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College basketball 10 takes: Max Abmas can save Texas, favorite destinations for top available transfers – 247Sports
What’s life like being implanted in the transfer portal? It’s a gullywasher of names and “heard from” lists while you wait to see who Arkansas landed next. But the teams who have been quiet in the transfer portal should also have your attention. Anything swirling around Marquette? Doesn’t seem like it. Shaka Smart has a squad with high aspirations for 2023-24, and Marquette has not been rocking the boat in the offseason. That’s a good thing.
No. 1 seeds like Alabama and Kansas have combined to land just one transfer, so far. Panic time? Nah. KU and Bama are big-game hunting. Their additions are coming, and odds are strong that Nate Oats and Bill Self will be pleased with the big-time additions.
“I need to be on the phone, I need to be living in the portal right now,” Self said. “And that’s what we’re doing.”
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Editor’s note: 247Sports’ college basketball writer Isaac Trotter takes a deep dive into the college basketball slate with notes, takeaways and statistical oddities that jump out.
Providence’s Q-Rating was floundering when legendary coach Ed Cooley decided to leave his hometown for hated Georgetown. Whether he liked it or not, Cooley’s messy exit made it look like there was something wrong with Providence. That Big East Championship in 2021-22? Mirage. The time when Providence landed big-time transfers? “They the old days.”
In less than a month, new Providence coach Kim English has restored a semblance of order. The outgoing, energetic leader is crushing it just like he repeatedly eviscerated Illinois during his hooping days at Missouri.
All-Big East forward Bryce Hopkins and defensive wizard Devin Carter Jr. quickly bought into English and will return for a second year. Budding sniper Corey Floyd Jr. will also return.
Prized recruit Garwey Dual decommitted from Providence when Cooley left, but he hopped back on board after hearing English’s pitch. He’ll form an intriguing point guard combination with sophomore Jayden Pierre. English convinced three of his former George Mason hoopers to follow him to Providence: Josh Oduro, Justyn Fernandez and Davonte Gaines. Of course, Oduro is the prized addition. The bucket-getting big man should have no problems elevating into one of the Big East’s top frontcourt pieces.
The Big East will be phenomenal next season, but in less than 30 days, English has given the Friars a chance to be more than just relevant. Providence’s Q-Rating? Back up.
West Virginia needs one more shot-maker to put a bow on what has been an impressive offseason from Bob Huggins and company. Good thing WVU has multiple options. Oklahoma State transfer Avery Anderson III has West Virginia among his top options. Iowa State transfer Caleb Grill just visited West Virginia. Either makes so much sense for a West Virginia roster that suddenly has to be put in the conversation as one of the Big 12’s best after the additions of Arizona transfer guard Kerr Kriisa and Syracuse big man Jesse Edwards.
Questioning on how all the pieces to the puzzle will fit together is totally fair. But Huggins is a Hall of Famer for a reason. But West Virginia quietly will have length all throughout its frontcourt with Edwards and Tre Mitchell. The good version of Kriisa is really dazzling. The bad? That could drive Huggins up a wall. But Joe Toussaint’s return and the additions of Jose Perez and Omar Silverio are security blankets for the nights when Kriisa enters The Bob Huggins Doghouse.
Add one more shooter and West Virginia can start dreaming big in 2023-24.
TJ Bamba to Villanova: The enormous Washington State transfer will team up with Justin Moore to feature one of the best 1-2 wing combos in the country. Bamba stepping into the Cam Whitmore role makes so much sense for both sides.
Nahiem Alleyne to St. John’s: Rick Pitino is building a brand-new team using the transfer portal, and Alleyne is a sneaky-big addition. At Virginia Tech, Alleyne transformed into a deadly scorer who can come off screens and fire instantaneously. The lefty assassin could get hot in a hurry.
But he had to buy into being a role player for a loaded UConn squad that won the National Championship. But at St. John’s, Alleyne can get back to his bucket-getting ways. Pitino will have boatloads of sets to get Alleyne wide-open jumpers.
Baylor Scheierman returns to Creighton: The Bluejays desperately needed some good vibes after Ryan Nembhard’s puzzling transfer portal entry. Getting Scheierman back is enormous. One year of Scheierman felt important. Two? That’s a phenomenal boon. Scheierman will be in the conversation for Big East Player of the Year.
Wisconsin had a talent problem last season. It’s clear Greg Gard knew it because the Wisconsin head coach has rapidly solved that issue.
The Badgers have quietly put together a super strong offseason. Multiyear starters Chucky Hepburn and Steven Crowl have not entered the transfer portal. Neither did Connor Essegian who made the All-Big Ten Freshman Team this past season. All-Big Ten-caliber forward Tyler Wahl announced he will return. Wisconsin dipped into the transfer portal to land Wyoming guard Noah Reynolds and St. John’s transfer wing AJ Storr. Reynolds could take some of the on-ball load off Hepburn and turn him into a shot-hunter. Can Storr be the next Johnny Davis? Maybe, but he won’t have to be. He instantly becomes the bouncy, athletic wing Wisconsin didn’t have on the roster last year, and the NCAA’s new memo shutting down two-time undergraduate transfers means Storr should be a multi-year weapon for Wisconsin. That’s huge.
Suddenly, Wisconsin’s rotation looks deep with a mix of high-floor pieces and sexy breakout picks.
Hepburn, Reynolds, Storr, Essegian and Max Klesmit give Wisconsin five strong pieces in the backcourt. Wahl and Crowl form a known commodity. That seven-man rotation does not include a single freshman. Wisconsin has multiple pieces that can go create something out of nothing. When Hepburn was struggling last year, it felt like Essegian had to carry the shot-making burden alone. That won’t be the case in 2023-24.
Texas Tech wing Jaylon Tyson will enter the transfer portal, according to a report by The Athletic’s Tobias Bass. The lack of superstar wings in the transfer portal should make Tyson a coveted priority even though there are eligibility questions. Technically, Tyson has used up all his free transfers, so even though there was a coaching change at Texas Tech, Tyson would have to sit out the 2023-24 campaign unless he can get a waiver.
Tyson and FSU transfer Matthew Cleveland would instantly become the two top priorities for wing-needy programs in the portal. Tyson averaged 10.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals this past season. The shot-making and rebounding is one thing, but Tyson has both the athleticism and the desire to be one of the best defenders in the country. Tyson was a deflection machine in his first real season of college basketball.
But the NCAA, supposedly, will be very strict about handing out waivers. Can Tyson get one? It’s complicated.
UCLA guard Amari Bailey declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, and he is expected to stay in the draft and not return to UCLA for a second season of college basketball.
The five-star freshman really had an up-and-down year. He wasn’t a big piece of the puzzle during UCLA’s 0-2 showing in Las Vegas in November against Illinois and Baylor, and Bailey missed seven games in January with an injury. But Bailey transformed into a monster down the stretch. He scored at least 14 points in five of UCLA’s final six games.
When the lights were brightest, Bailey was phenomenal. He eviscerated Gonzaga for 19 points in the Sweet 16. If Bailey opted to return to UCLA for Year 2, the Bruins would be one of the best teams in the country and Bailey would be a Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate.
Alas, it was not meant to be.
Bailey could have been a huge riser in the wide-open 2024 NBA Draft, but his profile mixed with the late-season surge should have NBA decision-makers salivating at a potential buy-low stash. It’s a blow for UCLA’s National Championship hopes in 2023-24, but do not be surprised if a smart team scoops Bailey up and views him as a major value piece.
Nebraska has been making major moves in the transfer portal after a strong close to the 2022-23 season. Nebraska landed Charlotte sharpshooter Brice Williams and versatile Bradley big man Rienk Mast to buff out a roster that has some really intriguing pieces. Keisei Tominaga, Wilhelm Breidenbach, CJ Wilcher and Jamarques Lawrence are four no-doubt rotation players Fred Hoiberg can rely on. Nebraska is also in the final three for Siena transfer Javian McCollum which would be a big-time splash.
Nebraska has not finished with a winning record in Big Ten play during Hoiberg’s four-year tenure. That might be close to changing if McCollum hops on board. A McCollum, Williams, Tominaga backcourt has some real teeth.
Nebraska is showing it can play the NIL game with the best of ’em. But the basketball product is improving, too.
Texas coach Rodney Terry could use some good news. The Longhorns have not parlayed an Elite Eight berth into a strong offseason… Yet. Both Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell are going through the pre-draft process. Texas five-star signee guard AJ Johnson is off to Australia to suit up for the NBL. Arterio Morris and Rowan Brumbaugh entered the transfer portal. Sir’Jabari Rice, Marcus Carr, Christian Bishop and Timmy Allen are all out of eligibility. That’s a mouthful-and-a-half of defections.
Whom has Texas landed?
Nobody.
Yet.
But reeling in Oral Roberts star transfer Max Abmas would immediately transform Texas’ offseason into a major victory. Kansas State and Texas are in a heated race for the bucket-getting guard who can pull from the moment he crosses halfcourt. Get Hunter back and add Abmas to the mix and Texas’ backcourt goes from a big unknown to one of the best in the country. Landing Abmas is quickly turning into an enormous inflection point for Terry.
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan: Returning home to Maryland or Georgetown would make sense. But the Dickinson-to-Kansas fit would be ideal from a basketball perspective. Dajuan Harris would instantly become the best pass-first point guard Dickinson has ever played with. Big men under Bill Self have flourished routinely. A villain like Dickinson at a place like Kansas? Yes, please.
Nick Timberlake, Towson: UConn, Kansas and North Carolina are battling it out for the best catch-and-shoot assassin in the transfer portal and a decision is expected this week. Timberlake fits with every team in the country, but UConn makes so much sense. Inserting Timberlake into the Jordan Hawkins’ role would help the Huskies’ freight train keep rolling.
Dalton Knecht, Northern Colorado: Oregon and Tennessee both have a lot of opportunity to sell Knecht, but the fit with the Ducks just seems almost too good to be true. The presence of both Jermaine Couisnard and Keeshawn Barthelemy would make Knecht’s life a little easier while also allowing him to be the elite lead guard he can be. Can Knecht be Oregon’s next Chris Duarte? There are a ton of similarities.
Aaron Estrada, Hofstra: Alabama needs reinforcements in its backcourt, and Estrada has the game to be an absolute star in Nate Oats’ scheme. Estrada would get a chance to put up big-time numbers at both Cincinnati and Kansas State, but Alabama looks like a hand-in-glove fit.
Arkansas was the 11th-youngest Power Six team last season, per KenPom. Three freshmen played at least 24 minutes per game last season for the Razorbacks. That is fixing to change in 2023-24. Arkansas’ gaudy transfer portal class is filled with established veterans.
Arkansas was one of the best teams in the country in 2020-21 and 2021-22 with really old teams. Arkansas’ 2023-24 roster is shaping up to have that same type of look.
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