MBB: The 2025 Transfer Portal

scottdude8 said:
There's a few things about this article that raise minor red flags for me.
  1. Is "high six figures" a "significant" NIL package anymore? Based on everything we've heard about this offseason, I doubt it. Something tells me one of the few remaining transfers who is in the Top 50 on most portal rankings would demand more.
  2. By all accounts Tyrese isn't "testing the NBA draft waters" but is really out the door. If this guy knew what he was talking about he likely would be talking about Cedric and Isaiah.
  3. If you look up the author, not much comes up... in fact, with the caveat that social media does not equal clout, his social media following is almost nil.
I certainly think Claude is a much better option than nothing if Cedric goes pro. But there are other guys in the portal (Jamir Watkins, someone @JasonEvans has indicated there may be some interest in) that seem like better fits for what Jon Scheyer has prioritized and better one-for-one replacements for Cedric. Heck, Dame Sarr is still uncommitted, and while I'm skeptical about that whole thing given the lack of concrete reporting of Duke interest, even he might fit better.
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Yes, with all these guys there's the basketball fit and then the personality/character/culture fit. We don't have much insight into the latter, but we know it's very important to Jon in constructing the team. So that will be an important thing he's weighing in looking at guys like Sarr, Watkins and Claude.
 
JGDUKE2008 said:
Sounding like Cowerd is gonna end up not playing for Duke some scouts are projecting him late first round if that is the case we better have a backup plan and I hope Claude isn't the answer
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yes, if you have any realistic chance of being the 60 people in the world that are going to get drafted--first OR second round, you should go for it. Raise your stock a few picks by staying in the minors (aka the NCAA) another year? The NBA is all about hype and "potential" and the longer you stay the more actual and less potential you have. Not to mention injuries, regression, getting outplayed for a spot, etc. It's simply not a good risk/reward scenario and I'm sure Coward and his handlers know that.
 
rocketeli said:
yes, if you have any realistic chance of being the 60 people in the world that are going to get drafted--first OR second round, you should go for it. Raise your stock a few picks by staying in the minors (aka the NCAA) another year? The NBA is all about hype and "potential" and the longer you stay the more actual and less potential you have. Not to mention injuries, regression, getting outplayed for a spot, etc. It's simply not a good risk/reward scenario and I'm sure Coward and his handlers know that.
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The inflection point these days is not pick 60. It's pick 31-35 where you go from a guaranteed contract to a likely two-way contract. A two-way contract pays $600k. (A few second rounders like Flip will negotiate a guaranteed contract but it's at the team's discretion).

So for any guys like Coward, Evans, Proctor projected to go in the second round, the economics could be a $600k two-way contract vs $1-2M starring at Duke.

If you're worried your draft position might slip, not improve, then perhaps it makes sense to go. But if you slip anyway into a standard $50k G League salary, you'd be wishing you banked the $1-2M for another year at Duke.
 
TKG said:
Before we move on to coach, any questions for the student athletes?
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Yeah, it's funny.

But we do have more than our share of guys taking full advantage of the academic opportunity that is Duke. Sion James and Ryan Young are two that jump off the page as poster boys for "student athletes".

And how many of our freshman stars posted all As? Given the situation created by the NCAA, I'm not sure how Duke could be managing it any better than they are.
 
SkyBrickey said:
The inflection point these days is not pick 60. It's pick 31-35 where you go from a guaranteed contract to a likely two-way contract. A two-way contract pays $600k. (A few second rounders like Flip will negotiate a guaranteed contract but it's at the team's discretion).

So for any guys like Coward, Evans, Proctor projected to go in the second round, the economics could be a $600k two-way contract vs $1-2M starring at Duke.

If you're worried your draft position might slip, not improve, then perhaps it makes sense to go. But if you slip anyway into a standard $50k G League salary, you'd be wishing you banked the $1-2M for another year at Duke.
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Then there’s Grayson Allen. At first I thought he boned it not leaving after sophomore year as a surefire first rounder, perhaps fringe lottery. His draft stock dipped a lot after one more year, but rose again and he went 22. Now though looking back, he’s had a solid career as a rotation piece sometimes starting and is a Duke legend with a Duke degree. I think it all worked out perfectly in the end. These things are so hard to judge unless you are a top 20 lock.
 
Sparky2004 said:
Then there’s Grayson Allen. At first I thought he boned it not leaving after sophomore year as a surefire first rounder, perhaps fringe lottery. His draft stock dipped a lot after one more year, but rose again and he went 22. Now though looking back, he’s had a solid career as a rotation piece sometimes starting and is a Duke legend with a Duke degree. I think it all worked out perfectly in the end. These things are so hard to judge unless you are a top 20 lock.
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Grayson is going to earn $100 mil. during his NBA career (currently at $44 mil with $54+ mil left on his contract over the next 3 years). Not too shabby.
 
Nugget said:
For 2024 Evan Miya had Duke's transfer class ranked as #11. https://evanmiya.com/?class_rankings While transfer rankings, like any recruiting rankings, are crapshoot, those seem quite defensible:

1. Louisville - spot on
2. St. John's - spot on
3. Vandy - spot on
4. Texas Tech - spot on
5. West Virginia - was right on until they got hit with injuries
6. Baylor - overrated, mostly because of Roach not really performing up to the level expected
7. Kentucky - underrated but still pretty accurate
8. Ole Miss - spot on
9. Texas - overrated a bit
10. Indiana - everyone had them overrated not really accounting for the poor roster construction with Reneau/Ballo inhibiting one another's effectiveness or for Carlyle/Rice being such poor shooters.

He had Duke's "Overall Transfer Activity Rank" as #311, largely it seems a function simply of (i) the relative number of transfers, with 4 coming in and 7 going out, and (ii) that Roach and Mitchell were starters/former high level recruits.

Obviously, however, as Sky Brickey noted, for a team like Duke which had three lottery pick freshmen plus Evans and Ngongba coming in as recruits, the "Overall Transfer Activity Rank" -- that measures solely the relatively levels of transfer activity -- is going to be a less important metric than it is for teams that aren't adding that level of talent through high school recruiting.
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Put another way -- if you have the #1 freshman class by a considerable margin, there's not much point in having the #1 transfer class as well. Chances are you'd end up with some redundancies. Scheyer used his transfer to fill specific needs.

Sparky2004 said:
High Point offered 250k to their best potential returner, but he left for a power school. They are getting the best rotation players in the Big South for ~100k each. I don’t know if it’s like this at other small programs, but the Grand Canyons see a million dollar roster as a great investment if they can make the tourney and win the conference. There’s no better publicity and it is an engine for student retention and donor interest.
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Coincidentally, I read this today about the sudden vaporization of men's volleyball at Grand Canyon: https://frontofficesports.com/grand-canyon-mens-volleyball-discontinuation/

Won't be the last program cut so a college can devote more money to paying football and basketball players.
 
Here are the ins and outs of the ACC so far. If anyone copies this list to another website (hint hint, Syracusefan.com board), please provide credit and a link to DBR.

March 31, 2025:
The transfer portal has been open for a week now. Verbal Commits shows 1,546 Division I players who have entered.

April 7, 2025:
After 2 weeks, Verbal Commits has 1,919 Division I players in the portal.

April 14, 2025:
It's Week 3 and Verbal Commits is up to 2,154 Division I players.

April 21, 2025:
With the portal closing tomorrow, Verbal Commits says 2,320 Division I players have entered.

April 28, 2025:
The portal is closed, unless there's a coaching change. Verbal Commits shows 2,541 Division I players.

May 5, 2025:
Verbal Commits lists 2,546 Division I players.

May 12, 2025:
Still adjusting? Verbal Commits lists 2,559 Division I players.

By my count, there are 29 eligible ACC players who have yet to decide upon a destination for next season.

Chas Kelley III, Boston College to ??
Devin Curtis, California to ??
Jaden Goodall, California to ??
Spencer Mahoney, California to ??
Stephon Marbury II, California to ??
Vladimir Pavlović, California to ??
Hugh Vandeweghe, California to ??
Jackson Roberts, Clemson to ??
Stanley Borden, Duke to ??
Bostyn Holt, Florida State to ??
Christian Nitu, Florida State to ??
Jamir Watkins, Florida State to ??
Emmer Nichols, Georgia Tech to ??
Darrion Sutton, Georgia Tech to ??
Patrick Antonelli, Louisville to ??
Cole Sherman, Louisville to ??
Paul Djobet, Miami to ??
Kiree Huie, Miami to ??
Divine Ugochukwu, Miami to ??
KJ Keatts, NC State to ??
Trey Parker, NC State to ??
Ven-Allen Lubin, North Carolina/UNC to ??
Cade Tyson, North Carolina/UNC to ??
Christian Bliss, Virginia to ??
Desmond Roberts, Virginia to ??
Peter Carr, Virginia Tech to ??
Connor Serven, Virginia Tech to ??
Conner Venable, Virginia Tech to ??
Mason Hagedorn, Wake Forest to ??

Players with an asterisk (*) do not appear to have any remaining eligibility.


Boston College MBB

OUT

Joshua Beadle (to Coastal Carolina)
Dion Brown (to Saint Louis)
Chas Kelley III
Elijah Strong (to South Carolina)

IN

Jason Asemota (from Baylor)
Chase Forte (from South Dakota)
Boden Kapke (from Butler)
Aidan Shaw (from Missouri)


California MBB

OUT

Devin Curtis
Jaden Goodall
Gus Larson (to Queens)
Spencer Mahoney
Stephon Marbury II
Joshua Ola-Joseph (to Loyola Chicago)
BJ Omot (to Minnesota)
Vladimir Pavlović
Andrej Stojaković (to Illinois)
Christian Tucker*
Hugh Vandeweghe
Jeremiah Wilkinson (to Georgia)

IN

Darrin "Dai Dai" Ames (from Virginia)
Chris Bell (from Syracuse)
John Camden (from Delaware)
Nolan Dorsey (from Campbell)
Miloš Ilić (from Loyola Maryland)
Justin Pippen (from Michigan)
Sammie Yeanay (from Grand Canyon)


Clemson MBB

OUT

Myles Foster*
Jake Heidbreder (to Fresno State)
Del Jones (to Radford)
Christian Reeves (to Charleston)
Jackson Roberts
Ian Schieffelin*
Asa Thomas (to Furman)
Chauncey Wiggins (to Florida State)
Jaeden Zackery*

IN

Nick Davidson (from Nevada)
RJ Godfrey (from Georgia)
Efrem Johnson (from UAB)
Jestin Porter (from MTSU)
Jake Wahlin (from Utah)
Carter Welling (from Utah Valley)


Duke MBB

OUT

Stanley Borden (link)

IN

Cedric Coward (from Washington State -- link)
Jack Scott (from Princeton -- link)
Ifeanyi Ufochukwu (from Rice -- link)


Florida State MBB

OUT

Taylor Bol Bowen (to Alabama)
Daquan Davis (to Providence)
Jerry Deng (to NC State)
Malique Ewin (to Arkansas)
Bostyn Holt
Chandler Jackson (to Arkansas State)
Waka Mbatch (to Montana State)
Christian Nitu
Anastasios Rozakeas (to Mount St. Mary's)
Justin Thomas (to Bowling Green)
Jamir Watkins

IN

Lajae Jones (from St. Bonaventure)
Kobe Magee (from Drexel)
Robert McCray V (from Jacksonville)
Martin Somerville (from UMass Lowell)
Alex Steen (from Division II Florida Southern)
Chauncey Wiggins (from Clemson)


Georgia Tech MBB

OUT

Naithan George (to Syracuse)
Emmer Nichols
Doryan Onwuchekwa (to Tulsa)
Duncan Powell (to Providence)
Ibrahim Souare (to Syracuse)
Darrion Sutton

IN

Kam Craft (from Miami OH)
Peyton Marshall (from Missouri)
Lamar Washington (from Pacific)


Louisville MBB

OUT

Patrick Antonelli
Koren Johnson (to Ole Miss)
James Scott (to Ole Miss)
Cole Sherman

IN

Ryan Conwell (from Xavier)
Isaac McKneely (from Virginia)
Adrian Wooley (from Kennesaw State)


Miami MBB

OUT

Xander Alarie (to Northeastern)
Jalil Bethea (to Alabama)
Jalen Blackmon*
Paul Djobet
Kiree Huie
Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (to Iowa St. Thomas)
Nijel Pack (to Oklahoma)
AJ Staton-McCray (to Seton Hall)
Austin Swartz (to Creighton)
Divine Ugochukwu

IN

Marcus Allen (from Missouri)
Tre Donaldson (from Michigan)
Jordyn Kee (from Georgia)
Malik Reneau (from Indiana)
Ernest Udeh Jr (from TCU)
Tru Washington (from New Mexico)


NC State MBB

OUT

Ismaël Diouf (to Northern Iowa)
Bryce Heard (to Dayton)
Marcus Hill (to Texas A&M)
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield*
Mike James (to Vanderbilt)
KJ Keatts
Ben Middlebrooks*
Dennis Parker Jr (to Radford)
Trey Parker
Breon Pass*
Dontrez Styles*

IN

Terrance Arceneaux (from Houston)
Alyn Breed (from McNeese)
Quadir Copeland (from McNeese)
Jerry Deng (from Florida State)
Tre Holloman (from Michigan State)
Colt Langdon (from Butler)


North Carolina/UNC MBB

OUT

Elliot Cadeau (to Michigan)
Ven-Allen Lubin
Ian Jackson (to St. John's)
Cade Tyson
Jalen Washington (to Vanderbilt)
Jae'Lyn Withers*

IN

Kyan Evans (from Colorado State)
Jonathan Powell (from West Virginia)
Jarin Stevenson (from Alabama)
Henri Veesaar (from Arizona)
Jaydon Young (from Virginia Tech)


Notre Dame MBB

OUT

Tae Davis (to Oklahoma)
JR Konieczny (to Florida Gulf Coast)

IN

Carson Towt (from Northern Arizona)


Pittsburgh MBB

OUT

Marlon Barnes Jr (to Evansville)
Amsal Delalić (to DePaul)
Guillermo Diaz Graham (to San Francisco)
Jorge Diaz Graham (to Oregon State)
Papa Amadou Kante (withdrawn; back to Pittsburgh)
Ishmael Leggett*
Jaland Lowe (to Kentucky)

IN

Barry Dunning Jr (from South Alabama)
Nojus Indrušaitis (from Iowa State)
Dishon Jackson (from Iowa State)
Damarco Minor (from Oregon State)


SMU MBB

OUT

Jerrell Colbert (to McNeese)
AJ George (to Cal State Bakersfield)
Yohan Traore (to SMU)

IN

Jaron Pierre Jr (from Jacksonville State)
Sam Walters (from Michigan)
Corey Washington (from Wichita State)


Stanford MBB

OUT

Derin Saran (to UC Irvine)
Oziyah Sellers (to St. John's)

IN

Jeremy Dent-Smith (from Division II CSU Dominguez Hills)


Syracuse MBB

OUT

Chris Bell (to California)
Jaquan Carlos*
Kyle Cuffe Jr (to Mercer)
Jyáre Davis*
Eddie Lampkin Jr*
Petar Majstorović (to Long Beach State)
Naheem McLeod*
Elijah Moore (to Utah)
Lucas Taylor*
Chance Westry (to UAB)

IN

Tyler Betsey (from Cincinnati)
Naithan George (from Georgia Tech)
Nate Kingz (from Oregon State)
William Kyle III (from UCLA)
Ibrahim Souare (from Georgia Tech)
Bryce Zephir (from Montana State)


Virginia MBB

OUT

Darrin "Dai Dai" Ames (to California)
Christian Bliss
Blake Buchanan (to Iowa State)
Jacob Cofie (to USC)
Dante Harris (to Memphis)
Isaac McKneely (to Louisville)
TJ Power (to Penn)
Desmond Roberts
Anthony Robinson (to Xavier)
Andrew Rohde (to Wisconsin)
Elijah Saunders (to Maryland)
Ishan Sharma (to St. Louis)
Jalen Warley (to Gonzaga)

IN

Martin Carrère (from VCU)
Dallin Hall (from BYU)
Sam Lewis (from Toledo)
Ugonna Onyenso (from Kansas State)
Malik Thomas (from San Francisco)
Devin Tillis (from UC Irvine)
Jacari White (from North Dakota State)


Virginia Tech MBB

OUT

Rodney Brown Jr (to Loyola Marymount)
Ben Burnham*
Peter Carr
Ryan Jones Jr (to Liberty)
Brandon Rechsteiner (to Colorado State)
Connor Serven
Conner Venable
Patrick Wessler (to UNC Wilmington)
Jaydon Young (to High Point North Carolina/UNC)

IN

Jailen Bedford (from UNLV)
Amani Hansberry (from West Virginia)
Izaiah Pasha (from Delaware)


Wake Forest MBB

OUT

Churchill Abass (to New Orleans)
Davin Cosby (to Kennesaw State)
Parker Friedrichsen (to Davidson)
Mason Hagedorn
Ty-Laur Johnson (to San Diego)
Efton Reid III*

IN

Sebastian Akins (from Denver)
Nate Calmese (from Washington State)
Myles Colvin (from Purdue)
Mekhi Mason (from Washington)
Cooper Schwieger (from Valparaiso)

 
brevity said:
Wake Forest MBB

OUT

Ty-Laur Johnson (to San Diego)
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Not sure what to make of this: Dushawn London of 247 Sports posted the following yesterday.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1922393363430375552

The NC Sports Network keeps a similar (though not as good) transfer list, and last week it mentioned that Ty-Laur Johnson is transferring to San Diego. Curious, I looked into it, and I found this San Diego Union-Tribune article.

web.archive.org

New facilities, incoming transfers have Toreros optimistic about next season

USD is coming off a 6-win season in men’s basketball
web.archive.org web.archive.org

Head coach Steve Lavin, now entering his fourth season of a six-year contract, is on the same page. The Toreros are undergoing a massive roster overhaul which has already involved an influx of transfer talent including wing Adrian McIntyre (Westmont), shooting guard Toneari Lane (Georgia State), wing Dominique Ford (Southern Utah) and, most notably, former four-star recruit Ty Laur-Johnson (Wake Forest), a point guard.

In this news report from the local ABC affiliate, which aired the same day as the article, Coach Lavin said this about the school's new $35 million practice facility: "It is a game changer. We've already seen the last 10 days in our recruiting. We've had 12 official visits from prospects and their families, and most of them are Power Four conference prospects, Arizona, Wake Forest, schools at that level."

Not exactly a confirmation. It's possible that the newspaper reporter misinterpreted a visit as a commitment, but it's still weird. The other 3 guys mentioned in that paragraph are listed as part of San Diego's next roster in the 2025-2026 Scholarship Tracker, but no Ty-Laur Johnson.

I'm thinking I'll just change it to "Ty-Laur Johnson (to San Diego?)" and check for updates periodically.
 
Here's a pretty detailed breakdown of Sarr's game with video clips. It's even more impressive when you consider he's playing against Europe's top players. I could definitely see him being our second leading scorer if we can land him. Very high ceiling.

edemirnba.substack.com

Dame Sarr Scouting Report

He's Europe's next wonderkid. But what's the long-term potential? Is he NBA ready or should he focus on next year instead? Here is everything you need to know about the latest draft sensation:
edemirnba.substack.com edemirnba.substack.com
 
I'd say Sarr is a nice consolation to losing Coward but it seems more like a 1A and 1B type of situation. Both players are very similar and both have NBA futures.

He's the missing piece to us being a top 5 team and another title run IMO.
 
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