Re-Ranking ESPN's Top Transfer | Pt 3. - 50-26 |

Re-Ranking ESPN's Top 100 Transfers: Part 3

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. Also, please note that some of this info may be a week outdated, as I am releasing each section of the ranking every couple of days.

26-50 Rankings

26. Pete Nance | Northwestern → North Carolina | Prev: 7 |

Nance has had a season full of ups and downs so far, as his team has as well. He was brought in to essentially be a replacement for Brady Manek, but at the beginning of the season, he didn’t look like he was going to be able to fit into that role. He then scored 18 against Portland, but went cold again after that in UNC’s first and second losses. Since then, he’s been UNC’s best player, consistently providing the production that was lost by Manek. 

27. Jarkel Joiner | Ole Miss → NC State | Prev: 66 | 

Last season, NC State struggled and finished last in the ACC. They had 2 of the best players in Dereon Seabron and Terquavion Smith, but didn’t have the experience around them to win. They lost Seabron, but gained Joiner, who has made a jump to 16 PPG this season as well as adding experience and floor management. NC State is currently 11-4 and sits right on the March Madness bubble, but they’ll need to improve their 1-3 ACC record.

28. David Jones | DePaul → St. John’s | Prev: 15 |

Transferring from DePaul, Jones’ stats are nearly identical to last season in all categories. He was ranked higher because of his potential, and though he hasn’t disappointed, he likely still won’t be an All-Big East player. His production is still incredible, scoring 15 PPG and 8 RPG. That potential is still there, as he’s scored around 20 in 5 games. If he can be more consistent at that level, St. John’s could make a jump from 7th in the Big East.

29. Jaren Holmes | St. Bonaventure → Iowa State | Prev: 41 |

It’s becoming a pattern of transfers leading low-expectations to expected tournament bids, and Holmes is nothing different. He’s leading the Cyclones in scoring, and his experience at the high level is helping this Iowa State team, full of former role players, to a #25 ranking and a win over Baylor, in which Holmes logged 10 points and 3 assists.

30. Malachi Smith | Chattanooga → Gonzaga | Prev: 5 |

Now going from 20 PPG to 9 PPG may not seem incredible, but going from Chattanooga to #9 ranked Gonzaga is not an easy transition. He also wasn’t accustomed to this new level of play, and his playing time early in the season reflected that. However, now that he’s getting more minutes, he’s been playing very well, scoring 10 or more in his past 5 games, each game shooting 50% or higher from the field.

31. De’Vion Harmon | Oregon → Texas Tech | Prev: 59 |

Harmon, transferring from Power 5 to Power 5, has actually taken a step up in efficiency. He’s led this extremely young Texas Tech team to a 10-3 record, where they will likely make the tournament once again. Tech still has yet to return Fardaws Aimaq, who’s been injured and could be Tech’s best player. Harmon is a perfect transfer - Experienced, can lead right away, spreads the ball (4 APG).

32. Nijel Pack | Kansas State → Miami | Prev: 2 |

You may be wondering why Pack has dropped so far. He hasn’t had a bad season, and his team is doing extremely well. Well, Pack was expected to have similar production he has at Kansas State, and that just isn’t the case. Kansas State was the worst in the Big 12, and Pack didn’t have much competition for scoring. His PPG has dropped from 17 to 12. However, in Miami’s most recent game, he dropped 21 in an important ACC game against a good Notre Dame team. If he can do this more often, this scoring paired with his good defense and court management could move him up the list by the end of the year.

33. Courtney Ramey | Texas → Arizona | Prev: 24 |

Despite being a 5th-year senior, Ramey has actually had one of the most underrated breakout seasons so far. He’s improved in every category from shooting percentage to assists in the same amount of playing time. The most important improvement is his 3p%, as he jumped from 35% to 43%. His shooting opens up for the best frontcourt in the PAC-12 in Pelle Larsson, Oumar Ballo, and Azuolas Tubelis to produce down low. Arizona is #5 in the country, and in a weak Pac-12, they could find themselves as a #1 seed come March.

34. Landers Nolley | Memphis → Cincinnati | Prev: 62 |

Nolley transferred from Memphis to their rival Cincinnati, and he broke out immediately. It seems that Memphis wasn’t the best fit for a lot of players including Nolley, because he’s jumped from a role player to Cincinnati's second top scorer. He’ll also be extremely dangerous in the AAC conference tournament, as when it matters most, Nolley delivers. He dropped a ridiculous 33 points against Arizona, as well as dropping around 20 in other important games. If he can become more consistent, this bubble Cinci team could grab that highly-touted AAC 3rd place and find themselves in the NCAA Tournament.

35. Antonio Reeves | Illinois State → Kentucky | Prev: 36 |

Reeves has been good so far, but has been one of the culprits of a struggling Kentucky team. You can’t blame him though, as it seems like everyone except for Tshiebwe has been a part of these struggles. He has the skill to perform well in big games, but he just hasn’t shown up in those games so far. If he can fix that as the year goes on, Kentucky will greatly benefit as well.

36. Terry Roberts | Bradley → Georgia | Prev: 37 |

Yet another edition of an experienced transfer leading a team with low expectations to a bubble status. After finishing last in the SEC, Georgia was thought by some to be the worst team in D1. After bringing in a loaded recruiting class, including Roberts, the Dawgs are now 10-3 and enter a rough SEC conference with tournament aspirations. Roberts has not dropped in production one bit, as he’s Georgia’s second top scorer and a top 100 assist player in the country.

37. Umoja Gibson | Oklahoma → DePaul | Prev: 28 |

Gibson, a 6th year senior, has been all you could ask for as a struggling program. Gibson isn’t a ball hog, as he’s at 15 PPG with solid efficiency, as well as an impressive 5 assists per game. However, he isn’t higher because of his team’s struggles. Their 7-8 record isn’t bad, but their only impressive win was early in the season against a subpar Minnesota team. The more Gibson scores, the more games DePaul wins. However, against good teams, he hasn’t done much.

38. Noah Carter | Northern Iowa → Missouri | Prev: 24 |

Noah Carter has been one of the numerous Missouri transfers that have helped them to a 12-1 record with recent wins over Illinois and Kentucky. He’s been consistent, but sometimes having huge games, scoring 28 against a good Penn team and 20 in an OT win against Wichita State. This Missouri team seems to rotate who has breakout nights, as Carter has shot with good efficiency despite not scoring much. 

39. Brandon Murray | LSU → Georgetown | Prev: 16 |

Murray is in a similar position as Gibson. He’s at 15 PPG, 4 APG, and very good efficiency. However, his team is even worse than DePaul. They’re a bottom 5 power-6 team. And it isn’t Murray’s fault. He’s done all he can, recently scoring 29 in Georgetown’s loss to DePaul. He’s only a sophomore, but this season, there isn’t much he can do about his team’s situation.

40. Matthew Mayer | Baylor → Illinois | Prev: 27 |

Mayer seemed like he hadn’t built up chemistry with this Illinois team early in the season, as he didn’t play too well early in the season. However, recently, that does not seem to be the case. In their win over #2 Texas, he had 21 points. Their two recent losses have also not been his fault, as he scored 16 and 14 against Missouri and Penn State. Illinois should correct themselves as the season goes on, and Mayer getting used to a new team recently should help them out as well. He’s likely to rise further by the end of the season, but for now, here’s where he lands.

41. Ben Vander Plas | Ohio → Virginia | Prev: 39 |

Vander Plas came into Virginia as a bench player and has accepted and embraced that role. He’s one of the best 6th men in the country, and his playstyle of 3 point shooting and defense meshes well with Tony Bennet’s coaching style. He’s taken over as a bench player at times, scoring 14 against Baylor and 20 against Miami.

42. DJ Burns | Winthrop → NC State | Prev: 69 |

Burns, along with Jarkel Joiner, is one of the experienced NC State transfers that have caused the Wolfpack to have such a strong start this season. Burns is 275 pounds and can shoot mid-range shots, so he’s been tough to handle. Now that he’s meshed with the team, he’s been tough to stop, scoring 18, 17, and 16, in 3 of NC State’s last 5 games.

43. Grant Basile | Wright State → Virginia Tech | Prev: 83 |

Basile has been a nice compliment down low to the Hokies’ breakout PG Sean Pedulla, as these two have led the Hokies to a 11-3 record. Basile has been consistent, though his team is currently on a 2-game skid. He’s simply been a solid player. He hasn’t done anything crazy, but has had good games in every game this season. If there was one thing he could improve on, it would be getting boards, as he’s at 5 a game and could improve a bit.

44. Cam Spencer | Loyola Maryland → Rutgers | Prev: 70 |

Spencer is coming off hitting the biggest shot of his basketball career so far, as he knocked down a long 3 to take the lead late against #1 Purdue, as they eventually won that game and handed the Boilermakers their first loss of the season. Up until then, he’s underperformed in Rutgers’ most important games, but it seems that won’t be a problem anymore.

45. Al-Amir Dawes | Clemson → Seton Hall | Prev: 96 |

Dawes is leading a 8-7 Seton Hall team in scoring at 11 PPG. That may not sound amazing, but Dawes is a more all-around player who gets assists, doesn't take many shots, and plays good defense. That’s the opposite of the rest of his team, who don’t play very good defense and are only 30% from 3. 

46. Dawson Garcia | North Carolina → Minnesota | Prev: 31 |

After playing as UNC’s top bench player last season, Garcia now transferred to Minnesota and is playing very well with more playing time. He’s the Golden Gophers’ leading scorer, but unfortunately, Minnesota isn’t having the greatest season so far and will likely be a bottom 2 team in the Big Ten.

47. EJ Harkless | Oklahoma → UNLV | Prev: 55 |

Harkless has taken a step up at a mid-major, leading UNLV in scoring at 16 PPG. The Rebels started 9-0, but have lost 3 of their last 4. Harkless played very well in these 4 games, averaging 19.5 in this stretch. However, his 3 point shooting was very bad. He never shot over 30% from 3 in these 4 games, so that may be UNLV’s problem. The margin to get into the tournament from the Mountain West is very thin, so Harkless will need to help turn UNLV around if they hope to gain an automatic bid into March Madness.

48. Jarod Lucas | Oregon State → Nevada | Prev: 67 |

Another high-major to mid-major transfer, Lucas has led the Wolf Pack to a 12-3 record with some impressive wins. He’s looked like one of the best players in the MW, and Nevada is surely a team to watch. The MW is a tough conference to get a bid out of, but they should be near the top half of the conference if things go right.

49. Devin Carter | South Carolina → Providence | Prev: 45 |

Along with Bryce Hopkins, Providence’s recent success can be attributed to Carter as well. He averaged an insane 21 PPG in their 3-game Big East win streak, shooting 50% from 3 in all 3 games. If he can keep this efficient production up, Providence should waltz their way to a tournament bid and possibly a top-25 ranking. 

50. Andrew Funk | Bucknell → Penn State | Prev: NR |

Funk is the first of my replacement transfers, and I chose him to give a perfect example of meshing and team success. They were picked to finish 11th in the Big Ten, but now sit at 11-3 and 5th in the conference. Funk’s issue at first was consistency, as he had some 20 point games and some single digit games. He’s solved that issue, scoring from 12-20 in Penn State’s last 5 games, which they all won.