The deadline to enter the transfer portal with a waiver to play next season has come and gone, as Tuesday marked the final day of activity on that front. It’s why today feels like as good a time as any to survey what’s taken place and what’s yet to come as it relates to transfer portal activity.
Below, Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy offers a refresher, some predictions and a preview of what’s left to unfold when it comes to transfer season 2022.
*****
RELATED: Isiaih Mosley is transfer portal's hottest new commodity | Portal activity is boiling over
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Rivals150
2024 Rankings: Top 40
*****
MOST BUZZWORTHY: Emoni Bates
He may not be the best player available in the transfer market, but Bates is certainly the most celebrated.
As a young prospect, he looked like a sure thing to play in the NBA. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a sophomore and was ranked as the No. 1 player in his recruiting class for roughly a year before being dropped from the perch. Things didn’t exactly go as planned in his one season at Memphis, where he averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in just 18 games, so his search for a fresh start is understandable. Now back in the recruiting market and just one season away from NBA Draft eligibility, it’s crunch time for the guy Sports Illustrated once suggested could be in line to take the torch from LeBron James.
On Monday, Bates told Joe Tipton of Tipton Edits that he has narrowed his list of schools to include Arkansas, Seton Hall, Michigan, DePaul, Louisville and Eastern Michigan. Despite what Bates has said publicly, Louisville, Michigan, DePaul and Eastern Michigan seem to be the most likely landing spots for the Great Lakes State native, who was committed to Michigan State for a period of time as a high school prospect.
Bates may never live up to the massive (and unfair) hype that once surrounded him, but he remains a talented player with some form of professional future, so the thought of him landing at Eastern Michigan and setting the MAC on fire is intriguing.
Bates standing at the center of Louisville’s bounce-back under new head coach Kenny Payne would be a fun end to his college saga as well. So would the once-celebrated Michigan State commit rolling into East Lansing wearing a Wolverines jersey and playing the heel.
Regardless of where Bates lands, the intrigue will follow. Fairly or not, he’ll be one of the most scrutinized players in the country next season. Nobody has ever been able to keep their eyes off him, after all.
TOO EARLY PREDICTION: Louisville
*****
BEST AVAILABLE PLAYER: Tyrese Hunter
Sometimes, you can measure how important a transfer is by watching how many fans of his old school declare college basketball “ruined” or swear to never watch the sport again when the news breaks. And, boy, did Hunter’s decision send a lot of Iowa State fans into a tizzy of exactly that sort.
Alas, Hunter, who averaged 11 points, four assists and three rebounds per game as a freshman in Ames, will play his sophomore year elsewhere. He’s announced a list of finalists that includes Kansas, Gonzaga, Louisville, Tennessee, Purdue and Texas. The best possible outcome from a storyline standpoint would be Hunter landing at KU or Texas and returning to Iowa State as a Jayhawk or Longhorn next season.
Hostile environments are what make college basketball special, and the scene the situation would cause in Hilton Coliseum would be akin to a Busch Light-fueled Alcatraz riot. That said, I think there are more likely landing spots for the coveted guard.
TOO EARLY PREDICTION: Louisville or Tennessee
*****
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: Nijel Pack at Miami
Miami is a city totally incapable of doing anything quietly, and it stayed true to form when it landed Pack. John Ruiz, Hurricanes super booster and owner of LifeWallet, wasted no time flaunting the $800,000 deal that helped UM land the touted Kansas State transfer. The announcement sent UM fans into celebration mode and put fans of rival schools into the suddenly familiar "college sports are ruined" refrain. It also led to returning star Isaiah Wong, who led UM to the Elite Eight last season, publicly wondering where his money was and briefly threatening to transfer before the situation was quietly resolved.
Whatever happened with Wong is inconsequential, however. Pack will always be linked to the hyper-publicized deal and the momentary drama it created. Anything that goes wrong with Miami’s season will quickly and carelessly be linked to “locker room unrest,” and any off days for Pack will be amplified both locally and nationally because of the money he’s making. Is it fair? Not in the slightest. But will it happen anyway? You bet.
The NIL Era may well be the Wild West, but one thing about the Wild West is that it was never boring. It’s why they still make movies about it today.
*****
GAME CHANGER: Baylor Scheierman to Creighton
Baylor Scheierman isn't a household name outside of the most serious college hoops fan circles, but his transfer to Creighton will help make the Bluejays a top five team in preseason polls.
The South Dakota State transfer announced for the Bluejays on Tuesday afternoon, choosing Greg McDermot’s program over Arkansas, Clemson, Duke and Nebraska. Scheierman joins a Creighton roster that returns most of the key cogs from last year’s surprising 23-13 squad.
The 2022 Summit League Player of the Year, Scheierman is an elite 3-point shooter who knocked down 47 percent of the 3s he took a year ago and fits the Bluejays remaining needs almost perfectly. He’ll complement established point guard Ryan Nembhard and thriving big Ryan Kalkbrenner exceptionally well, and if young pieces Arthur Kaluma and Trey Alexander continue to build on the late-season flashes of greatness each showed, the Bluejays’ national title hopes could become extremely real.
