The transfer portal for college basketball closed earlier this week. Players can no longer submit their names for the transfer portal.
Now, players can still move, and we’re seeing plenty of movement this week. That includes the Big 12, where there was a flurry of moves right after the window closed.
How that the portal has closed, we’re looking at more winners and losers in the Big 12 via the portal.
In my last piece, I had Iowa State and Houston as winners, along with TCU and Kansas as losers. For this piece, we have two new winners and losers. No repeats. TCU and Kansas have done work since then, but there’s more work to do. I’m also deliberately avoiding programs with new coaches and will tackle those separately.
Winner: Baylor
Last year, head coach Scott Drew and his staff had to turn over practically the entire roster. This time around, he could afford to be more targeted with seven players pledging to come back. The losses of Tounde Yessoufou and Cameron Carr hurt, though it’s possible Yessoufou could return. He’s also in the portal. Baylor has room to take him back.
Baylor’s four portal gets can all make an impact. Brett Decker Jr. averaged 17 points at Liberty, Kayden Mingo averaged 13.7 points at Penn State, Isaac Celiscar averaged 13.2 points at Yale and Evan Chatman averaged 8.8 points and 8.8 rebounds at UAB. That’s a rock-solid group and the Bears have a little more room to add to it.
Winner: Texas Tech
Coach Grant McCasland has a tough job this time around. He must build a team that can play with and without forward JT Toppin, who — assuming he doesn’t declare for the NBA Draft — could be back sometime next season after his torn ACL.
His focus so far has been on the perimeter, and he and his coaching staff have nailed it. After all, the Red Raiders must replace Christian Anderson, Donovan Atwell and Jaylen Petty, too. Cruz Davis averaged 20.4 points at Hofstra and shoots 40% from the arc. Wyoming’s Damarion Dennis averaged 11.2 points last season. UNLV’s Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn averaged 20.7 points and shot 41.4% from the 3-point line.
The Red Raiders won’t lack for perimeter scoring. McCasland still has room to add some experience in the paint.
Loser: Colorado
It’s been another rough portal season for the Buffs. Just a couple of days ago, Colorado only had one new transfer coming in, which was 6-foot-10 North Dakota State center Noah Feddersen. In the last couple of days, the Buffs have landed two more transfers — Charlotte freshman David Gómez and UNCG forward Justin Neely.
Colorado has only officially announced Feddersen. The Gómez and Neely commitments are per the Verbal Commits database.
Neely is an enormous get for the Buffs. He averaged a double-double last season — 17.9 points and 11.5 rebounds. Feddersen averaged nearly 10 points. Gómez averaged five points.
Right now, there’s more excitement around the return of players like Barrington Hargress, Jalin Holland, Ian Inman and Josiah Sanders. Hargress will be one of the league’s biggest stars next season. But, for now, Neely feels like the only difference maker from the portal and it’s hard to see CU being much better than a season ago.
Loser: Utah
Per Verbal Commits, the Utes lost 12 players to the transfer portal. That’s the kind of number one would associate with a coaching change, such as the ones at Cincinnati and Kansas State. Not after first-year coach Alex Jensen wrapped up his first season. Some of the losses hurt, too. I mean, watching Keanu Dawes head to Kansas must sting. Terrence Brown is off to North Carolina. The Utes are hurting in a big way.
Utah has taken in four players so far — Utah Valley forward Jackson Holcombe, Ohio State guard Taison Chatman, Weber State forward Malek Gomma and Wright State guard T.J. Burch. Holcombe and Burch averaged double figures in scoring, but both will be making the mid-major to high-major jump and need to make an immediate impact.
The good news is Utah has room to maneuver. The bad news is most of the best talent is off the board and unless this 5-for-5 eligibility thing throws everything into chaos, that transfer portal door is closed.
