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College basketball transfer portal: Taran Armstrong gets 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction to turn pro – 247Sports
As 247Sports’ No. 2 available transfer, Cal Baptist’s Taran Armstrong has no shortage of interest in the portal. But 247Sports national recruiting analyst Travis Branham predicted he would eschew picking a new college destination in favor of turning pro, logging a 247Sports Crystal Ball for Armstrong to move on from college basketball.
An unranked prospect from NBA Global Academy, the Australian native picked Cal Baptist in the 2021 class. And after averaging 10.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game as a freshman, Armstrong followed that up with 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game this past season.
“Taran Armstrong entered the 2022-23 season on the Draftables list and while his season didn’t live up to expectations, there is a lot to be excited about what he can do when surrounded by better players,” Branham wrote in his initial transfer rankings. “He is a 6-foot-5 point guard with speed, wiggle, high IQ and impacts the game as a playmaker, facilitator, he can make shots off the catch and pull and score out of ball-screens. Armstrong arguably has the highest floor in this transfer class so far and is going to be an instant impact and starter wherever he goes next season.”
Michigan transfer center Hunter Dickinson, who has yet to pick a transfer destination, is 247Sports’ No. 1 transfer, with Indiana-bound center Kel’el Ware, formerly of Oregon, as the No. 2 transfer. That leads to Armstrong, one of just three transfers in 247Sports’ top 10 who remains uncommitted.
Armstrong’s four finalists include Creighton, Gonzaga, Xavier and Providence. But as Branham noted, Armstrong entered the season with NBA interest, and he could draw the kind of professional attention — even if it’s not the NBA — that would encourage him to move on from college. And while those finalists would welcome a point guard with Armstrong’s ability, some of his finalists went out and filled their point guard needs, including Gonzaga poaching Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard and Creighton bringing in Utah State’s Steven Ashworth. Xavier brought in both Dayvion McKnight of Western Kentucky and Rice combo guard Quincy Olivari.
In the first year of the portal windows, the college basketball transfer portal began March 13 and runs until May 11.
Numerous graduate transfers already entered the transfer portal prior to the March 13 opening, but that date kicked off the 60-day window for the rest of the prospective transfers to hop in the portal to examine their options. The one-time transfer rule is still intact, per usual. If a player has not transferred yet, they are immediately eligible.
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Name, image and likeness is going to be a factor in the transfer portal. It’s no coincidence that some of the teams who continue to dominate the transfer portal also have structured NIL opportunities set up.
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