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College basketball transfer portal: Ex-Rutgers star Cam Spencer chooses UConn – 247Sports
Cam Spencer, Rutgers’ top scorer last season and one of the best available players in college basketball’s transfer portal, committed to UConn on Tuesday night, according to ESPN. The defending national champions have been the frontrunner to land Spencer for weeks, and his scoring punch adds to the wealth of talent the Huskies will return next season in defense of their title.
“UConn has been on the prowl for a veteran shooter to replace Jordan Hawkins, who will be a first-round pick in next month’s NBA Draft,” 247Sports college basketball analyst Isaac Trotter said last month. “It was supposed to be Towson’s Nick Timberlake, but Kansas coach Bill Self swooped in and stole the knockdown sniper from the defending champions. Spencer would be a strong pivot for UConn.
“The Rutgers transfer is a hand-in-glove fit for Dan Hurley and company. UConn has been very involved with the sharpshooter and has made a strong impression.”
The 6-foot-4, 207-pound Spencer — who transferred to the Scarlet Knights from Loyola Maryland before the 2022-23 season — was Rutgers’ leading scorer at 13.2 points per game.
Spencer was a senior but has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A starter in all 34 of Rutgers’ games, Spencer shot 44.4% from the field and 43.4% on 3-pointers. He rounded out his production with averages of 3.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 31.6 minutes per game for Rutgers, which went 19-15 overall and 10-10 against Big Ten play while narrowly missing the 2023 NCAA Tournament among the first four teams out.
“Cam Spencer comes in this year, we didn’t know Cam,” Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said March 14, after a 88-86 loss to Hofstra in the first round of the 2023 NIT. “We recruited him. He’s just been unbelievable.”
In 58 games (42 starts) with Loyola Maryland from 2019-22, Spencer averaged 14.9 points on 46.8% shooting and a 38.8% clip from beyond the 3-point arc. He averaged a career-high 18.9 points in 2021-22, making the All-Patriot League First Team.
Given UConn’s success from the perimeter in Hurley’s offense, Spencer seems like an ideal fit.
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“The DMV native certainly made quite a splash on social media,” 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein said shortly after Spencer entered the portal. “A couple of former teammates weren’t really happy with that decision, asking him to back it up for the NIL. Speculation was that Georgetown was the early favorite. Since then, places like Maryland and Miami also being mentioned.
“But remember, the key here is that he is a grad transfer, and grad transfers are not subject to the same rules about the portal as everyone else, so while the portal is closed, the grad transfers can go in at any time — thus we have one more big name left on the board.”
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