Ranking the top 10 Mens basketball players to enter transfer portal and best fits
Ranking CBBs transfer portals best players and best fits.
Steak
NBA, CBB, NFL, CFB
1. Flory Bidunga
The Kansas sophomore big man took a HUGE leap in his sophomore year, averaging 13 points and 9 rebounds a game. Some thought he’d declare for the draft, but I think Michigan is a perfect home for the 6’10” Bidunga, who can help replace Aday Mara, who is almost certain to be a first-round draft pick.
2. Rob Wright
Rob Wright was a baller last year, and I think he would’ve gotten quite a lot more shine if he wasn’t playing alongside potential #1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa. He has familiarity playing alongside superstars, as he was high school teammates with Cooper Flagg. Wright shoots it efficiently from the free-throw line, the 2, and the 3, earning himself All-Big 12 honors last season.
Best fit for Wright—who will have his 3rd home in 3 years—for me is Kentucky. Mark Pope needs to make a splash after a disappointing season which saw Coach Cal go further in the tournament with Arkansas for the second year in a row.
3. John Blackwell
Blackwell spent his last 3 years at Wisconsin. Last year, he averaged almost 20 points a game, earning All-Big Ten honors. Wisconsin had a solid end to their year, beating Illinois in the Big Ten tourney and then forcing Michigan to overtime in the semifinals. They were upset in the dance by the very exciting High Point.
In my opinion, the best fit for John Blackwell is Illinois, who made a run to the Final Four and bring back enough talent to make another run. I think Blackwell is a very solid replacement for Keaton Wagler, who will almost certainly be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Blackwell has also been linked to Duke, but I don’t like that fit anywhere near as much.
4. Juke Harris
Juke Harris is coming off the second-highest scoring season in Wake Forest history. A LOT of people have him as the #1 overall player in their transfer portal rankings. I think Kentucky will make a STRONG push for Harris as well, but will fall short when he chooses to team up with Bidunga at Michigan, making the defending champs the immediate favorites to go back-to-back.
5. PJ Hagerty
PJ Hagerty averaged 23.4 points per game for a very disappointing Kansas State team that saw their coach get fired midseason. Hagerty has already played for TCU, Tulsa, Memphis, and, of course, the Wildcats. He’s looking to give it one more run before entering the NBA Draft, which makes me think it has to be with a real contender.
The team that comes to mind is the University of Connecticut. I can’t think of a team or a coach that needs a certified bucket-getter more than this team that made an improbable run back to the natty for the 3rd time in 4 years—but during that run, there were large stretches of offensive incompetence and no true guy to go to for a big shot besides the big man, Tarris Reed.
6. Isiah Johnson
Isiah Johnson was an under-recruited guard coming out of high school but turned in a stellar freshman year, averaging 17 PPG and shooting 57% from 2. He now finds himself as a top-10 player in the transfer portal, and I think he’s a PERFECT fit for Kansas, who will be needing to replace tons of talent from losses through the NBA Draft and transfer portal.
7. Stefan Vaaks
Vaaks averaged 15.8 PPG as a freshman at Providence, and I think there’s a sure-thing perfect fit for him as well—and that’s the University of Arizona. Coming off one of their best seasons in 20+ years and signing Tommy Lloyd to a contract extension, they will need to reload and, most importantly, improve shooting—which is exactly what Vaaks does well. Plus, they can continue the international theme of this roster.
8. Paulius Murauskas
Paulius Murauskas will almost certainly be on Arizona’s radar as well. He was an All-WCC performer last season, averaging 18.4 PPG, and I think he will end up at the University of Kentucky, with Rob Wright leaving Mark Pope with as little excuses as he’ll ever have to make a deep run into the tournament.
9. Jackson Shelstad
Shelstad will probably be pursued heavily by big dogs like Arizona and Florida. The Oregon guard, who averaged 13 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds, did go to Oregon in large part because he wanted to stay close to home on the West Coast—which makes me think the best fit for him is Gonzaga.
Gonzaga had incredibly inconsistent guard play last year that only got worse after the injury to Braden Huff, leading to ANOTHER early exit in the tournament for the 3-seeded Bulldogs. This one is a perfect fit—Gonzaga gets a consistent guard, Shelstad gets to stay close to home.
10. Donnie Freeman
The former McDonald’s All-American had a great freshman season and was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing year for Syracuse, who fired their coach and hired former guard and Siena head coach Gerry McNamara as the team’s next coach.
A LOT of people are saying Donnie Freeman doesn’t fit Gerry’s system at all, and this was the right move for both parties. I know it is unlikely that all 3 (Rob Wright, Donnie Freeman, and Murauskas) end up at Kentucky, but this is where I have Donnie Freeman landing. In reality, Pope probably gets 2 out of the 3.
