College basketball transfer portal: Highlighting the teams on the hunt for big men – 247Sports

A productive starting center was not too difficult to find in the 2023 transfer portal cycle. Hunter Dickinson, Kel’el Ware and Jesse Edwards were at the top of the pecking order, but Graham Ike, Warren Washington, BJ Mack, Micah Handlogten and Rienk Mast have all been pivotal starters for NCAA Tournament teams. Will that be the same case in the 2024 transfer portal cycle?
It opened Monday, and it’s already simmering, but it’s about to start boiling after the NCAA Tournament’s first and second rounds.
Programs like Michigan, West Virginia and Louisville are searching for a coach right now. They will likely need just about everything in the portal. Arkansas will need just about everything in the portal. Illinois might need one of every position in the portal. But other programs can enter with a handful of targeted positions to pour all the resources into.
READ MORE: College basketball transfer tracker
Finding big men will be at the top of the charts for numerous high-level programs throughout the country. A few good ones have already popped into the portal, and more are likely on the way.
Stanford center Maxime Raynaud is currently the top-ranked player in the portal. The 7-foot-1, 250-pound big man has one year of eligibility remaining, and he’s the total package offensively. Raynaud averaged 15.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last season. Raynaud shot 67% at the rim, 78% at the free throw line and 36% on 61 3-pointers. Raynaud is terrific and will be highly pursued by teams that need a plug-and-play starter.
Rutgers star center Cliff Omoruyi entered the portal on Wednesday. He instantly becomes one of the top options on the board for center-needy teams. The All-Big Ten big man averaged 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game last season and dunks everything. Oh, and opponents shot just 50% at the rim against Rutgers when Omoruyi was on the floor. He has one year of eligibility left and, like Raynaud, is a plug-and-play, high-level starter.
Oklahoma State’s Brandon Garrison is a little different. The former McDonald’s All-American has three years of eligibility and quickly looked the part in the veteran-laden Big 12. Garrison went toe-to-toe with elite Big 12 centers routinely and held his ground. Garrison averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks. Garrison’s defensive instincts are a promising sign of what’s to come, and his offensive game, while a bit limited at the moment, won’t be far behind.
RELATED: The needs of every top college basketball program in 2024 transfer portal
It’s like free agency. Numerous teams need game-changing big men, and the jostling has already begun. 
Coaches have to decide if Drexel’s Amari Williams, Michigan’s Tarris Reed, Pepperdine’s Jevon Porter, Belmont’s Malik Dia, UMass’ Josh Cohen or Miami’s Michael Nwoko might fit their respective rosters better or are more attainable than the top options. Or maybe it’s in their best interest to wait and see who else pops in the portal in the next 42 days.
Let’s dive into the teams who will likely be chasing big men in the 2024 portal cycle.
Warren Washington is out of eligibility, so Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland will likely be in the market for a big man who can block shots and be a back-line anchor. A big man who can make great decisions is so vital to cracking the elite Big 12 defenses like Iowa State and Houston. The physicality, rebounding and rim protection is one thing, but an elite processor who can make quick reads on the fly would be a phenomenal addition to this roster.
Rafael Castro has shown some flashes in limited playing time, but with Josh Oduro exiting, Providence could be in the market for a more proven frontcourt option. If Providence gets Bryce Hopkins and Jayden Pierre back, the sell should get even better. Some fantastic Big East big men are likely exiting, namely Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro, but you know this league will reload.
Syracuse should be in the big man market, despite finding some success with small-ball five-man Maliq Brown. A shot at the rim is the highest-value spot on the floor for offensive efficiency, and Syracuse’s defense got its soul ripped out at the rim repeatedly. Syracuse’s defense allowed a shot at the rim 44.6% of the time and opponents shot over 61% at the rim. The portal could help Adrian ‘Red’ Autry revamp that back-line defense in a real way.
Lamont Paris might have to replace both of his frontcourt staples. BJ Mack was out of eligibility anyway, but freshman Collin Murray-Boyles is skyrocketing up the NBA Draft boards. South Carolina’s spacing offensively has been really underrated all year, and Mack was a big part of that. It’s opened up the paint for drives from Murray-Boyles and Meechie Johnson, and the pick-and-pop game between Mack and Ta’Lon Cooper has worked seamlessly. A big man who can shoot it would be preferable and a big addition in the 2024 cycle for the Gamecocks.
T.J. Otzelberger’s big men are not flashy, but they get the job done. Rob Jones, Tre King and Hasan Ward have all been invaluable to the ‘Clones on their way to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They all play hard, they all rebound, they are all so physical, they muck it up and have embraced low usage rates.
Except, all are out of eligibility after this season.
Can Iowa State go scoop up more junkyard dogs?
This one is simple: If Johni Broome departs for the NBA, Auburn will be a heavy player in the big-man market. Broome’s All-American season and Walker Kessler’s success both at Auburn and with the Utah Jazz are fabulous blueprints that Bruce Pearl can walk into every meeting with. Auburn could use a quick, firm stay-or-go decision from Broome to make the portal way easier to navigate.
Whenever Michigan State’s season ends (Tom Izzo is itching to put together another run and silence the hashtag haters), some important meetings are sure to be had. The exit meetings with Michigan State’s frontcourt pieces will be telling on the direction MSU wants to go in the transfer portal.
Malik Hall is the lone frontcourt starter who is out of eligibility. Xavier Booker, Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and Mady Sissoko could all run it back next year.
Michigan State’s rim rate actually ticked up from 29% in 2022-23 to 34% this season, but the Spartans need way, way more production from its big men.
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Penn State all dipped into the portal in the last couple cycles for a starting big man. It might be time for Michigan State to do the same.
There’s a world where RJ Davis, Harrison Ingram and Elliot Cadeau all run it back for Carolina next season alongside five-star guards Drake Powell and Ian Jackson. Who wouldn’t want to play with that star-studded trio? Expect Hubert Davis and Co. to be very active in the big man market to follow Armando Bacot.
Replacing Bacot’s 14.1 points per game is one thing, but the legendary UNC big man has been phenomenal on defense this year. Maybe Jalen Washington is ready for a bigger role or freshman James Brown is a little more ready to play than some think, but if UNC can reel in one of the best bigs in the portal, it has to pull the trigger. It’d be a no-brainer decision for a program that will always have National Championship hopes.
Alabama: Nate Oats isn’t just all about how many points he can score. The Alabama coach would love to get his defense back near the top of the charts like it was in 2022-23. An elite drop-coverage defender would be an ideal addition.
Miami: Norchad Omier has another year of eligibility if he wants it. If he decides to pass on it, Miami should hit the portal for an impact big man.
Dayton: Anthony Grant’s sell in the portal is simple: Would you like to try and do what DaRon Holmes just did?
St. John’s: Joel Soriano is out of eligibility. The in-house option of Zuby Ejiofor is intriguing, but St. John’s coach Rick Pitino could have his eyes set on a transfer big to strengthen the room.
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