College basketball transfer portal notebook: Dalton Knecht's complex Tennessee fit; Gonzaga, Villanova load up – 247Sports

Twenty-six of the top-35 players in the college basketball transfer portal are off the board after a flurry of commitments Friday. The scarcity of elite transfer big men have forced many teams into a waiting game while No. 1-rated player Hunter Dickinson goes through the decision-making process. Is it Maryland? Is it Kansas? How about Kentucky? Maybe a return to Michigan is in the cards? Could Villanova, Georgetown or Syracuse make a late push? No one knows because Dickinson, likely, does not know yet, either. So it’s a waiting game for big man-hungry teams in the transfer portal while Dickinson peruses his options. As soon as Dickinson commits, things will pick up quickly with the free-agent bigs.
The lead guard market is completely the opposite.  
Dalton Knecht picking Tennessee changes who Indiana prioritizes in the portal. Javian McCollum to Oklahoma shifts who Nebraska targets for its vacant lead-guard spot. Ryan Nembhard picking Gonzaga over Arizona has Tommy Lloyd pivoting to his next point guard target. The transfer portal is speed-dating at its finest, and it tests which coaching staffs have the highest-quality, backup dating partners.
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Let’s dive into the latest top news, notes and more from the never-dull transfer portal landscape. 
Prized Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht –– once considered an Oregon lean –– committed to Tennessee on Friday to bolster Rick Barnes’ backcourt. Knecht is the No. 12-rated player in the transfer portal after averaging 20.2 points and 7.2 rebounds on 38.1% 3-point shooting this past season. Knecht and Harvard transfer forward Chris Ledlum headline a Tennessee transfer portal haul that looks like one of the best in the country.
The 6-foot-6, 200-pound, soon-to-be, fifth-year senior adds a proven shot-maker to Tennessee’s backcourt who attacks the rim with bad intentions. Knecht owns big-time bounce, and he was not afraid to baptize helpless rim protectors. The former junior college dog has one year of eligibility remaining.
“They said that I could have a chance to be a primary ball handler for them and that I would play a lot at the two or the three and maybe even some at the one,” Knecht told 247Sports’ Eric Bossi.
What’s the catch? It’s complicated because the Vols’ pieces haven’t fallen into place yet.
Let’s start with what we know.
Santiago Vescovi is back for his fifth season, so that’s one starting spot secured. Potential Year 3 breakout candidate Jahmai Machack is back after a strong defensive showing in 2022-23. Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler’s timeline to return from a devastating ACL injury is cloudy.
“We hope that we’ll have him for the start of the season, but we don’t know that timetable,” Barnes told reporters Thursday at the Vols’ Big Orange Caravan. “I know he will do everything he possibly can to be ready as quickly as he can, but obviously we’re going to make sure he’s 100 percent totally healthy.”
Olivier Nkamhoua is not returning to Tennessee, so even though Knecht is a wing and Nkamhoua played the 4 (and sometimes the 5), Tennessee still needed a way to replace his 10.8 points per game. Knecht can do that (and then some).
Julian Phillips and Josiah-Jordan James are going through the 2023 NBA Draft process. Both left the option to return to college open, but finding minutes for Zeigler, Vescovi, Knecht, Mashack, Ledlum, James and Phillips would be a chore. It’s unlikely to expect seven guys who could be starters to fully embrace splitting 160 minutes. 20-ish minutes per game for a Tennessee team that ranked 288th in pace last season? In this economy? Hard pass.
So what does it mean? Tennessee would not add weapons like Ledlum and Knecht without expecting at least one of James or Phillips to not return to Knoxville next season.
As currently constructed (and at full health), a Tennessee starting backcourt of Zeigler, Knecht and Vescovi is light-year’s better offensively. Knecht is a phenomenal catch-and-shoot assassin, rating in the 90th percentile nationally, per Synergy. Knecht’s off-the-bounce game is impressive, too. He’s a true three-level scorer. Knecht is the type of proven scorer Tennessee’s roster really didn’t have and was so desperately missing.
Will he defend at the level Barnes demands? That will be a major thing to watch moving forward, but a hired gun who can shoot Tennessee’s offense out of the all-too-familiar rut while taking the pressure off Zeigler and Vescovi will be very useful.
But paying up for Knecht forces Tennessee’s coaching staff to have some tough conversations with some really talented young pieces, and it signals more roster churn in the coming month.
Gonzaga entered the 2023 offseason with three main objectives: Find a shooter to help replace Julian Strawther. Find a big man to replace All-American Drew Timme. Upgrade the point guard spot.
Check, please.
Mark Few landed Eastern Washington transfer Steele Venters who has 176 career treys in his holster. But Few ramped it up early Friday in a major way with the bombshell additions of big man Graham Ike and point guard Ryan Nembhard. Ike absolutely owned the paint during his time in Wyoming. Nembhard was the straw that stirred the drink at Creighton.
Point guard and center are the two most important positions in Gonzaga’s scheme, and the chemistry between Nembhard and Ike should be there quickly.
Suddenly, Gonzaga is firmly in the mix as a national championship contender in a span of hours.
Find a shooter? Venters is one of the best in the portal.
Find a big man? Ike is one of the best in the portal.
Find a point guard? Nembhard is, arguably, the best in the portal.
Bada bing, bada bang, bada boom.
Kyle Neptune is quietly assembling one of the best wing trios in the country. Villanova flexed its NIL powers when it convinced Justin Moore to stick around for one final season. Landing Washington State transfer TJ Bamba was a splashy move. Neptune tripled down on switchy wings Friday by reeling in prized Maryland transfer Hakim Hart over Miami, Kansas and Gonzaga.
Bamba, Hart and Moore all have strong multi-positional versatility that Neptune can unlock on the defensive end. Villanova opponents got way too comfortable last season, but Bamba and Hart can bring that nasty streak back on the defensive end. If point guard Mark Armstrong takes a step forward, Villanova is positioned to be very relevant in the jam-packed Big East.
New Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland was desperate for some good news, and boy, did it come through. Grand Canyon transfer Chance McMillian and prized Nevada transfer Darrion Williams hopped on board this week. It’s a phenomenal start for McCasland’s 2023-24 roster. McMillian shot 44% from 3-point range last season, and Williams was the Mountain West Freshman of the Year.
“Coach McCasland kept it real with me from the first time we talked,” Williams told 247Sports. “Plus being able to play with guys who’s are all about winning and trying to win championships is what I was looking for. I believe the coaches they have coming in will be in the gym with me and are committed to making me the best player that I can be. There’s something special building in Lubbock and with the unbelievable fan support they got and the players I get to be alongside and learning from a great coaching staff, I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Make no mistake, McMillian and Williams have a chance to be starters from Day One, but retaining Pop Isaacs and Robert Jennings could be just as important as anyone McCasland reels in from the transfer portal.
There is still work to be done, but the bones of what McCasland wants to build are obvious and enticing.
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