The college basketball season is still several months away but that doesn’t stop everyone from analyzing recruiting and the transfer portal. So who benefitted the most this off-season? Here’s what the experts are saying:
1 HOUSTON: Great recruiting class led by Forward Chris Cenac Jr., and guard Isiah Harwell.
2 DUKE: No Flagg, no Knueppel. No problem. They get Cameron and Cayden Boozer along with guards Dame Sarr and Sebastian Wilkins.
3 UCONN: A top-5 class with two McDonald’s All-Americans in Center Eric Reibe and Braylon Mullins from Greenfield.
4 PURDUE: The Boilers added big man Oscar Cluff to several key players returning.
5 FLORIDA: Thomas Haugh, Micah Handlogten, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu are all back. Transfers Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee provide depth.
6 MICHIGAN: The Wolverines lost tons of talent but they re-loaded. Yaxel Lendeborg (Alabama-Birmingham) elected to forgo the NBA for another year. Newcomers include point guard Elliott Cadeau (North Carolina) and frontcourt players Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois) and Aday Mara (UCLA). Michigan also brings in an impact freshman in combo guard Trey McKenney and another top-100 recruit in Winters Grady.
7 BYU: The arrival of hyped freshman AJ Dybantsa is making it exciting in Provo. The Cougars also brings back Dawson Baker and forwards Richie Saunders and Mihailo Boskovic.
8 ALABAMA: The return of guard Lebaron Philon for his sophomore season will help overcome the loss of Mark Sears. Aden Holloway, along with Miami (Fla.) transfer Jalil Bethea, Noah Williamson (Bucknell) and Taylor Bol Bowen (Florida State) will make an impact.
9 ST. JOHN’S: Rick Pittino will be ok this season simply because he went to work getting key players. They include Bryce Hopkins (Providence), Joson Sanon (Arizona State) and Ian Jackson (North Carolina) adding back-court depth. Zuby Ejiofor is back to anchor the interior.
10 UCLA: The biggest addition is point guard Donovan Dent from New Mexico, who led the Mountain West with 20.4 points per game. Returning starters forwards Eric Dailey Jr. and Tyler Bilodeau will help.
11 LOUISVILLE: Impact newcomers include Isaac McKneely from Virginia, Ryan Conwell from Xavier and Adrian Wooley from Kennesaw State. They added a perimeter threat in freshman Mikel Brown and return big man Aly Khalifa, who redshirted last season after knee surgery.
12 TEXAS TECH: Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin and guard Christian Anderson opted to return to Lubbock. The Red Raiders’ transfers includes guards Donovan Atwell (UNC Greensboro) and Tyeree Bryan (Santa Clara) along with forward LeJuan Watts (Washington State) and center Luke Bamgboye (Virginia Commonwealth).
13 IOWA STATE: Newcomers such as forwards Blake Buchanan (Virginia) and forward Eric Mulder (Purdue-Fort Wayne) and a highly rated recruiting class will join holdovers in Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic.
14 KENTUCKY: Leading scorer Otega Oweh will be joined by sophomore transfer Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh) and Denzel Aberdeen (Florida).
15 TENNESSEE: The Vols have one returning starter in Felix Okpara. He will be joined by forwards Cade Phillips and J.D. Estrella with point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Maryland), guard Amaree Abram (Louisiana Tech) and forward Jaylen Carey (Vanderbilt).
16 WISCONSIN: Guard John Blackwell returns and will be joined by former Florida Atlantic and San Diego State guard Nick Boyd, wing Andrew Rohde (Virginia), sophomore Austin Rapp (Portland), the reigning West Coast Conference rookie of the year.
17 ARIZONA: Guard Jaden Bradley returns and will be one of the best players in the Big 12. Role players forward Tobe Awaka and guard Anthony Dell’Orso add experience and production.
18 GONZAGA: Graham Ike is back along with with Braden Huff. The key is the addition of Grand Canyon transfer Tyon Grant-Foster. Former Big Sky player of the year Steele Venters will suit up after missing back-to-back seasons with injuries.
19 ARKANSAS: D.J. Wagner and Karter Knox are back. Coach John Calapari brings in guard Darius Acuff Jr., and freshman Meleek Thomas
20 CREIGHTON: Iowa transfers Josh Dix and Owen Freeman brings experience, while guard Nik Graves (Charlotte) and forward Blake Harper (Howard) will be impact players. Don’t forget about Serbian 7-foot freshman Aleksa Dimitrijevic.
21 KANSAS: Tre White from Illinois and Jayden Dawson of Loyola-Chicago were the big portal wins. Darryn Peterson and Flory Bidunga will be key.
22 MICHIGAN STATE: Jeremy Fears Jr. and Carson Cooper return down low. They’ll get help in Coen Carr and Jaxon Kohler.
23 ILLINOIS: Mihailo Petrovic is a 22-years-old guard from the European ABA League. Andrej Stojakovic (California), and former Arkansas big man Zvonimir Ivišić, joins brother Tomislav Ivišić to form a 7-foot duo. Guard Kylan Boswell is another key.
24 OREGON: Back are the top two scorers in Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad. TK Simpkins led Elon in scoring last season and improved his 3-point shooting. Sean Stewart (Ohio State) comes in the portal.
25 AUBURN: Keyshawn Hall (Central Florida) and Kevin Overton (Texas Tech) are the big pick-ups. The Tigers are bringing in the top junior college transfer, Abdul Bashir.
