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Jeff Borzello
multiple authors
The NCAA Tournament ended just eight days ago — and in that time, the entire college basketball landscape has changed. There are more than 2,000 players in the transfer portal, and a flurry of commitments over the weekend has begun the roster-building process for many teams.
Some are further along than others, and that also applies to the four teams that were playing in Indianapolis more than a week ago.
Michigan, UConn, Arizona and Illinois have all lost players to the transfer portal since the season ended, and three of those programs have already added replacements.
How are each of the national semifinalists — and one team that came extremely close — doing in their efforts to rebuild and get back to the Final Four?
All information till 14th April
Players are going: Starters Yaxel Lendeborg And Nimari Burnett Both are out of eligibility, as are roddy gayle jr. And Will Shetter. end-bench players winters grady And malik cordell Entered the portal. LJ Cason and upcoming new players lincoln cosby They are likely to turn red after recovering from injuries.
Players staying or visiting: The defending national champions began their reload during halftime of their Final Four win over Arizona, when five-star guard Brandon McCoy Jr. announced his commitment. Dusty May then made quick work of the portal, receiving a commitment from Tennessee transfer JP Estrella A few days after the title game. In addition to McCoy, Michigan is also bringing in ESPN 100 recruits quinn costello And Joseph Hartmann. Wolverines also agree to deal to keep guard elliot cadow And Trey McKechnie In Ann Arbor.
Players in limbo: Much of Michigan’s frontcourt work will depend on NBA draft decisions Morez Johnson Jr.. And paid off. An impressive surge at the end of the season propelled Mara into the late lottery range of ESPN’s last big board update, while Johnson is projected as a late first-rounder.
Things to do: May also apparently wants some extra perimeter pop: Wolverines host Wake Forest transfer juke harrisOne of the portal’s elite scorers, for a visit this past weekend. Harris left the trip without a commitment and then met with both North Carolina and Tennessee.
Dan Hurley has set a remarkable standard at UConn, going to three Final Fours in four years, including two national championships. How will he lead the Huskies back next season?
Players are going: Program legend alex karban and NCAA Tournament star taris reed while both are gone Malachi Smith Is a senior. UConn was also affected by the transfer portal with the former McDonald’s All American Eric Riebe Opted to depart despite the possibility of filling Reed’s place next season on a full-time basis.
Players staying or visiting: on the plus side, Silas Demery Jr.. Announced Tuesday he’s coming back to UConn, and there’s no reason to believe it solo ball Will not follow, so the two can start with each other in the backcourt again. two way sixth man jaden ross is also back, and the Huskies bring back a pair of top-50 wings colben landru And junior county.
Players in limbo: Braylon Mullins He is a projected first-round pick, but Hurley has spoken publicly about the program’s efforts to keep him around for another season. veteran forward jaylin stewart is also yet to announce its next step.
Things to do: The frontcourt is the focus of UConn’s portal efforts. The Huskies have a long list of targets, including a Syracuse transfer donnie freeman and Seton Hall transfer Najai Hines. Transfer of St. Mary’s Paulius Murauscus Was worth watching, but Louisville and Arizona State have the two-time All-WCC selection seeded and could take the lead. Also paired with UConn mustafa thiam (Cincinnati) and Andrew McKeever (St. Mary’s).
Arizona had an up-and-down season, reaching the program’s first Final Four since 2001, defeating North Carolina to keep Tommy Lloyd in Tucson – and then suffering a blowout loss to Michigan in the national semifinals.
Players are going: big 12 player of the year jaden bradley, tobe awka And Anthony Dell’Orso Whereas, seniors are brayden burys Have involved myself in lottery predictions. The only rotation player to reach the portal was a freshman Dwayne Aristode.
Players staying or visiting: The only rotation player who seems guaranteed to return Ivan KharchenkovJoe emerged as one of the best two-way freshmen in the Big 12. top-five recruitment Caleb Holt Will be in the starting lineup immediately, and also has a top-50 recruit cameron homes.
Players in limbo: Lloyd is now waiting for a decision to stay or go koa peat And motijus crevas. Both were projected in the 20s on ESPN’s most recent big board, but could potentially increase their stock with another year in Arizona.
Things to do: Arizona’s portal priority was a point guard. oregon transfer Jackson Shellstead The Wildcats were top of the board, but he committed to Louisville. The Wildcats made a quick change and added a pair of freshman transfers on Monday evening: derek dixon (North Carolina) and JJ Mandaquit (Washington). He’s also trying to transfer to Kansas bryson tillerwho are expected to visit Tucson this week; The Wildcats will need to conduct some frontcourt business regardless of Peat and Krivas’ decisions.
Brad Underwood has found a formula that works, and it focuses on size defensively and skill offensively in an incredibly efficient offensive system.
Players are going: Keaton Wagler Starting guard, he has announced he is headed to the NBA Draft kylan boswell Book ahead ben hamrichs Are out of eligibility. rarely used Mihailo Petrovic And Toni Bilic, who enrolled over the semester break and did not play any games, is the only player to enter the transfer portal so far.
Players staying or visiting: The frontcourt is in good shape with the starters Tomislav Ivicic And David Mirkovic Both are likely to return with backup Zvonimir Ivicic. shooter jake davis Is back with the new guy coming in too lucas morillo Is a top-60 recruit and can play a depth role on the perimeter.
Players in limbo: the illini are waiting Andrej StojakovicDecision about his future. Stojakovic could turn pro or enter the transfer portal; He was the team’s second-leading scorer last season, but came off the bench for the final 11 games.
Things to do: Underwood began to reload his backcourt by landing former Wake Forest signee and top-30 recruit during the final four weeks Quentin Coleman And it continued with a transfer to Providence on Sunday stephen waxAn Estonia native who emerged as one of the surprise new players in the country last season. Next on the list is a Wisconsin transfer John BlackwellAn All-Big Ten selection who had 31 points against the Illini in the Big Ten Tournament. The Illini are battling Duke, UCLA and Louisville for the high-scoring guard.
Duke wasn’t a Final Four team, but the Blue Devils came within one point of getting there on a 35-foot Braylon Mullins 3-pointer. They’re also experiencing an exciting reload, so let’s take a look at those too.
Players are going: cameron boozer Will be a top-five pick in the NBA Draft, so he’s gone. malik brown Is out of eligibility. And nicholas khameniya And darren harris Entered the transfer portal. Other than that, nothing appears to be set in stone.
Players staying or visiting: Caleb Foster And caden boozer Both are poised to return, and Jon Scheyer is bringing in the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, led by three top-25 recruits: High-ceiling forwards cameron williamspoint guard Deron Rippy Jr.. and shooter bryson howard.
Players in limbo: Isaiah Evans Has moved up the draft board and is well into the first round Dame Sarr And Patrick Ngongba They were in the second round of ESPN’s most recent big board. There is some optimism that both Sarr and Ngabonga will return to Durham.
Things to do: So what does Duke want? The top priority is a high-scoring perimeter player and the top target is Wisconsin’s John Blackwell, the best guard in the portal. The Blue Devils are also expected to be the main contenders for the Santa Clara transfer allan graves If he withdraws from the NBA Draft. Even if Ngongba returns, Duke needs another big man, and the Blue Devils are hoping Indiana doesn’t make a deal with the Alabama transfer. aiden sherrell. They have also been linked to a Cincinnati transfer to Thiam.
