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College basketball transfer portal 2023: Tracking recent commitments, best players available – 247Sports
College basketball’s transfer portal remains extremely active in May as programs across the country move one step closer to answering roster questions approaching the 2023-24 season. Seven players ranked among the best available committed over the last week, but there are still several high-end options with decisions pending ahead of the new campaign.
As the top-ranked player available this cycle, former Michigan star Hunter Dickinson’s commitment to Kansas earlier this month was a momentum-building moment for the Jayhawks, who can now build their team around the double-double machine from the Big Ten.
In all, seven of 247Sports’ updated top 50 portal options for 2023 are still in the process of finding new homes. West Virginia currently holds the nation’s No. 1 transfer class, per 247Sports, followed by Kansas, Texas and Arkansas. The Mountaineers landed five transfers thus far.
Best fits for top available players in college basketball’s transfer portal
Here is a look at recent transfer commitments and updates on a few of the top available players in the portal.
St. John’s and new head coach Rick Pitino landed the top scorer available in the college basketball transfer portal. Dingle, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, finished the 2022-23 season ranked second in the nation in scoring with 23.4 points per game. He is the No. 15 overall player in the transfer portal.
Pitino confirmed the transaction, saying “Really excited to have Jordan Dingle joining the (Red Storm). His goals are plain n simple. As a loyal New Yorker – help bring back St. John’s to basketball royalty. Then become a first round draft choice. I’m all in on making that happen.”
Dingle is a four-star prospect in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings and the 15th-highest rated player in the cycle. He was the third-highest rated player available at the time of his commitment. Dingle, a three-year starter at Penn, is a two-time first team All-Ivy selection and was the league’s Rookie of the Year in the 2019-20 season. For his career, Dingle averages 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game on 44.5% shooting.
Notes Shawn Pastor, Riley committed to Temple last week following a multi-day visit. The super-bouncy 6-4 guard averaged 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this past year with the Hoyas.Riley was a highly-decorated signee coming out of Brentwood (N.Y.) High School on Long Island, where he averaged 31.7 points per game and was named 2020-21 New York State Player of the Year as a senior. His freshman year at Georgetown was cut short after nine games by a shoulder injury (torn labrum) that required surgery. He had jumped right into the rotation averaging 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.8 minutes a game before the injury.
Per national recruiting analyst Travis Branham, this 6-foot-6, 210-pound small forward averaged 10.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 31 games played this season for the Red Raiders and California over Kansas. Tyson is expected to receive a waiver and be eligible next season following the circumstances of Mark Adams’ departure at the end of the 2022-23 season. Tyson is the latest addition of a loaded portal class for Mark Madsen as he flips the California roster. Tyson joins Fardaws Aimaq (Texas Tech), Jalen Cone (Northern Arizona), Keonte Kennedy (Memphis) and Mike Meadows (Portland).
Georgia coach Mike White continues to add talent in Athens ahead of his second season. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Thomasson chose Georgia over finalists San Francisco, St. John’s, Penn State and Pittsburgh and will arrive on campus with only one year of NCAA eligibility remaining.
“I think (Georgia was) just one of the first, you know, schools to really reach out to me and kind of build a bond and relationship,” Thomasson told the Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman. “I got to see them multiple times and kind of hear their (voices) and hear what their goals are for me. I mean, my dad lives in Atlanta, so that’s not that far from Athens. When I looked at this, man, I was like, ‘It just feels like home.'”
Transfers hit fewer programs harder than Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys hope the addition of Hicklen solves part of the roster issues. Hicklen averaged 12.2 points per game last season for the Ospreys, including a nearly 40% success rate from long range. Listed as a 6-foot-3 guard, Hicklen has one season of eligibility remaining. He fits what Mike Boynton wants in a backcourt starter in the Big 12 and is a seasoned player.
Ezewiro is a 6-foot-9, 255 forward from Torrance California. Ezewiro played at both LSU and Georgetown before announcing his commitment to St. Louis. Ezewiro averaged 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 27 games this season for the Hoyas.
“I committed to St. Louis because they have a great coaching staff and head coach in coach Ford,” Ezewiro told 247Sports. “They also have great assistants, player development, location, fans, and are in a good conference.”
Cisse is a huge addition for Ole Miss and is one of six former Oklahoma State contributors to enter the portal. Cisse spent two seasons at Oklahoma State, earning Big 12-Co Defensive Player of the Year in 2021-22 after transferring in from Memphis. He missed several games during this past season due to injury, but was still one of the top shot-blockers and rebounders in the conference. Cisse averaged 6.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game as a junior in 2022-23.
Basketball analyst Isaac Trotter says the portal’s top available player has a decision to make and it should happen soon. Nelson could be coming to the SEC.
“Arkansas’ speed-it-up identity is exactly the system Nelson would need to fully unlock his grab-and-go skills in transition,” Trotter writes. “The defensive upside would be undeniable. Arkansas also puts dudes in the pros. Nelson would have ample opportunity to raise his stock in a major way.”
The best available SEC player in the portal comes from Tennessee, but he won’t be playing college basketball if he starts on the NBA’s combine circuit this week.
“Phillips might not be ready to be in a NBA rotation right now, but he is a high-upside gamble,” Trotter writes. “There are plenty of examples of long, multi-positional defenders like Phillips who work tirelessly into becoming a useful offensive piece (hello, Herb Jones). Returning to college is a backup plan for Phillips right now. We’re betting on Phillips being too talented to not make a NBA front office fall in love with the idea of what he could become.”
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