Transfers in/out 2025-2026

[wadesworld]

Disagree.  Now picture a quality big, no guard depth, and a bad sprained ankle for NJ that keeps him out for a month.

I see Joe Chapman/Marcus Jackson, Derrick Wilson/Jake Thomas scenarios without addressing guard depth.

If there aren't quality bigs brought in, I see Barro/Burke scenarios.

 

The difference is that we have James/Stevens, not Derrick Wilson/Jake Thomas.

[Galway Eagle]

Uhhh? Who's regressed? The guy who hasn't played a single minute?

And I'm talking about a backup spot for maybe 7-8 minutes, probably less. No one is pinning our hopes of a big rebound year on backups. This is why I said a center and wing should be priorities

And we still need Caedin to leave 

I'm talking about his national team contributions the last 4 years.

[Shooter McGavin]

If there are no more departures, the top two priorities have to be experienced guards, as there are only two currently on the roster.

I would rather take my chances with Sheek, Caedin, and Josh than to go into a seasonon without guard depth.

Then, there will have to be forced departures.  You are correct that guard depth is huge.  But an experienced talented big man is as well.  They cannot spend the kind of money they will have to spend this offseason to be competitive just to fall woefully short at either position.  They are going to have to walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. 

[wadesworld]

And herein lies the major issue going into next season. Tower is saying the quiet part out loud. We have no guard depth, need to replace starters production from last season and have no front court depth, with only three currently available spots to fill. Nowhere near enough talent to get back to a comfortable tournament team, all while there are two bigs on our roster who have definitely and almost definitely proven they have no business playing at this level.

You're constantly overrating depth.

Not that I expect it to be exactly this, but if our roster next year is:

James
Stevens
Byrd
Parham
Oswin/Evans

Minessale
Pearson
Owens
Egbuonu
Philips

Miletic
Walker
Johnston
2 of Clark/Hamilton/Odih

That's a top 3 Big East team that should be in contention for a protected seed.  The top 6 would all be proven contributors, Owens can give 10 minutes per game, and I have faith one of Sheek/Alex/Philips can give you 10 minutes per game.  That's all you need in college basketball to have a very good team.

[MuggsyB]

Wasn't there talk that Nash could play backup point guard? I thought someone was on the Shaka radio hour and said he's been playing PG in practice.

I'm still hopeful Caedin leaves and we have an extra opening but as it stands I think getting a center, wing, and guard (in that order) should be the plan

We definitely have to get an additional ball handler/PG or Combo G.  Any injury to Nigel would leave us extremely vulnerable.  Next I would say a power 5 and a triple lacing two-way wing.  The question is how impactful will our newcomers be and whether DO and MP can be solid at the 3.   The bottom line is we must get at minimum two high impact portal additions. 

[MuggsyB]

You're constantly overrating depth.

Not that I expect it to be exactly this, but if our roster next year is:

James
Stevens
Byrd
Parham
Oswin/Evans

Minessale
Pearson
Owens
Egbuonu
Philips

Miletic
Walker
Johnston
2 of Clark/Hamilton/Odih

That's a top 3 Big East team that should be in contention for a protected seed.  The top 6 would all be proven high major contributors, Owens can give 10 minutes per game, and I have faith one of Sheek/Alex/Philips can give you 10 minutes per game.  That's all you need in college basketball to have a very good team.

Byrd?

[wadesworld]

Byrd?

Miles Byrd.  Like I said, I don't think our roster will look exactly like that, but that level/style of transfer.  A starting 3 who is a good perimeter defender, a starting 5 who can rebound and finish at the rim, and a 6th man combo guard are what I think we will add.

[MuggsyB]

Miles Byrd.  Like I said, I don't think our roster will look exactly like that, but that level/style of transfer.  A starting 3 who is a good perimeter defender, a starting 5 who can rebound and finish at the rim, and a 6th man combo guard are what I think we will add.

He'd be a great fit at MU!  But the competition to get him will be difficult.  My suggestion:  Get the kid on our roster, tomorrow!  Do whatever it takes. 

[panda]

You're constantly overrating depth.

Not that I expect it to be exactly this, but if our roster next year is:

James
Stevens
Byrd
Parham
Oswin/Evans

Minessale
Pearson
Owens
Egbuonu
Philips

Miletic
Walker
Johnston
2 of Clark/Hamilton/Odih

That's a top 3 Big East team that should be in contention for a protected seed.  The top 6 would all be proven high major contributors, Owens can give 10 minutes per game, and I have faith one of Sheek/Alex/Philips can give you 10 minutes per game.  That's all you need in college basketball to have a very good team.

That would be a grand total of 2 guys off the bench with any proven success at the collegiate level. We're one injury away from big trouble. We disagree about the season two years ago, but lack of depth played a major factor in the team significantly underachieving. They ran out of gas. Faith doesn't win games - experience and talent does. It's a big roll of the dice to expect freshmen to contribute when all of your competition is finding experienced players to fill those gaps.

[brewcity77]

When you say "competitive," do you mean to compete for the top prospects? Or field a competitive team?

Because those are two different things.

You'd have to ask Tom, it's not my tweet. I'm just sharing.

[onepost]

Sananda Fru is the other big man I've heard we're interested in. But the big man market is out of control so we'll see what pans out. LOT of Timofey Mozgov free agency vibes.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

That would be a grand total of 2 guys off the bench with any proven success at the collegiate level. We're one injury away from big trouble. We disagree about the season two years ago, but lack of depth played a major factor in the team significantly underachieving. They ran out of gas. Faith doesn't win games - experience and talent does. It's a big roll of the dice to expect freshmen to contribute when all of your competition is finding experienced players to fill those gaps.

All of our competition will be bringing in experienced players from the portal to come off the bench?

[panda]

All of our competition will be bringing in experienced players from the portal to come off the bench?

They will either have returning players from the program capable of playing the minutes or will find a player or two in the portal to supplement their talent. Uconn did it with Smith, St. Johns did it with Ian Jackson, nova did it with a couple guys Willard brought with him from Maryland.

This is not a novel concept - if you have holes in the team and need to improve, coaches fill it with available talent. Teams trying to compete shouldn't sit and hope.

[wadesworld]

That would be a grand total of 2 guys off the bench with any proven success at the collegiate level. We're one injury away from big trouble. We disagree about the season two years ago, but lack of depth played a major factor in the team significantly underachieving. They ran out of gas. Faith doesn't win games - experience and talent does. It's a big roll of the dice to expect freshmen to contribute when all of your competition is finding experienced players to fill those gaps.

How many teams have 4-5 players on their bench "with proven success at the collegiate level" going into seasons?  You need 2 guys off your bench to be good.  And much of the time, those players aren't going into the season with "proven success at the collegiate level."

The Final Four is:

UCONN plays an 8 man rotation.  Reibe who was ranked 27th in the class of 2025 averaging 6 points, 3 rebounds, Jayden Ross averaging 5 points, 2 rebounds after never having averaged over 2 ppg in his first 2 seasons at UCONN, and Malachi Smith averaging 3 points and 3 assists per game after being a solid role player for Dayton for 4 years.  (1 player coming off their bench that had "proven success at the collegiate level" coming into the season)

Illinois' plays an 8 man rotation.  Jake Davis averaging 5 points and 2 rebounds after averaging 3 points in 9 minutes at IL last year, Zvonimir Ivisic averaging 6 points and 5 rebounds after being a solid player at 2 high majors, and Ben Humrichous averaging 6 points and 4 rebounds after being a starter last year. (3 players coming off their bench that had "proven success at the collegiate level" coming into the season)

Arizona plays an 8 man rotation.  Tobe Awaka averages 9 and 9 and has been a solid role player for 3 years, Anthony Dell'Orso averages 9/2/2 after being a role player last year and a mid major stud the prior 2 years, and Dwayne Aristode averages 4 poinst and 2 rebounds as a freshman. (2 players coming off their bench that had "proven success at the collegiate level" coming into the season)

Michigan played a 9 man rotation, but Cason is out for the year so they play an 8 man rotation with Tschetter averaging 4 and 2, McKenney averaging 10 and 3, and Gayle averaging 7 and 3.  All 3 of those guys have been solid contributors. (4 players coming off their bench that had "proven success at the collegiate level" coming into the season)

It's incredibly rare to have 4-5 players on their bench with "proven success at the collegiate level" going into the season.

We'll be in great shape if we have 2 players with "proven success at the collegiate level" coming off our bench going into next season.

[Markusquette]

Sananda Fru is the other big man I've heard we're interested in. But the big man market is out of control so we'll see what pans out. LOT of Timofey Mozgov free agency vibes.

Now that's a name

[tower912]

The difference is that we have James/Stevens, not Derrick Wilson/Jake Thomas.

Injuries.  Crucial part of the scenario that makes me prioritize guards.   
Diener, James, Kolek, Mitchell, Jones, Jones, Ross.   

To me quality guard depth is more important.  I am comfortable on this hill.

I expect two guards and a big if no one else leaves.

[panda]

How many teams have 4-5 players on their bench "with proven success at the collegiate level" going into seasons?  You need 2 guys off your bench to be good.  And much of the time, those players aren't going into the season with "proven success at the collegiate level."

The Final Four is:

UCONN plays an 8 man rotation.  Reibe who was ranked 27th in the class of 2025 averaging 6 points, 3 rebounds, Jayden Ross averaging 5 points, 2 rebounds after never having averaged over 2 ppg in his first 2 seasons at UCONN, and Malachi Smith averaging 3 points and 3 assists per game after being a solid role player for Dayton for 4 years.  (1 player coming off their bench that had "proven success at the collegiate level" coming into the season)

Illinois' plays an 8 man rotation.  Jake Davis averaging 5 points and 2 rebounds after averaging 3 points in 9 minutes at IL last year, Zvonimir Ivisic averaging 6 points and 5 rebounds after being a solid player at 2 high majors, and Ben Humrichous averaging 6 points and 4 rebounds after being a starter last year. (3 players coming off their bench that had "proven success at the collegiate level" coming into the season)

Arizona plays an 8 man rotation.  Tobe Awaka averages 9 and 9 and has been a solid role player for 3 years, Anthony Dell'Orso averages 9/2/2 after being a role player last year and a mid major stud the prior 2 years, and Dwayne Aristode averages 4 poinst and 2 rebounds as a freshman. (2 players coming off their bench that had "proven success at the collegiate level" coming into the season)

Michigan played a 9 man rotation, but Cason is out for the year so they play an 8 man rotation with Tschetter averaging 4 and 2, McKenney averaging 10 and 3, and Gayle averaging 7 and 3.  All 3 of those guys have been solid contributors. (4 players coming off their bench that had "proven success at the collegiate level" coming into the season)

It's incredibly rare to have 4-5 players on their bench with "proven success at the collegiate level" going into the season.

We'll be in great shape if we have 2 players with "proven success at the collegiate level" coming off our bench going into next season.

How many successful teams have bench depth of a bunch of freshmen and previous D1 non contributors?

[GoFastAndWin]

There's a ton of available bigs, and imo, not much separation between/among them.

This is an easy equation.

Get Minnesale. Get a middle-tier 5.

GET FREAKING MILES BYRD!!
Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Jose Feliciano all could see how perfectly he would fit in Shaka's system!! Talk about a symbiotic relationship!!!

[MuggsyB]

Sananda Fru is the other big man I've heard we're interested in. But the big man market is out of control so we'll see what pans out. LOT of Timofey Mozgov free agency vibes.

Fru could be fruitful. 

[Uncle Rico]

Sananda Fru is the other big man I've heard we're interested in. But the big man market is out of control so we'll see what pans out. LOT of Timofey Mozgov free agency vibes.

Good lord, the variants of his misspelled name on Scoop would make it worth it, whatever the cost (isn't happening)

[GoFastAndWin]

Good lord, the variants of his misspelled name on Scoop would make it worth it, whatever the cost (isn't happening)

What's 🎶 Sananda you, hey?!

[MuggsyB]

I want Byrd, badly. He's absolutely the kind of player we need and haven't had for some time.  He completely changes our defensive identity.  Plus, we could get into transition more which gets Nigel into the open floor.

[muwarrior69]

There's a ton of available bigs, and imo, not much separation between/among them.

This is an easy equation.

Get Minnesale. Get a middle-tier 5.

GET FREAKING MILES BYRD!!Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Jose Feliciano all could see how perfectly he would fit in Shaka's system!! Talk about a symbiotic relationship!!!

...but will Byrd's agent?

[Galway Eagle]

Byrd would look great flying around as a golden Eagle

[tower912]

Byrds aren't real.