2017-18 College Basketball Season Preview: Impact Transfers

By Scott PhillipsSep 27, 2017, 4:00 PM EDT

AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

Beginning in September and running up until November 10th, the first day of the season, College Basketball Talk will be unveiling the 2017-2018 NBCSports.com college hoops preview package.

MORE: 2017-18 Season Preview Coverage | Conference Previews | Preview Schedule

1. Malik Newman and Sam Cunliffe, Kansas (via Mississippi State and Arizona State): Former McDonald’s All-American Malik Newman is the big name here as he’ll become a major factor shooting the ball for Kansas as a starting guard. If Newman can also handle the ball besides Devonte’ Graham then he’ll elevate his pro stock as well. Cunliffe joins the Jayhawks at semester break as the flashy wing is talented but prone to stretches of inconsistent play.

2. Cameron Johnson, North Carolina (via Pitt): Landing the 6-foot-7 Johnson was a major coup for the Tar Heels as the former Pitt wing is the rare graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining. Attempting to replace Justin Jackson’s production for North Carolina, Johnson averaged 11.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 41 percent from three-point range last season. Already familiar with the ACC, Johnson’s addition keeps the Tar Heels firmly near the top of the national rankings.

3. Cane Broome, Cincinnati (via Sacred Heart): Sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, the 6-foot-1 Broome provides a valuable scoring punch to Cincinnati. Top 10 in the nation in scoring at 23.1 points per game during his sophomore season, Broome enters a Bearcat lineup that is talented and experienced as he could be the extra scorer this team needs to make the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.

4. Elijah Brown, McKyle McIntosh and Paul White, Oregon (via New Mexico, Illinois State and Georgetown): Plenty of familiar faces are gone from last season’s Final Four team at Oregon but head coach Dana Altman reloads at multiple spots. Elijah Brown, the son of former NBA head coach Mike Brown, is an experienced player at 6-foot-4 as he should be counted on as one of the team’s leading scorers. The 6-foot-7 McIntosh was a versatile wing forward who was one of Illinois State’s best players last season while former four-star recruit Paul White finally gets to play after sitting out to due injury and transfer rules.

5. Jaaron Simmons and Charles Matthews, Michigan (via Ohio and Kentucky): Simmons put up big numbers at point guard for Ohio the past two seasons as he helps ease the loss for valuable veteran guard Derrick Walton Jr. After barely making a splash during his one season at Kentucky, the 6-foot-6 Matthews sat out last season. The former four-star recruit gives the Wolverines athleticism and versatility.

6. Egor Koulechov and Jalen Hudson, Florida (via Rice and Virginia Tech): Adding the 6-foot-5 Koulechov was huge for Florida after he put up 18.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 47 percent three-point shooting last season for the Owls. While Koulechov should start immediately the 6-foot-6 Hudson should give a scoring lift from the wing off the bench.

7. Mark Alstork, Illinois (via Wright State): Illinois desperately needed experienced help on the wing to replace Malcolm Hill and Alstork should help after a strong all-around junior season. Putting up 19.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, Alstork was an all-Horizon League performer who also made 70 three-pointers and shot 84 percent from the free-throw line.

8. Cullen Neal, Saint Mary’s (via Ole Miss): An experienced Saint Mary’s team adds a 1,000-point career scorer in Neal as the 6-foot-4 guard should fit in nicely to help replace guard Joe Rahon. Capable of doing more than just putting up points, Neal won’t asked to be a go-to player on the Gaels and he can also give them some help as a secondary ball handler.

9. Markel Crawford, Ole Miss (via Memphis): Helping offset the loss of Neal at Ole Miss will be the 6-foot-4 Crawford. A consistent and productive scorer and rebounder from the perimeter, Crawford could pair nicely with Deandre Burnett and Terence Davis to form one of the better perimeter trios in the SEC.

10. Caleb and Cody Martin, Nevada (via N.C. State): These twins should set in and be a big part of the Nevada rotation immediately this season as head coach Eric Musselman has done well with transfers so far. While Caleb was the more productive of the 6-foot-7 forwards at N.C. State, Cody was a 42-percent three-point shooter as a sophomore.

11. Randy Onwuasor and Jeremy Combs, LSU (via Southern Utah and North Texas): New LSU head coach Will Wade acted quickly to secure some scoring help by landing Onwuasor, the nation’s fifth-leading scorer last season. Putting up 23.6 points per game, Onwuasor should help right away. Combs was also a double-figure scorer at North Texas before an ankle injury derailed his season.

12. Daniel Giddens, Alabama (via Ohio State): Alabama could be a surprise team this season as the 6-foot-11 big man could be main reason why. A former top-50 recruit who wasn’t particularly effective during his one season at Ohio State, Giddens has had a year off to develop and add strength as he’ll be a key member of the Crimson Tide frontcourt.

OTHER NAMES TO KNOW

Akoy Agau and Jimmy Whitt, SMU (via Georgetown and Arkansas): The 6-foot-8 Agau should get immediate minutes in the frontcourt while the 6-foot-3 Whitt is a former four-star recruit with three seasons left.

Lamonte Bearden, Dwight Coleby and Darius Thompson, Western Kentucky (via Buffalo, Kansas and Virginia): Rick Stansbury was hoping this group would complement five-star center Mitchell Robinson but it’s still a very talented group on its own. All three bring NCAA tournament experience.

Jeff Beverly, Hans Brase and Zoran Talley, Iowa State (via UTSA, Princeton and Old Dominion): Thin in the frontcourt last season, Iowa State brought in three double-figure scorers from lower levels in the hopes of finding help. The 6-foot-9 Brase could be the most stable if he’s fully healthy from a torn ACL.

Justin Bibbins, Utah (via Long Beach State): The 5-foot-8 guard earned All-Big West honors a season ago as he brings more stability at point guard for Utah.

Isaac Copeland, Duby Okeke and James Palmer Jr., Nebraska (via Georgetown, Winthrop and Miami): Nebraska is hoping for a turnaround with help from this group. Copeland is a former top-30 recruit while Okeke set the Winthrop blocks record. Palmer should help as a two-way wing.

James Daniel III, Tennessee (via Howard): College basketball’s leading scorer at 27.1 points per game two years ago, the 6-foot-0 Daniel gets one final season to prove himself for a team that needs his scoring.

Allerik Freeman and Sam Hunt, N.C. State (via Baylor and North Carolina A&T): New head coach Kevin Keatts has been aggressive on the transfer market as he brought in these two experienced guards to play right away.

Austin Grandstaff, Marin Maric and Max Strus, DePaul (via Oklahoma, Northern Illinois and Lewis): DePaul got help on the wing with Grandstaff, a potentially elite shooter, and Strus, an athletic Division II All-American. Maric is an experienced graduate transfer big man who should play right away.

Kory Holden, South Carolina (via Delaware): The loss of Sindarius Thornwell and P.J. Dozier means that Holden will have to step up and produce right away. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 17.7 points per game as a sophomore two years ago.

Kaleb Johnson, Creighton (via Syracuse): The loss of Maurice Watson means there is a place for the former Syracuse guard as the 6-foot-3 Johnson brings stability alongside Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas.

Jordan Johnson, UNLV (via Milwaukee): One of the nation’s leaders in assists at 8.1 per game during the 2015-16 season, Johnson has some intriguing weapons to play with at UNLV like McDonald’s All-American Brandon McCoy.

Nigel Johnson, Virginia (via Rutgers): Virginia desperately needed veteran experience on the perimeter as they get a double-figure scorer (11.3 points per game) who can also help on the defensive end.

Marcus Lee, Cal (via Kentucky): The former McDonald’s All-American will spend his final season at Cal after sitting out last season and three seasons at Kentucky. The bouncy 6-foot-11 forward will finally get consistent minutes.

Kendrick Nunn, Oakland (via Illinois): The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds as a junior before transferring after running into legal problems. He joins an Oakland team with NCAA aspirations.

Dylan Osetkowski, Texas (via Tulane): Adding physicality and experience to the Texas frontcourt, the 6-foot-9 Osetkowski was an effective player at Tulane before drawing good reviews for his play in practice last season.

Kassius Robertson, Missouri (via Canisius): Another weapon to help Michael Porter Jr., this 6-foot-3 grad transfer guard shot over 40 percent from three-point range while averaging 15.1 points per game his last two seasons.

Derryck Thornton Jr., USC (via Duke): An up-and-down true freshman season at Duke had Thornton seeking a new home as he’ll be a solid addition to a deep USC rotation as a backup point guard.

Geno Thorpe, Syracuse (via South Florida): Syracuse once again dips into the graduate transfer market as Thorpe should be counted on to score after averaging 15.1 points and 4.6 assists per game last season.

Devin Watson, San Diego State (via San Francisco): The Aztecs have had problems scoring the past few years and the 6-foot-1 Watson should help in that department after putting up 20 points per game as a sophomore at San Francisco.

Duane Wilson, Texas A&M (via Marquette): Desperately needing stability at point guard, the Aggies brought in the veteran grad transfer point guard who logged plenty of minutes the past three seasons.

Clark, Iowa end perfect South Carolina season in Final Four

Associated PressApr 1, 2023, 12:29 AM EDT

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS – Caitlin Clark overwhelmed the reigning champions with another sensational game, scoring 41 points to help Iowa spoil South Carolina’s perfect season with a 77-73 victory on Friday night in the Final Four.

The spectacular junior guard set a record for the highest-scoring semifinal game and became the first women’s player to post back-to-back 40-point games in the NCAA Tournament. She now has the Hawkeyes in a spot they’ve never been in before – one victory away from a national championship.

They’ll have to beat another SEC team to do that as Iowa (31-6) will face LSU in the title game on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers beat Virginia Tech in the other national semifinal.

It’s the Tigers’ first appearance in the title game as Kim Mulkey became the second coach to take two different teams to the championship game.

Thanks to the spectacular play of Clark and the historic year by South Carolina, this was one of the most talked about and highly anticipated matchups in women’s Final Four history,

The game lived up to the hype surrounding it- the best player vs. the best team – much to the delight of the sellout crowd of over 19,000 fans.

Coach Dawn Staley and South Carolina (36-1) had won 42 in a row, including last year’s championship game.

This was Iowa’s first appearance in the Final Four in 30 years. The last time the Hawkeyes advanced this far was 1993 and C. Vivian Stringer was the coach of that team that lost to Ohio State in overtime.

Clark wowed the crowd that included Harper Stribe, a young fan of the team who has been battling cancer. She was featured in a surprise video that informed the Hawkeyes’ star that she was the AP Player of the Year.

Trailing 59-55 entering the fourth quarter, South Carolina scored the first five points to take the lead. Clark answered right back with two deep 3-pointers and an assist to Monika Czinano to give the Hawkeyes a 67-62 lead.

South Carolina got within 69-68 on Raven Johnson’s 3-pointer before Clark got a steal for a layup with 3:32 left. Neither team scored again until star Aliyah Boston was fouled with 1:37 left. She made the second of two free throws.

Clark then scored another layup on the other end out of a timeout to make it a four-point game. After a layup by Zia Cooke made it a two-point game with 58 seconds left, the Hawkeyes ran the clock down with McKenna Warnock grabbing a huge offensive rebound off a Clark miss with 18 seconds remaining.

Clark hit two free throws after South Carolina fouled her with 13.5 seconds left. They were her 38th and 39th point, moving her past Nneka Ogwumike for the most points scored in a Final Four semifinal game.

After a putback by Johnson with 9.9 seconds left got the Gamecocks within 75-73, Clark sealed the game with two more free throws.

As the final seconds went off the clock Clark threw the ball high in the air and galloped around the court.

The loss ended a spectacular season for the defending champion Gamecocks, who were trying to become the 10th team to go through a season unbeaten.

Cooke led the Gamecocks with 24 points. Slowed by foul trouble, Boston had just eight points and 10 rebounds as the Hawkeyes packed the paint, daring South Carolina to shoot from the outside.

The Gamecocks finished 4-for-20 from behind the 3-point line and couldn’t take advantage of their 49-25 advantage on the boards that included 26 offensive rebounds.

Mulkey, LSU women rally in Final Four, reach first title game

Associated PressMar 31, 2023, 11:51 PM EDT

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS – Kim Mulkey is back in another national championship game, this time taking the flagship university from her home state there for the first time.

It took LSU only two seasons to get there with the feisty and flamboyantly dressed coach, and a big comeback in the national semifinal game that was quite an undercard Friday night.

Alexis Morris scored 27 points and had two of her misses in the fourth quarter turned into putback baskets by Angel Reese in a big run as LSU rallied to beat top-seeded Virginia Tech 79-72 in the first semifinal game.

“I’m never satisfied. I’m super-excited that we won, but I’m hungry,” said Morris, who jumped on a courtside table and fired up LSU fans after the game. “Like, I’m greedy. I want to win it all so I can complete the story.”

Reese finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds for LSU (33-2), which will play in the national title game Sunday against the winner of the highly anticipated matchup between Southeastern Conference foe South Carolina or Iowa in the other semifinal.

“It’s like a dream. It still hasn’t hit me that I’m at the Final Four,” said Reese, the transfer from Maryland who carries the nickname, ”Bayou Barbie.” “I’m just not even believing this right now. It’s crazy how much my life has changed in one year.”

Mulkey – in a carnation pink top this time – won three national titles in four Final Four appearances over her 21 seasons at Baylor. She is only the second coach to take two different teams to the national championship game. The other is C. Vivian Stringer, who did it with Cheyney in the inaugural 1982 women’s tournament and Rutgers in 2007.

“I came home for lots of reasons,” Mulkey said. “One, to some day hang a championship banner in the PMAC (Pete Maravich Assembly Center). Never, ever do you think you’re going to do something like this in two years.”

LSU made five national semifinal games in a row from 2004-08 – the only times the Tigers had made it this far. They lost each of those years.

The Tigers had to dig deep for this one, with neither team backing down.

Trailing 59-50 after three quarters, LSU went ahead with a 15-0 run over a five-minute span. The Tigers led for the first time since late in the first half when Falu’jae Johnson had a steal and drove for a layup to make it 64-62.

Reese had six points in that game-turning spurt, including a basket after Morris’ attempted 3-pointer clanked off the front rim. Reese had a second-effort follow of her own miss after rebounding another shot by Morris.

Elizabeth Kitley, the 6-foot-6 senior, had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Virginia Tech (31-5), the Atlantic Coast Conference champion that was in the Final Four for the first time. Georgia Amoore and Kayana Traylor each had 17 points, while Cayla King had 14.

Amoore set a record for the most 3-pointers in a single NCAA Tournament with 24, though she had a tough night shooting – 4 of 17 overall, including 4 of 15 from beyond the arc. She passed Kia Nurse’s record 22 set in the 2017 tourney for UConn, which lost in the national semifinals on the same court. Arizona’s Aari McDonald had 22 in six NCAA tourney games two years ago.

The big run for LSU came right after Amoore made her last 3-pointer with 7:52 left for a 62-57 lead. The Hokies didn’t make another basket until King’s 3 with 1:19 left.

“I think we had a few crucial turnovers as well as missed box-outs where they scored on second-chance opportunities,” Traylor said. “I think that’s just what it came down to really.”

Morris had opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer for LSU, then had a driving layup before Reese had a layup after a steal by Johnson. That quick 7-0 run prompted a timeout by Hokies coach Kenny Brooks.

“They hit a couple of shots, gave them a little bit of momentum. They hit a 3 right off the bat … kind of changed the momentum,” Brooks said. “They were aggressive in the passing lanes. But they also were a little bit more aggressive down low.”

Virginia Tech had ended the first half with its own 11-0 run to lead for the first time, at 34-32 on Traylor’s driving layup with 53 seconds left.

But it was the Tigers who led for 17:55 of the first half with the Hokies getting off to a slow start shooting – they missed eight of their first nine shots – that an LSU cheerleader had an assist even before they officially had a shot.

King was charged with a turnover on a ball that hit the rim and bounced over the top of the backboard and got stuck there. With encouragement from officials and others at that end, a male cheerleader lifted up a female cheerleader, who knocked the ball down.

Gradey Dick to leave Kansas for NBA draft after one season

Associated PressMar 31, 2023, 11:46 PM EDT

Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas sharpshooter Gradey Dick is entering the NBA draft after one season with the Jayhawks.

The 6-foot-8 guard announced his decision in a social media post Friday.

Dick started all 36 games for the Jayhawks and averaged 14.1 points while shooting better than 40% from 3-point range. He made 83 3-pointers, a program record for a freshman.

Kansas lost to Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, with Dick scoring just seven points in his finale.

Marquette’s Shaka Smart voted men’s AP coach of the year

Associated PressMar 31, 2023, 4:06 PM EDT

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Shaka Smart has packed an entire career’s worth of experiences into 14 years as a college head coach. He led VCU to an improbable Final Four as a 30-something wunderkind in 2011, guided mighty Texas to a Big 12 Tournament title during six otherwise tepid years in Austin, and now has turned Marquette into a Big East beast.

It’s sometimes easy to forget he’s still just 45 years old.

Yet his work with the Golden Eagles this season might have been his best: Picked ninth in the 11-team league by its coaches, they won the regular-season title going away, then beat Xavier to win their first Big East Tournament championship.

That earned Smart the AP coach of the year award Friday. He garnered 24 of 58 votes from a national media panel to edge Kansas State’s Jerome Tang, who received 13 votes before guiding the Wildcats to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, who earned 10 before taking the Cougars to the Sweet 16.

Voting opened after the regular season and closed at the start of the NCAA Tournament, where the No. 2 seed Golden Eagles were knocked out in the second round by Michigan State and Smart’s longtime mentor, Tom Izzo.

“I’m very grateful to win this award,” said Smart, the second Marquette coach to take it home after Hall of Famer Al McGuire in 1971, “but obviously it always comes back to the guys you have on your team.

“Early on,” Smart said, “we had a real sense the guys had genuine care and concern for one another, and we had a very good foundation for relationships that we could continue to build on. And over the course of seasons, you go through so many different experiences as a team. And those experiences either bring you closer together or further apart. Our guys did a great job, even through adverse experiences, even through challenges, becoming closer together.”

It’s hardly surprising such cohesion is what Smart would choose to remember most from a most memorable season.

The native of Madison, Wisconsin, who holds a master’s degree in social science from California University of Pennsylvania, long ago earned a reputation for building close bonds with players and a tight-knit camaraderie within his teams.

No matter how high or low the Golden Eagles were this season, those traits carried them through.

“Everything that we go through, whether it be the retreat that we went on before the season, all the workouts in the summer, he’s preaching his culture,” said Tyler Kolek, a third-team All-American. “And he’s showing his leadership every single day, and just trying to impart that on us, and kind of put it in our DNA. Because it’s definitely in his DNA.”

That’s reflected in the way Smart, who accepted the Marquette job two years ago after an often bumpy tenure at Texas, has rebuilt the Golden Eagles program after it had begun to languish under Steve Wojciechowski.

Sure, Smart landed his share of transfers – Kolek among them – in an era in which the portal has become so prevalent. But he largely built a team that finished 29-7 this season around high school recruits, eschewing a quick fix in the hopes of long-term stability. Among those prospects were Kam Jones, their leading scorer, and do-everything forward David Joplin.

“He teaches us lots of things about the importance of each other,” Joplin said. “He lets us know, time and time again, that we can’t do anything without each other, but together we can do anything.”

That sounds like a decidedly old-school approach to building a college basketball program.

One embraced by a still-youthful head coach.

“I think being a head coach has never been more complicated, never been more nuanced, and never more all-encompassing,” Smart told the AP in a wide-ranging interview last week. “Does that mean it’s harder? You could say that.

“What makes your job less hard,” Smart said, “is having a captive audience in your players, and guys that truly understand and own what goes into winning, and that’s what we had this past year. But those things just don’t happen. There are a lot of steps that have to occur on the part of a lot of people, not just the coach, to get to where you have a winning environment.”

Purdue’s Zach Edey named AP men’s player of the year

Associated PressMar 31, 2023, 3:36 PM EDT

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Zach Edey spent the days following Purdue’s historic NCAA Tournament loss lying low, his phone turned off, along with the rest of the outside world.

The disappointing finish did little to diminish the season the Boilermakers big man had.

Dominating at both ends of the floor during the regular season, Edey was a near-unanimous choice as The Associated Press men’s college basketball player of the year. Edey received all but one vote from a 58-person media panel, with Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis getting the other.

“The season ended in disappointment, which really sucks, but it’s always nice to win individual accolades,” Edey said. “It kind of validates your work a little bit. The last three years I’ve played here, I’ve seen my game grow every year. AP player of the year is a great feeling, it just kind of stinks the way the season ended.”

That ending came in the NCAA Tournament’s first round, when Purdue lost to Fairleigh Dickinson, joining Virginia in 2018 as the only No. 1 seeds to lose to a No. 16.

Before that, Edey dominated.

The 7-foot-4 Canadian was named a unanimous AP All-American and the Big Ten player of the year after finishing sixth nationally in scoring (22.3), second in rebounding (12.8) and first in double-doubles (26).

Edey also shot 62% from the floor and averaged 2.1 blocked shots per game while leading Purdue to its first outright Big Ten regular-season title since 2017. He is the first player since Navy’s David Robinson in 1985-86 to have at least 750 points, 450 rebounds and 50 blocked shots in a season.

“He’s kind of a one of a kind,” Purdue guard David Jenkins Jr. said. “I’ve never played with someone like him, probably never will again.”

And to think, Edey didn’t want to play basketball when he was younger.

A hockey and baseball player growing up in Toronto, Edey resisted basketball at first. He was 6-2 by the sixth grade and the natural inclination by the adults was to push him toward basketball, where his size would be a massive advantage.

“It was something I kind avoided all my life.,” Edey said. “I didn’t like people telling me what I should be doing with my life and it felt like that’s what people were doing with basketball. When I started playing competitively, that’s when I really fell in love with the sport.”

Edey developed his game quickly. He played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and proved himself against some of the nation’s best high school players, drawing attention from college coaches. He ended up at Purdue, where coach Matt Painter had a proven track record of developing big men.

Edey had a limited role as a freshman, then averaged 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds last season on a team that had talented big man Trevion Williams and future NBA lottery pick Jaden Ivey.

Already a tireless worker, Edey put in even more time during the offseason, spending extra time after practice and taking better care of his body. His already solid footwork got better, he added quickness and developed more patience with the constant double teams he faced – not to mention the barrage of physical play teams tried to employ against him.

“There’s not really any kind of cool, sexy answer,” Edey said. “I came in every day, I worked hard, I stayed after practice – stayed a long time after practice. I took care of my body and was able to steadily improve. There was nothing revolutionary I did. I just worked hard.”

It certainly paid off, even if the season ended with a huge disappointment.