Re-Ranking ESPN's Top 100 Transfers - Pt 1.| 76-100

Re-Ranking ESPN's Top 100 Transfers: Part 1

Today, I will be re-ranking ESPN’s preseason top 100 transfers list. My criteria for this list are as follows:

1.     Team Success (since they are transfers after all)

2.     Individual Success (numbers/stats)

3.     Fit with team (Sharing ball, shooting at high percentages/good efficiency)

4.     Playing time/impact (Worse players playing more > Better players playing         backup/bench/reserve roles)

For the injured 4 that were included on this list, I have replaced them with some of my own underrated picks. With that being said, I have one more thing to clarify: the “Prev” category represents what ESPN ranked that player at the start of the season.

76-100 Rankings

76.     Emmanuel Akot | Boise State → Western Kentucky | Prev: 63 |

Akot has been pretty good on a Western Kentucky team with lots of HM talent, averaging 12 PPG. Many expected him to be a bit more productive than that, but it isn’t terrible. However, he may need to break out a bit in a very deep C-USA. WKU is talented enough to win the conference, but they’ll need to turn around the 4-game skid they’re on.

77.     Keeshawn Barthelemy | Colorado → Oregon | Prev: 81 |

Barthelemy has been injured since November, and has only played 4 games. Because of that, don’t take this ranking too seriously. I usually would disclude him, but since he’ll be back soon, I’ll keep him for now. Barthelemy hasn’t done anything crazy in his 4 games, averaging 9 PPG as a solid starting guard. I am excited to see what he does when he returns, but until then, here’s where he sits.

78.     Ali Ali | Akron → Butler | Prev: 71 |

Ali Ali had just returned to college basketball for Butler’s conference play, and has had a positive impact immediately. In 5 games, he’s averaged 7 PPG but has only played about 20 minutes per game behind a loaded backcourt. When he gets more minutes, he should do more, as we have seen what Ali Ali can do with more playing time, as he had 14 PPG at Akron under 34 MPG. 

79.     Felipe Haase | Mercer → Southern Miss | Prev: 93|

Haase has fit in very well with Southern Miss, and it seems the switch in mid-majors has gone well for him. Not only did his point and rebound numbers improve, but the team he is on is one of the best in the Sun Belt, rather than a middling team in the Southern Conference. Haase has also shown his potential to break out, scoring more than 20 points 4 times so far this season.

80.     Michael Jones | Davidson → Stanford | Prev: 65 |

Michael Jones got the season off to an incredible start, scoring 31 against Pacific in Stanford’s first game of the season. In this game, it looked like Jones and USA-U19 team player Harrison Ingram would be a good enough duo to make a push toward the NCAA tournament. However, he wasn’t the same player after that, only averaging 10 PPG this season. He has had some other moments, scoring 17 against Texas, but he hasn’t been consistent enough thus far.

81.     Samuell Williamson | Louisville → SMU | Prev: 78 |

Williamson was a part of a rough Louisville team who was under an interim head coach and had injuries. However, Williamson has played better at SMU, putting up 9 PPG and an impressive 7 RPG. He’s been an important part of SMU’s recent breakout, as he played well in their recent wins against Tulsa, Iona, and Utah State, which are all very good teams.

82.     Dylan Penn | Bellarmine → Vermont | Prev: 94 |

The returning America East champions had struggled early in the season, getting off to a 2-7 start, but since then, have gone 5-1. Penn has done the same in both of these stretches, being Vermont’s best player and often carrying them to some games. They’re looking like one of the best teams in the Big East, but Bryant and UMass Lowell may be hard to get past.

83.     Qudus Wahab | Maryland → Georgetown | Prev: 87 |

Wahab started his season at Georgetown, went to Maryland after Georgetown’s tournament appearance, and now has returned to Georgetown, where he’s putting up slightly less numbers than his second season at Georgetown. However, this Georgetown team is not nearly as good as their tournament team, as they’re last in the Big East and are 5-11. He’s playing near the same as he was before, but the pieces around him aren’t as good, and Wahab has suffered from that.

84.     Ryan Young | Northwestern → Duke | Prev: 91 |

Surprisingly, Young has actually played a lot more than many had first expected, actually playing more than he did at Northwestern. He’s been a solid, experienced, all-around role player that has helped this young Duke team to an 11-4 record under new head coach Jon Scheyer. However, Duke should be a lot better than 11-4.The preseason #7 team was recently obliterated by 24 by NC State, and a couple games before that, they lost to Wake Forest. These are two bubble teams, but for a preseason top 10 team, Duke has underachieved this season.

85.     Isiaih Mosley | Missouri State → Missouri | Prev: 6 |

Some strange things have been going on with Mosley. He played the first 8 games of the season, all coming off the bench. This was strange, as Mosley was thought by many to be Missouri’s best player coming into this season. He didn’t get much playing time in these games, but scored 18 and 23 against Mississippi Valley State and Coastal Carolina. However, he’s missed 6 games straight, including Missouri’s breakout stretch, to “personal issues”. We don’t know when he’ll be back, but when he does, I'm excited to see how much Missouri benefits.

86.     Don Carey | Georgetown → Maryland | Prev: 82 |

Carey, like his team, is inconsistent and experienced. Maryland had an extremely strong start to the season, but recently, are 2-4 after facing stronger competition. His entire team’s production has dropped in these losses, Carey included. There isn’t much Carey can do individually except for simply scoring more in the wake of Maryland’s struggles, but so far, he’s struggled along with his teammates.

87.     Marcus Hammond | Niagara → Notre Dame | Prev: 79 |

After being out the first part of the season, Hammond has returned to a struggling Notre Dame team. Since Hammond has returned, Notre Dame is 2-6. I’m not sure if it’s Hammond’s fault, as he’s been solid. Usually if players are bringing their teams down they are shooting at bad efficiency, however, Hammond is shooting at good efficiency. Despite that, the struggles of this Notre Dame team is concerning, so until they improve, this is where Hammond sits.

88.     Femi Odukale | Pitt → Seton Hall | Prev: 43| 

Odukale has not had the role he’s wanted to so far at Seton Hall. His minutes per game have gone down by 9 since last season, as he’s been a role player among a deep Seton Hall frontcourt. The good news is, recently, Odukale has been playing a lot, and he’s been playing well, recently scoring 16 against a very good Creighton team. If he can keep these minutes and efficiency up, expect a rise in Odukale’s ranking by the end of the year.

89.     Xavier Pinson | LSU → New Mexico State | Prev: 46 |

I think many expected Pinson to be one of the best players in the WAC and double his productivity. He has improved in productivity to a solid 13 PPG, but it isn’t as much as many expected. He’s still one of the better assist players in the country, averaging 4.6 a game. He can still break out and carry this NMST team to a tournament berth, but we’ll see.

90.     Tanner Holden | Wright State → Ohio State | Prev: 25 |

Holden came into the portal as one of the most productive and experienced transfers in the portal, but surprisingly has played off the bench for Ohio State. He’s shooting at 50% from the field and from 3, which is pretty good. He still has the potential to break out in his minutes, but we haven’t seen that just yet.

91.     Isaac Likekele | Oklahoma State → Ohio State | Prev: 57 |

Likekele was never a huge scorer, and that has not been the truth more this season. He’s at 3 PPG on bad efficiency, but has seemed to help his team in other ways, as he’s played a big role in Ohio State's 10-3 start. He sure hasn’t had a bad season so far, but compared to other people on this list with more production on better efficiency, this is where Likekele lands.

92.     Jalen Graham | Arizona State → Arkansas | Prev: 38 |

Unfortunately, Graham has been a reserve at Arkansas. It doesn't make a ton of sense as to why he’s only playing 7 minutes a game, as I think Arkansas could really use his experience and productivity down low, as they haven’t had much of that since Brazile was injured. He’s proven it as well, scoring 16 in his 19 minutes against UNC Asheville, as well as scoring efficiently under his minutes in other games.

93.     Andre Kelly | Cal → UCSB | Prev: 68 |

Surprisingly enough, Kelly isn’t a top 3 scorer on his team, despite being from a high-major. It isn’t a huge deal, as he's one of the best mid-majors in the country at UCSB, and has accepted his role there, getting a good amount of rebounds and points. His experience will prove very important in the NCAA Tournament, as UCSB will be playing against some high-major teams.

94.     Jacob Grandison | Illinois → Duke | Prev: 51 |

Grandison has played a backup role this season, only playing 17 MPG and scoring 6 PPG. Duke probably wasn’t the best destination, and with Ryan Young playing more than Grandison, we likely won’t see more of Grandison than we have already. An interesting stat is, when Grandison has played at least 20 minutes, Duke hasn’t lost. We’ll see if the Duke coaching staff catches on to this, and if Grandison gets more PT in big games, we will see if my theory is correct.

95.     Josh Mballa | Buffalo → Ole Miss | Prev: 84 |

Mballa hasn’t played much of a role at Ole Miss after 3 productive seasons at Buffalo, only playing 10 minutes a game, however, there is hope. He recently played 30 minutes in a 18-point performance as Ole Miss lost to UCF. He’s proven that he can produce at this level, and hopefully, he plays more in the future.

96.     David Jenkins | Utah → Purdue | Prev: 97 |

As expected, Jenkins is a role-player/reserve on one of the best teams in the country. He’s getting a solid 15 minutes per game, and has played as a solid backup guard behind freshman Fletcher Loyer. I doubt that role will change much this year, but it isn’t a bad role at all.

97.     Joe Bamisile | George Washington → Oklahoma | Prev: 95 |

Bamisile, after playing 10 minutes a game at Virginia Tech, then being one of the best players in the A10, has now transferred to Oklahoma where he has returned to playing 10 minutes a game. It’s unfortunate, but a good sign is his 18 minutes against Arkansas recently, where he scored 8 points. If he gets that playing time in the future, Bamisile’s career will be heading in the right direction.

98.     Kendal Coleman | Northwestern State → LSU | Prev: 86 |

Unfortunately, Coleman has been a reserve this season. I was excited to see how his mid-major production would transfer to LSU, but it seems it hasn't gone too well. There isn’t too much to go off here. He’s played in garbage time games, and though I hope he starts to see more minutes, I doubt it will happen behind a deep LSU frontcourt. The good news is, his team’s doing very well.

99.     Efton Reid | LSU → Gonzaga | Prev: 44 |

Behind Timme, Reid hasn’t seen the court much. He’s played and performed in some garbage-time games. We know he has the talent to play at this level, but taking Timme out for Reid just doesn't have much purpose at the end of the day, so we may need to wait until next season to see more from Reid.

100.    Jao Ituka | Marist → Wake Forest | Prev: 99 |

After a great freshman season at Marist, Ituka is now a reserve waiting his turn at Wake Forest. He’s a point guard, so it’s no surprise that he’s not playing behind Tyree Appleby and Davien Williamson. Like Reid, he may be good enough to play, but their team is already stacked at this position, so we’ll have to wait until next year.