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College Basketball Transfer Portal: The top 10 centers – 247Sports
The college basketball transfer portal is slowing down, with the spring window closed and most players coming off the board.
The center position provided the top two prizes in the 2023 transfer portal, with the Nos. 1 and 2 overall players. Despite all the talk in recent years about the devaluing of the center position, bigs have dominated college basketball the last several seasons (Zach Edey was the national player of year in 2022-23 and UConn’s Adama Sanogo was the Final Four’s MOP).
Using the 247Sports transfer portal rankings, these are the top 10 centers who changed teams this offseason.
Overall Rank: No. 1
Hunter Dickinson entered the transfer portal as most proven and accomplished player. Over this past season, Dickinson averaged a team high 18.5 points and 9 rebounds per game. Dickinson projects to have the same starring role he had at Kansas as he did at Michigan.
247Sports’ Isaac Trotter wrote about how Dickinson will wreck opposing gameplans:
Take one peek at Kansas’ currently-constructed roster, and it’s clear double-teams are on the way. Stopping Dickinson will be the top objective. Forcing Dajuan Harris Jr. and K.J. Adams Jr. to beat you will be the game plan.
But Dickinson is armed with three years of experience against every single defensive coverage you can possibly imagine, and he’s teaming up with one of college basketball’s brightest X’s and O’s minds in Bill Self. Giving a savant like Self a well-informed big man like Dickinson is just unfair.
Huge examinations are on the way for Dickinson, but he’s ready for it. He knows the answers to these tests.
Overall Rank: No. 2
While Kel’el Ware doesn’t present the most eye catching numbers, his upside is the highest amongst the bigs who entered the portal. Ware is extremely skilled at 7-foot which lead to his top 10 ranking coming out of high school. Ware will need to continue to get stronger in order to compete in a very physical Big 10 conference. But, all the tools are there for Ware to be among the top bigs in college basketball. It will just come down to how he is used by Indiana and the the type of motor he showcases in his second season.
Overall Rank: No. 4
Coming into his fifth and final season of college basketball, West Virginia big man Jesse Edwards will be one of the top bigs in the Big 12. Edwards has seen vast improvements each year playing at Syracuse which ended with him averaging a double-double (14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds) for the Orange. Also, Edwards notably lead the ACC in blocks, averaging 2.7 blocks per game. Bob Huggins‘ system relies heavily on defense. Edwards’ presence on defense and his mobility will bode well for the West Virginia.
Overall Rank: No. 15
Ernest Udeh Jr. was not overly productive last year for the Jayhawks but he is one of the most intriguing transfers available. The 6-foot-10 big man has a 7-2 wing span and is a versatile defender. Udeh will likely excel at being a lob threat and a player who puts pressure on the rim. Udeh will still need to work on his offensive skillset and a new opportunity with an expanded role will help his development tremendously. Currently, Udeh is still undecided with programs like Duke, Iowa and Michigan being in the mix. Duke seemed like the favorite but that might have fallen through earlier this week.
Overall Rank: No. 17
Coming from the WAC, Aziz Bandaogo is making a big jump to Cincinnati, which is now a member of the Big 12. The 7-foot big man averaged 11.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and lead the WAC in blocked shots last year for Utah Valley, averaging 3 blocks a game. Bandaogo also helped lead his team to the NIT semi-finals as a sophomore and has been improving each season. Bandaogo will have his work cut out for him in Cincinnati. He will be competing with and playing alongside 6-foot-11 Viktor Lakhin who emerged as the Bearcats go-to big man last year.
Overall Rank: No. 21
Graham Ike was a star for Wyoming before injuring his foot and missing the entire 2022-2023 season. Prior to his injury, Ike averaged 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. While we don’t know what to fully expect from Ike, the opportunity for him to have a bounce back season is there. With Drew Timme moving on from Gonzaga, look for Ike to be one of the lead forwards for a Gonzaga program that reached the Elite Eight.
Overall Rank: No. 22
Kadin Shedrick quickly became one of the hottest available bigs when he entered the transfer portal. The former Virginia big man was highly pursued by some of the top programs in the country despite putting up lackluster numbers at Virginia. Shedrick is long, mobile and is a solid pickup in the middle for the Longhorns. While I don’t expect huge numbers for Shedrick, I do expect him to log heavy minutes and be a factor for Texas alongside Dylan Disu.
Overall Rank: No. 27
Micah Handlogten made it into the top 10 thanks to both his production his freshman season at Marshall and his projected upside. During his freshman year at Marshall, Handlogten averaged 7.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. As the season went along Handlogten started to log more minutes and improve his production. Handlogten had 14 games in which he recorded 10 or more rebounds. And he scored 10-plus points on nine different occasions. While Handlogten may not see the same level of production right away in Gainesville, he is a very solid, young piece for Todd Golden moving forward.
Overall Rank: No. 38
Just a year ago Fardaws Aimaq was one of the top transfers in basketball, arriving to a then-surging Texas Tech program from Utah Valley. After a year of off-court issues and injury, plus a coaching change at Texas Tech, Aimaq hit the portal again for his fifth season of college basketball. In terms of production, Aimaq elected to join a Cal team that finished 3-29 and is in the middle of a rebuild. This gives him a chance of raising his numbers from last season when he averaged 11.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Overall Rank: No. 64
Kalib Boone rounds out the list as the No. 10 center transfer this cycle. Boone is an undersized big who can provide an offensive spark for UNLV. This season, Boone scored at least 15 points on 13 different occasions for Oklahoma State and played in all 36 games. We should also note that Boone will join his brother Keylan Boone for his fifth season of college basketball.
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