louisville: The former top-100 prospect could never really get clicking at Louisville. That’s not all his fault. The Cardinals were an absolute mess in 2022-23. Lands averaged 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and shot 32.1% from 3-point range in 21 minutes per game.
Nicolas Timberlake, G, Towson: The bucket-getting graduate transfer can absolutely fill it up. Timberlake is one of the top available shooters in the portal. Timberlake has splashed 233 3-pointers in his career and has shot over 40% from downtown in each of the last two seasons.
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