To start, I just wanted to say I’m glad to be back. We were busy during the school year, but now that things are coming to an end were ready to get back at it.
I decided to come home for Easter weekend and I found myself sifting through free movies on Comcast Xfinity and started watching Requiem for the Big East. Maybe this 30 for 30 inspired me to write this, or maybe I still haven’t gotten over that the college basketball season is over. This year, the college basketball transfer market includes many impactful players. In this article, I’ll be specifically tackling the players immediately eligible to transfer. I’ll throw out seven names that college basketball fans should pay attention to in the upcoming weeks. Some of these guys could end up leading your team to the tournament, or crushing your team’s hopes sometime in mid-March next year.
Egor Koulechow: Rice
Egor Koulechov is an interesting transfer because he could be considered a 6’5 forward. At Rice last season, Koulechov averaged 18.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg. His departure could be tied to Rice’s head coach moving onto VCU. Koulechov has already visited Florida and Oklahoma and will visit Iowa State next weekend.
Elijah Brown: New Mexico
Elijah Brown, son of former Cleveland Cavalier head coach and now Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown, is another hot commodity on the market. Brown started his career at Butler, but then transfer to New Mexico where he averaged 18.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 3.1 apg. Brown visited Oregon last weekend, is currently on a visit at Northwestern, and has set up visits at Iowa State and Gonzaga during the next two weekends.
Al Freeman: Baylor
The transfer from Baylor should be getting a decent amount of looks from high major programs. During his sophomore campaign, Freeman played about 30 minutes a game. My guess for him leaving could be because he saw his minute’s decrease from 30 to 23. Freeman averaged 9.5 ppg last year while shooting just under 40% from behind the arc. The North Carolina native has set up visits with NCST and Pitt.
Cameron Johnson: Pitt
Johnson is an interesting transfer. The former Pitt guard is one of the few transfers that has two years of eligibility left. Johnson averaged 11.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 2.3 apg during his sophomore season, and has been drawing interest from some of the top programs in the country. Programs like Kentucky, Arizona, and Michigan have been in contact with Johnson, but he has set up four in home visits with TCU, Illinois, Ole Miss, and Oregon for tomorrow.
James Daniel III: Howard
Remember the NCAA scoring leader Marcus Keene from Central Michigan this year? James Daniel III was Marcus Keene before it was cool. Daniel averaged 27.1 ppg during his junior campaign before being out with injury this past year. The former Howard guard has narrowed down his list to Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee and DePaul.
Khris Lane: Longwood
Khris Lane is an under the radar transfer candidate because he’s transferring from low major Longwood. The undersized forward averaged 17.1 ppg and 7.3 rpg last season. Some of the teams that are in the mix for his services are Pitt, Rhode Island and VCU.
Mark Alstork: Wright State
The former Wright State guard averaged 19.1 ppg last season. He also put up some quality numbers on the glass with 4.7 rpg and dished out 3.5 apg. An interesting stat about Alstork is that he improved his free throw shooting percentage by over 15% last season. Teams that have contacted Alstork include Michigan, Baylor, Iowa State, Tennessee and he has already set up an upcoming visit for Pitt.
I think these seven guys have the chance to significantly impact a team who is trying to make the tournament in 2017-2018. Compared to last season, I think this year’s immediately eligible transfers are much more talented and I am excited to see where they end up.
Images Used: gazellegroup.com, 3.bp.blogspot.com
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