These are very subjective and come from my often wrong and biased opinion. Also, this conference is insane. You could make an argument for each school in the 3-6 range being interchangeable for me. But the cellar is much worse than recent years. How would you have these ranked?
1) Kansas
1) Kansas
- Lost:
- Arterio Morris - Guard - Jail
- Added:
- Rylan Griffen - Guard - Bama - 6'6
- AJ Storr - Guard - Wisconsin - 6'7
- Zeke Mayo - Guard - South Dakota State - 6'4
- Noah Shelby - Guard - Rice - 6'3
- Bottom Line: Last year Kansas lacked any sort of tangible depth and/or perimeter "oomph". Their rotation was 6 deep and it ended up being one of Self's worst teams ever. He adjusted accordingly. Griffen is one of the better high-volume shooters in the country and started on a final 4 team, AJ Storr was one of the best scorers in the B10, and Zeke Mayo has been one of the best mid/low major guards in the country for several years. Slotting Griffen and Storr on the perimeter next to Dajuan Harris and having the option of Mayo off the bench is a nice luxury. The fits aren't seamless but that's a ton of talent.
- Lost:
- Miro Little - Guard - Utah
- Caleb Lohner - Forward - Utah
- Dantwan Grimes - Guard - Southern
- Added:
- Jeremy Roach - Guard - Duke - 6'2
- Norchad Omier - Big - Miami - 6'7
- Jalen Celestine - Guard - Cal - 6'6
- Bottom Line: Baylor was dropping bags this offseason. Jeremy Roach should immediately be one of the best guards in the conference and will be a good fit for Baylor's guard friendly offense. He might not be All American good but he has been a lead guard on good Duke teams and productive in high leverage games. Omier is one of the steadier and more productive offensive bigs in the country and was in the Final 4 two years ago. Both of these guys should be all-conference players. Celestine was a good shooter on a bad Cal team and should provide floor spacing. Alot of offensive upside but the defense is a question.
- Lost:
- Damian Dunn - Guard - Pitt
- Added:
- Milos Uzan - Guard - OU - 6'4
- Bottom Line: This might draw some questions so just hear me out.... Is this the third best transfer class in terms of accumulated talent? Nope. But as far as needs vs. additions I'm not sure another team did a better job. Houston is returning a top 5 roster in the country but lost the best player in the B12 in Jamal Shead. No one is going to be a 1:1 replacement but Kelvin Sampson hit a HR in adding Milos Uzan as next year's PG. He has the requisite size (6'4), playmaking chops and defensive upside to form one of the best back courts in the conference next to Emmanuel Sharpe and LJ Cryer. Admittedly I am higher than most on Uzan and giving Sampson the benefit of the doubt here,
- Lost:
- Pop Isaacs - Guard - Creighton
- Robert Jennings - Big - Okie State
- Kye Lindsay - Big - Morehead State
- Drew Steffe - Guard - Southern Illinois
- Added:
- Federiko Federiko - Big - Pitt - 6'11
- Elijah Hawkins - Guard - Minnesota - 5'11
- Kevin Overton - Guard - Drake - 6'5
- JT Toppin - Big - UNM - 6'9
- Bottom Line: Tech started off with a solid portal haul with Fede, Overton and Hawkins but Toppin is the reason they are 4th for me. He has the potential to be a 1st or 2nd team all conference big this next season and has real NBA upside. The coaches are insanely high on him. Hawkins is one of the best passers in the country but is small and fairly limited as a scorer, Overton oozes upside, and Fede is limited offensively but one of the best pure rim protectors out there. Solid class with one superstar addition imo. Fans should be happy with this haul.
- Lost:
- Omaha Billiew - Big - Wake Forest
- Jelani Hamilton - Guard - Ga State
- Jackson Paveletzke - Guard - Ohio
- Added:
- Joshua Jefferson - Big - St. Marys - 6'7
- Brandton Chatfield - Big - Seattle - 6'10
- Nate Heise - Guard - NIU - 6'5
- Dishon Jackson - Big - Charlotte - 6'11
- Bottom Line: Following my Houston line of thinking here. Iowa State just got dudes who really fit. They targeted front court players to replace Hasan Ward and Robert Jones and upgraded in the process. Dishon Jackson is a workman-like player and Jefferson is one of the most underrated portal gets of the cycle imo. Heise is also a good bench option.
- Lost:
- Kylan Boswell (Guard) - Illinois
- Dylan Anderson (Forward) - Boise State
- Oumar Ballo ( Big) - Indiana
- Filip Borovicanin (Forward) - UNM
- Added:
- Tobe Awaka - Big - Tennessee - 6'8
- Trey Townsend - Forward - Oakland - 6'6
- Anthony Dell'orso - Guard - Campbell -6'6
- Bottom Line: Ballow and Boswell were productive but fairly limited players and with talented young guys waiting in the wings they aren't exactly death blows imo. Awaka and Townsend should fit Tommy Lloyd's uptempto and front court friendly system to a T. Awaka has elite physical characteristics and Townsend is a super productive tweener big. I'm less sold on Dell'Orso even though he has put up big numbers. Arizona could have used another perimeter player imo.
- Lost:
- Dai Dai Ames - Guard - Virginia
- RJ Jones - Guard - TCU
- Jerrell Colbert - Big - SMU
- Dorian Finister - Guard - SHSU
- Cam Carter - Guard - LSU
- Arthur Kaluma - Forward - ?
- Added:
- Baye Fell - Big - Arky - 6'11
- Brendan Hausen - Guard - Villanova - 6'4
- CJ Jones - Guard - UIC - 6'4
- Dug McDaniel - Guard - Michigan - 5'11
- Achor Achor - Big - Samford - 6'10
- Ugonna Onyenso - Big - Kentucky - 7'0
- Max Jones - Guard - CS Fullerton - 6'2
- Coleman Hawkins - forward - Illinois - 6'10
- Bottom Line: K State took a ton of transfers, and it is an interesting mix of high-end talent and players that are imo JAGs. Hawkins is a Swiss army knife with very real perimeter skills and all-conference upside and Dug McDaniels doesn't "play school" but is a blur with the ball who should fit Tang's system well. Achor is very skilled, but I wonder how he handles a more athletic league and Onyenso is a top tier shot blocker with offensive limitations. Hausen is a knock down shooter but other than that I'm not too impressed. Apparently, they plan on playing Hawkins, Achor, and Onyenso together at the 3/4/5. Going to be interesting at a minimum. Low-floor, high-ceiling class here.
- Lost:
- Essam Mostafa - Big - ?
- Micah Peavy - Forward - Georgetown
- Jakobe Coles - Big - Grand Canyon
- Added:
- Brendan Wenzel - Wing - Wyoming - 6'6
- Noah Reynolds - Guard - Green Bay - 6'3
- Frankie Collins - Guard - Arizona State - 6'1
- RJ Jones - Guard - K State - 6'3
- Trazarien White - Forward - UNC Wilmington - 6'7 (maybe not
- Vasean Allette - Guard - Old Dominion - 6'3
- Bottom Line: Very Jamie Dixon-like class. Filled with athletes who are going to get into the passing lanes and out into transition. Frankie Collins cannot shoot at all but he is a good on ball defender and can really go in transition, Traz White is wired to score and has impressive numbers and should be a solid Emmanuel Miller replacement, and Brendan Wenzel is a marksman. Noah Reynolds is a PnR maestro who utilizes tempo change to get to his spots and is a bucket, but can he do it at the B12 level? And Vasean Allette was a high-level scorer as a Freshman but istop a supposed head case. I personally like the back court upside in this class but seems too volatile to have it higher.
- Lost:
- Sage Tolentino - Big - UNC Asheville
- Jamile Reynolds - Big - USF
- Viktor Lakhin - Big - Clemson
- Added:
- Arrinten Page - Big - USC - 6'11
- Connor Hickman - Guard - Bradley - 6'2
- Dillon Mitchell - Forward - Texas - 6'8
- Bottom Line: Cinci didn't need much but they did a good job filling any areas of need. Hickman is a very good shooter from a solid MM program in Bradley. I absolutely love the Dillon Mitchell take. He disappears offensively but is a top 5 athlete in the country. His defensive versatility and rebounding fit this roster perfectly.
- Lost:
- Seth Wilson - Guard - Akron
- Kerr Kriisa - Guard - Kentucky
- Josiah Harris - Foward - Akron
- Pat Suemnick - Big - Depaul
- Jeremiah Bembry - Guard - ?
- Kobe Johnson - Guard - SLU
- Ali Ragab - Big - ?
- Noah Farrakhan - Guard - ?
- Added:
- Javon Small - Guard - Okie State - 6'3
- Eduardo Andre - Big - Fresno State - 6'10
- Toby Okani - Wing - UIC - 6'7
- Amani Hansberry - Big - Illinois - 6'8
- Sencire Harris - Guard - Illinois - 6'3
- Tucker Devries - Wing - Drake - 6'7
- Joseph Yesefu - Guard - Washington State - 6'0
- Jayden Stone - Guard - Detroit Mercy - 6'3
- Bottom Line: Really good 1-2 punch followed by a ton of question marks. Devries was one of the best portal entries and Small at a minimum is a above-average starting guard in the B12. Other than that? Stone put up big numbers on the 351st best team in the country and Yesefu has bounced around everywhere without many results. Hansberry has intriguing upside imo though.
- Lost:
- Noah Waterman - Forward - Louisville
- Jaxson Robinson - Guard - Kentucky
- Atiki Ally Atiki - Big - UNM
- Aly Khalifa - Big - Louisville
- Marcus Adams Jr. - Guard - CS-Northridge
- Added
- Keba Keita - Big - Utah - 6'8
- Mawot Mag - Forward - SD State - 6'7
- Withdrew
- Richie Saunders - Guard
- Dallin Hall - Guard
- Bottom Line: BYU did well to return Saunders and Hall. And adding top 40 recruit Kanon Catchings to go along with top international recruit Egor Demin is nice. But the portal haul is just okay and even a bit underwhelming. Mag is a versatile defender and Keita is a solid role playing big man but BYU needed more firepower after losing Robinson.
- Lost:
- Kamari Lands (Forward) - ?
- Zane Meeks (Forward) - ?
- Bryant Selebangue (Foward) -?
- Frankie Collins (Guard) - TCU
- Akil Watson (Forward) - UMASS
- Braelon Green (Guard) - ?
- Added:
- BJ Freeman - Guard - Milwaukee - 6'6
- Brandon Gardner - Forward - USC - 6'8
- Alston Mason - Guard - Miss. State - 6'1
- Basheer Jihad - Forward - Ball State - 6'9
- Austin Nunez - Guard - Ole Miss - 6'2
- Bottom Line: Much like BYU ASU has been on fire with HS recruiting, adding two blue chip prospects. But man, what a weird collection of portal dudes. Mason and Freeman were high-usage scorers on bad MM teams. Jihad is a stretchy 4 who put up big numbers in the MAC and got to the line 7 times a game. And Austin Nunez is a former top 100 recruit who has Marfoed his way back to ASU after transferring to Ole Miss for one year. ASU desperately needed an infusion of talent and there is some here but it's just a weird mix.
- Lost:
- Justin McBride - Forward - ?
- Javon Small - Guard - WVU
- Quion Williams - Guard - ACU
- Eric Dailey - Forward - UCLA
- Brandon Garrison - Big - Kentucky
- Added:
- Robert Jennings - Big - Texas Tech - 6'7
- Arturo Dean - FIU - Guard -5'11
- Devo Davis - Guard - Arky - 6'4
- Brandon Newman - Guard - WKU - 6'5
- Marchelus Avery - Forward - UCF - 6'5
- Abou Ousmane - Big - Xavier - 6'10
- Khalil Brantley - Guard - Lasalle - 6'0
- Bottom Line - Mix of inconsistent/underwhelming P6 transfers (Davis, Avery, Ousman, Jennings, Avery) and just solid MM players. Dean/Davis/Brantley at least fit what Lutz likes to do but the front court is going to be rough. I'm really high on Lutz but this might be a tough first year.
- Lost:
- Deivon Smith - Guard - St. John's
- Rollie Worster - Guard - Nebraska
- Keba Keita - Big - BYU
- Wilguens Exacte Jr. - Guard - ?
- Added:
- Miro Little - Guard - Baylor - 6'4
- Zach Keller - Big - Wake Forest - 6'10
- Mason Madsen - Guard - Boston College - 6'3
- Keanu Dawes - Big - Rice - 6'9
- Mike Sharavjamts - Guard - San Francisco - 6'8
- Caleb Lohner - Forward - Utah - 6'6
- Ezra Ausar - Big - ECU - 6'8
- Bottom Line: Another rough portal class. Little has a ton of upside and Sharavjamts is a fun (if not good) player. The rest? Caleb Lohner is playing football apparently and Mason Madsen is reunited with his twin brother. So that's cool I guess.
- Lost:
- Marchelus Avery - Forward - OSU
- Comeh Emuobor - Forward - ?
- CJ Walker - Forward - ECU
- Demarr Langford - Guard - Albany
- Michael Kalina - Guard - ?
- Added:
- JJ Taylor - Wing - Memphis - 6'7
- Keyshawn Hall - Wing - George Mason - 6'7
- Benny Williams - Wing - Syracuse - 6'8
- Mikey Williams - Guard - Memphis - 6'3
- Jordan Ivy-Curry - Guard - UTSA - 6'3
- Bottom Line: UCF added a literal "shooter" (Mikey Williams), a guy who allegedly quit on his team multiple times during the season to shop himself (Hall), a guy who was kicked off his team (Williams), a player who is repped by Chris Wash (Curry), and a deep bench player from a non-tournament AAC team (Taylor).
- Lost:
- Joe Hurlburt - Big - Davidson
- Luke O'brien - Forward - Ga Tech
- J'Vonne Hadley - Guard - Louisville
- Eddie Lampkin - Big - Syracuse
- Added:
- Elijah Malone - Big - Grace College - 6'10
- Andrej Jakimovski - Forward - Wazzu - 6'7
- Trevor Baskin - Forward - CO. Mesa - 6'9
- Bottom line: Any time you have the chance to replace three NBA guys (KJ Simpson, Tristan De Silva and Cody Williams) with a transfer class comprised of 2/3 guys who played at D2 or lower you have to do it right?
Last edited:
