College basketball transfer portal: Latest intel on Caleb Love, Ernest Udeh Jr., top available players – 247Sports

The first college basketball transfer portal window closed May 11, but player movement remains active as those already in the portal are free to commit to their destination schools throughout the summer. Many notable student-athletes remain on the board, including former North Carolina star Caleb Love, ex-Kansas big man Ernest Udeh Jr. and former Rutgers standout Cam Spencer. That trio ranks among the best players available, and each of them have drawn interest from some of the nation’s top programs.
National 247Sports analysts Adam Finkelstein, Eric Bossi and Travis Branham provided the latest updates on each of those highly-touted targets in the latest episode of College Basketball Recruiting Weekly. They detailed Love’s busy offseason, Udeh’s recent visits, Spencer’s entrance into the transfer portal and much more.
A week-long recruiting dead period came to a close Friday, so with visit opportunities back on the table, more action in the transfer portal should be on the horizon.
Get the latest football and basketball transfer portal news from 247Sports.
Here is the latest intel on three of college basketball’s top available transfers:
It has been a whirlwind spring for Love, who entered the transfer portal in March, committed to Michigan in April and re-entered the portal in May. Love, who ranks as the 16th-best transfer in the 2023 cycle and is the fourth-best uncommitted player, has ties to multiple programs with Arizona, Gonzaga and Texas trending the strongest. Each of those three teams are in the market for another guard, and Love is the top available option at that position.
Love rose to prominence early in his three-year North Carolina career. The former five-star recruit, who ranked No. 7 overall in the 2020 class, led the Tar Heels in assists and was second in scoring, steals and 3-pointers in a debut season that saw him land on the ACC All-Freshman team. One year later, Love led the 2022 NCAA Tournament in scoring as the leader of North Carolina’s Final Four run. For his career, the point guard averages 14.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
“This is an interesting case because Love is a deal that when he went to the portal the first time and selected Michigan, he was completely quiet,” Bossi said. “Schools around him were completely quiet about his recruitment. And that was at the request of Caleb and his family. And that same request has been made again, so if you’re recruiting Caleb Love and you want to find a way to shoot yourself in the foot real quick, go ahead and start leaking out information about how good you’re doing with him – which is normally how we get some stuff… For right now, it’s a little bit of a mystery, and that is exactly how Caleb Love and his family want it.”
While his role was limited in his first year at Kansas, Ernest Udeh Jr. showed immense amounts of potential and is a highly-promising transfer –– ranking as the No. 15 player in the portal and the top available center. Multiple programs remain in the mix for the big man, which comes as a new development after Duke appeared to be the clear frontrunner until this week. More campus visits –– most likely to Kansas State and TCU–– could be on the horizon for Udeh after a commitment to the Blue Devils did not surface.
Udeh will be a sophomore next season. The former four-star recruit and No. 32 player in the 2022 class spent one campaign with the Jayhawks and averaged 8.3 minutes per game while posting 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per contest. Udeh, a long and athletic center at 6-foot-11, 250 pounds, displayed impressive skill around the rim, shooting 75.6% from the field and notching a Kansas program record with 21 consecutive made field goals. He is also an active shot blocker and had a season-high four swats against Duke in November.
“He took a visit to Duke last week and just about everybody in the industry was anticipating a commitment out of Udeh to go to Duke, to fill their final roster spot,” Branham said. “He made for a perfect fit alongside a guy like Kyle Filipowski to protect the rim and rebound, set screens. But over the weekend, it’s starting to sound like this thing is starting to open up quite a bit. These other teams are going to get their shots. First and foremost being Kansas State, and also TCU is expected to be getting a visit. But dates on those are still TBD, so stay tuned as this one kind of, again, takes a turn that not many anticipated.”
Rutgers standout Cam Spencer is one of the most recent additions to the transfer portal. After rising to the high-major level from Loyola Maryland ahead of the 2022-23 season, Spencer immediately became the Scarlet Knights’ top scorer at 13.2 points per game. He was one of the most prolific shooters in the Big Ten, cashing in on 43.4% of his 3-point attempts while rounding out his line with an average of 3.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds. The graduate transfer will be eligible immediately at his third program in as many years, and Georgetown, Maryland and Miami are three possible destinations.
“The DMV native certainly made quite a splash on social media,” Finkelstein said. “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.”
Fellow 247Sports analyst Isaac Trotter said Friday that defending national champion UConn might just be the team to beat for Spencer, however.
“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,” Trotter said. “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 Co. UConn has been very involved with the sharpshooter and has made a strong impression.”
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