The 2024 Transfer Portal

Indiana somehow adds a domestic 7-footer in late July. According to Verbal Commits, Dallas James entered the portal as a grad transfer on Monday and was signed by the Hoosiers on Tuesday, taking their last scholarship.


James graduated from South Carolina State with a degree in electrical engineering technology while holding a 4.0 GPA. The Artesia, California, native is the son of Jerome James, who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association with the Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics and New York Knicks.

According to Basketball Reference, his father Jerome is also a 7-footer, but much heavier (Dallas is listed at 200, Jerome was 300 when he played), and one of his nicknames was "Big Snacks".

If you're wondering -- I sure was -- South Carolina State is in the town of Orangeburg, about 45 miles south of Columbia. It's a 4-hour drive from Chapel Hill, but seeing as how Dallas James is an honors student and a STEM major with a straight A transcript, I'm sure the distance between him and UNC felt much farther.
 
Brevity, this is heroic yeoman work! How is your mental health about now? Sincere thanks for presenting this information to us week after week.

Scanning the entire, lengthy list gobsmacks me again. This has happened in just several years, and accelerated this past year. Do you remember the good ol' days when almost the entire emphasis was on which HS players will be selected by which school?

I'm wondering how programs -- and prognosticators -- will try to manage all possible permutations of the portal, in addition to the HS players' selection. Do we pretty much have to just wait to see what programs do, and then react?

The professional drafts [NBA, NFL] and NCAA basketball tournament selection are mathematically simpler by orders of magnitude. Imagine if NBA and NFL teams could be completely reconstructed every season. Perhaps AI will help a little, but as we know, AI is not good at predicting human judgment. Good times!
 
According to Basketball Reference, his father Jerome is also a 7-footer, but much heavier (Dallas is listed at 200, Jerome was 300 when he played), and one of his nicknames was "Big Snacks".
I remember him for a slightly more cutting nickname (probably one he didn't endorse). Since Jerome James had his best NBA run* around the time Lebron entered the league with the nickname "King James", Jerome was sometimes referred to as "Burger King James".

*His "breakout" 2004-05 season as a backup C for Seattle led to GM Isiah Thomas and the Knicks giving him a healthy contract the next summer, which, because it was the 2000s Knicks, of course did not work out.
 
I remember him for a slightly more cutting nickname (probably one he didn't endorse). Since Jerome James had his best NBA run* around the time Lebron entered the league with the nickname "King James", Jerome was sometimes referred to as "Burger King James".

*His "breakout" 2004-05 season as a backup C for Seattle led to GM Isiah Thomas and the Knicks giving him a healthy contract the next summer, which, because it was the 2000s Knicks, of course did not work out.
RIP Sonics. :(
 
I guess I can start making this a weekly post. Call it Transfer Tuesday.

No ACC news this week. There is still some transfer portal activity at the national level. For example, Kris Parker, who was a 4-star recruit in 2023 (RSCI #93), redshirted at Alabama last season and transferred to Villanova earlier today. He has all 4 years of eligibility.

Transfer Portal for Playing Time posted yesterday that about 3,055 Division I and Division II players entered the portal, and while 59 percent have chosen a destination, 41 percent remain uncommitted. Based on their past data, I believe that these undecided players are disproportionately from Division II, but it still means that a lot can happen before the school year begins, particularly at those schools with a more forgiving fall calendar.

We still have six ACC+3 players who appear unsettled, like the stomach of the guy in the Before picture of an Alka-Seltzer commercial.

Raheem Braiton, Notre Dame
Nick Cassano, Miami
Tyzhaun Claude, Georgia Tech
Wrenn Robinson, California
Ernest Ross, NC State
Alex Wade, Notre Dame

But are they unsettled? Some of them might be done with basketball, even with eligibility left. Let's look closer.

Raheem Braiton was a 4-year student manager who graduated from Notre Dame in the spring with a major in Science Business. Wrenn Robinson graduated with an Economics degree from California. They put their names in the transfer portal, but maybe they've moved on.

When Georgia Tech celebrated its Senior Day, Tyzhaun Claude was included and was identified as a grad transfer. He played 2 of 3 seasons at Morehead State (he was injured in 2020-2021) and graduated from Western Carolina in 2023. He may or may not be taking advantage of his fifth year.

Based on his team bio, Alex Wade may have walked on to Notre Dame as a sophomore and then earned a scholarship last season as a junior. He must have graduated in 3 years, because Verbal Commits identified him as a grad transfer. He might be done with college now, despite 2 seasons of eligibility.

Ernest Ross spent 3 seasons at NC State, entered the portal in April, committed to UTSA in May, returned to NC State a week later, and was off the Wolfpack team by June. I've heard nothing since then; I'm not sure what he'll do for his senior year.

Nick Cassano is the youngest of the group, announcing his transfer after a freshman year at Miami. He was a Dean's List student but played a total of 3 minutes for the Hurricanes. I'm surprised I haven't heard more, even if he chose to transfer to something other than a Division I school.

I'm not holding my breath here. I'll check periodically until the school year begins, but it's hard to imagine all six coming back to play.
 
Transfer Portal for Playing Time posted yesterday that about 3,055 Division I and Division II players entered the portal, and while 59 percent have chosen a destination, 41 percent remain uncommitted. Based on their past data, I believe that these undecided players are disproportionately from Division II, but it still means that a lot can happen before the school year begins, particularly at those schools with a more forgiving fall calendar.
That's a lot of players still in the portal!

-jk

That is a lot. I don't know their number split for Division I and Division II, so I looked at Verbal Commits instead.

Of the 2,046 Division I players they have listed, 460 do not have a new school. That's about 22.5 percent who are uncommitted. That number isn't exact -- it includes players that entered the portal but elected to stay in the NBA Draft, like Cam Christie, Bronny James, and Jaylen Wells, as well as some players whose destinations we do know -- but it's a close approximation.

Meanwhile, 641 of 1,025 Division II players have yet to commit (or yet to be updated on that site) -- that comes to 62.5 percent. I don't know enough about Division II schools to say whether that's as crazy as it looks, but I can't imagine how admissions offices can handle such a late influx of transfers with only a few weeks left in the summer.

By the way, if you do a simple Ctrl+F search of that list of 460 Division I players still in the portal, you'll see that 44 of them are classified as centers. I could write their names below, but I don't have to, because Georgetown site Hoya Saxa did something similar almost exactly 2 months ago. (Click the link and scroll down to the June 8 entry, "Transfer Portal: Slim Pickings?") They provided not only names but also class years, heights, weights, previous schools, points, and rebounds. This kind of leg work makes it easy to root for Georgetown over UNC, who made no such effort all summer, instead concluding that there are no centers anywhere just because the biggest names at that position all chose to go elsewhere.

Almost every player on the Hoya Saxa list averages fewer than 5 points and 5 rebounds per game. These are not stars. They will not command 7 figures in fake NIL funds. They may not start any games for a power conference school. But they are available, they add depth, they have more experience than a walk on, and they are unlikely to disrupt existing team chemistry. They are, essentially, warm bodies who would appreciate the opportunity.

Something for Chapel Hill fans to ponder as they watch two open scholarships probably go to waste during the dead period of recruiting.
 
That is a lot. I don't know their number split for Division I and Division II, so I looked at Verbal Commits instead.

Of the 2,046 Division I players they have listed, 460 do not have a new school. That's about 22.5 percent who are uncommitted. That number isn't exact -- it includes players that entered the portal but elected to stay in the NBA Draft, like Cam Christie, Bronny James, and Jaylen Wells, as well as some players whose destinations we do know -- but it's a close approximation.
If any (many?) of those 460 chose to simply return to their prior/current school without formally exiting the portal, does the Verbal Commits website (or any of the others) track that? Or, would such players necessarily have to remove their name from the portal to do so?
 
If any (many?) of those 460 chose to simply return to their prior/current school without formally exiting the portal, does the Verbal Commits website (or any of the others) track that? Or, would such players necessarily have to remove their name from the portal to do so?

Generally, yes, Verbal Commits accounts for scholarship players who withdraw from the portal and return to their program. For example, they show Seth Trimble’s old school as North Carolina and his new school as North Carolina. Same with 7-1 center Maxime Reynaud, an early breaker of Heel hearts when he chose to return to Stanford.

The site is a bit more slack with walk-ons who return. Gus Larson (California), Waka Mbatch (Florida State), and Desmond Roberts (Virginia) are among the players who are back with their teams, but are listed by Verbal Commits as still in the portal.
 
When Georgia Tech celebrated its Senior Day, Tyzhaun Claude was included and was identified as a grad transfer. He played 2 of 3 seasons at Morehead State (he was injured in 2020-2021) and graduated from Western Carolina in 2023. He may or may not be taking advantage of his fifth year.

In a weird coincidence, I chose to put this out into the universe this week, and Joe Tipton posts an answer about a day later: Tyzhaun Claude will be returning to college basketball.


That said, I was mistaken with what I wrote above. Claude wouldn't have an additional year of eligibility if he was injured during the COVID season of 2020-2021. I think the issue was that he played only 9 games in 2021-2022, and he was seeking a waiver for that.
 
Over at Hoya Talk, Georgetown fans were quick to put two and two together:

Tyzhaun Claude will be returning to college basketball.

Here's a look at their frontcourt depth -- not wings, but those likely to play the 4 or 5 positions.

Jordan Burks (sophomore 6-9 F, 1.9 pts and 1.7 reb for Kentucky last season)
Seal Diouf (freshman 6-8 F/C, unranked)
Drew Fielder (sophomore 6-10 F/C, 5.2 pts and 3.1 reb last season)
Julius Halaifonua (freshman 7-0 C, #60 in updated On3 for 2024)
Thomas Sorber (freshman 6-9 C, #40 in RSCI from May 2024)

The team still has one scholarship left, and they could use it on a more experienced frontcourt player. Claude is a 6-8 power forward, and he recently turned 24. Also, it appears that Georgetown has some history with him, having contacted him as a portal player in 2022 (when he transferred from Morehead State to Western Carolina) and in 2023 (when he transferred from Western Carolina to Georgia Tech). One of his WCU teammates, Cameron Bacote -- not to be confused with Armando Bacot -- did transfer to Georgetown for 2023-2024, his final season.

College Sports Wire also lists Georgetown as the first of 5 possible destinations for Claude. This is a news-less article, basically an exercise in spitballing. It also mentions a pair of possible player-coach reunions: James Madison (where Morehead State coach Preston Spradlin was recently hired) and Coastal Carolina (the new home of Western Carolina coach Justin Gray).

Edited to add: More like spitballing without even a little research. Three of the schools suggested in that article -- James Madison, Coastal Carolina, and San Francisco -- are out of scholarships. Georgetown has one and St. Bonaventure has two.
 
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Kansas has added a 20ppg scorer, David Coit from N. Illinois in the MAC to its already very, very crowded roster.


What is happening here?!?! It feels like the Jayhawks just have unlimited NIL funds or something. This dude is their 13th scholarship player on the roster. In an era where Calipari is like "I don't think I even need 9 players" Bill Self now has 13 guys who all expect to play. How does this even begin to work?

I mean, I guess part of the answer is he lets them all fight it out and the dude who is stuck on the bench as the 12th or 13th man... well, who cares because he wasn't good enough to make it anyway. Whew...
 
Kansas has added a 20ppg scorer, David Coit from N. Illinois in the MAC to its already very, very crowded roster.


What is happening here?!?! It feels like the Jayhawks just have unlimited NIL funds or something. This dude is their 13th scholarship player on the roster. In an era where Calipari is like "I don't think I even need 9 players" Bill Self now has 13 guys who all expect to play. How does this even begin to work?

I mean, I guess part of the answer is he lets them all fight it out and the dude who is stuck on the bench as the 12th or 13th man... well, who cares because he wasn't good enough to make it anyway. Whew...
It must be a combination of strong NIL and this kid believing he can break into the rotation this year or next year. Kansas and Duke have to be having the most competitive summer scrimmages in the country. If we make a deep run in March like I expect us to, I bet these guys are there to meet us in the F4.
 
Kansas has added a 20ppg scorer, David Coit from N. Illinois in the MAC to its already very, very crowded roster.


What is happening here?!?! It feels like the Jayhawks just have unlimited NIL funds or something. This dude is their 13th scholarship player on the roster. In an era where Calipari is like "I don't think I even need 9 players" Bill Self now has 13 guys who all expect to play. How does this even begin to work?

I mean, I guess part of the answer is he lets them all fight it out and the dude who is stuck on the bench as the 12th or 13th man... well, who cares because he wasn't good enough to make it anyway. Whew...

It must be a combination of strong NIL and this kid believing he can break into the rotation this year or next year. Kansas and Duke have to be having the most competitive summer scrimmages in the country. If we make a deep run in March like I expect us to, I bet these guys are there to meet us in the F4.

I keep saying this: no one is more dangerous with an open scholarship than Bill Self. Somehow he's added to his guard depth this late in the summer with a guy who put up over 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists last season. If David Coit succeeds as a Jayhawk, does the city of Lawrence build a tower in his honor? Or is the existing Coit Tower in San Francisco enough?

Coit Tower San Francisco California - Coittours


Anyway, this August addition gives Kansas 14 scholarship players next season, but two of them (injured Elmarko Jackson and Rice transfer Noah Shelby) are redshirting, so maybe they still aren't done yet?

Final year of eligibility
KJ Adams (6-7 forward, 12.6 ppg last season)
David Coit (5-11 guard, 20.8 ppg at Northern Illinois)
Hunter Dickinson (7-2 center, 17.9 ppg)
Dajuan Harris (6-2 guard, 8.5 ppg)
Zeke Mayo (6-4 guard, 18.8 ppg at South Dakota State)
Shakeel Moore (6-1 guard, 7.9 ppg at Mississippi State)

2 years of eligibility
Zachary Clemence (6-11 forward, redshirted last season)
Rylan Griffen (6-6 guard, 11.2 ppg at Alabama)
Noah Shelby (6-3 guard, 3.9 ppg at Rice) -- voluntary redshirt
AJ Storr (6-7 guard, 16.8 ppg at Wisconsin)

3 years of eligibility

Elmarko Jackson (6-3 guard, 4.3 ppg) -- knee injury, medical redshirt
Jamari McDowell (6-4 guard, 1.8 ppg)

4 years of eligibility
Flory Bidunga (6-9 forward, RSCI #18)
Rakease Passmore (6-5 guard, RSCI #39)
 
I guess I can start making this a weekly post. Call it Transfer Tuesday.

It's August 13, and while there's no ACC news, there's a little speculation.

At some point last weekend, UNC's press members and fans finally became aware of Georgia Tech grad transfer Tyzhaun Claude, a few days after Georgetown looked at him -- probably -- and added incoming freshman Jayden Fort instead. (I'm seeing now that Fort plans to redshirt.)

Anonymous insider Trilly Donovan has monetized his information, but there are secondhand sources, and apparently he's saying UNC has reached out to Claude -- presumably by electronic means and not in person, because of the recruiting dead period. Claude is a native of the state of North Carolina, born in Goldsboro. He's also a 6-7 power forward with a lot of experience, which is more of what the Heels already have, but in a slightly shorter package. He and Cade Tyson are the same height.

I don't recommend watching it, but Locked on Tar Heels posted a video Monday in which host Isaac Schade talks to Riley Davis of Sleepers Media about UNC's rumored pursuit. Both are Carolina fans, and while nothing they say sounds wrong, the conversation is not particularly informative or insightful.

You might recall that the Yellow Jackets were an under .500 team that looked like world beaters at times, beating Duke and UNC in Atlanta as well as Clemson and Wake Forest on the road. Claude had one of his better games of last season against the Heels (box score): 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 28 minutes off the bench.

Embedded below are highlights of Claude's season at Georgia Tech. If Hubert Davis ends up getting Claude to commit, good for them, but he is probably not a game changer for the program.

 
It's August 13, and while there's no ACC news, there's a little speculation.

At some point last weekend, UNC's press members and fans finally became aware of Georgia Tech grad transfer Tyzhaun Claude, a few days after Georgetown looked at him -- probably -- and added incoming freshman Jayden Fort instead. (I'm seeing now that Fort plans to redshirt.)

Anonymous insider Trilly Donovan has monetized his information, but there are secondhand sources, and apparently he's saying UNC has reached out to Claude -- presumably by electronic means and not in person, because of the recruiting dead period. Claude is a native of the state of North Carolina, born in Goldsboro. He's also a 6-7 power forward with a lot of experience, which is more of what the Heels already have, but in a slightly shorter package. He and Cade Tyson are the same height.

I don't recommend watching it, but Locked on Tar Heels posted a video Monday in which host Isaac Schade talks to Riley Davis of Sleepers Media about UNC's rumored pursuit. Both are Carolina fans, and while nothing they say sounds wrong, the conversation is not particularly informative or insightful.

You might recall that the Yellow Jackets were an under .500 team that looked like world beaters at times, beating Duke and UNC in Atlanta as well as Clemson and Wake Forest on the road. Claude had one of his better games of last season against the Heels (box score): 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 28 minutes off the bench.

Embedded below are highlights of Claude's season at Georgia Tech. If Hubert Davis ends up getting Claude to commit, good for them, but he is probably not a game changer for the program.


Claude to UNC. Yawn.
 
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