We all know the Kansas’ and Duke’s of the college basketball landscape. With the new conference alignments and the craziness with the transfer portal this season, there can truly be some madness going on from November to March.
Also, we are seeing the golden age of new coaches starting to pop up out of nowhere. We have seen legend after legend retire from coaching which is allowing big programs to go after young coaches at a rapid rate. Everybody is looking for that next Izzo, Calipari, Williams, Wright, or Krzyzewski.
These are four college basketball teams who I believe are at that crossroad of great young coach and awesome transfer class. Maybe there is one or two exceptions on this list as far as young coaches goes.
California Bears – ACC
My mind is still struggling to process Cal playing in the ACC and this might be a strong reason why everything else I am about to type is wrong. However Mark Madsen is in his second year as the head coach and bringing in a lot of fire power in the transfer portal.
B.J. Omot coming from North Dakota where he averaged 16.7 points per game last season will look to carry this team. The 6’8 sophomore forward can and will get hot and put up buckets.
Another player with size who can score at a high level is 6’7 transfer from the Air Force, Rytis Petraitis. He average 15.7 points last season including a 26 point performance in their last game against New Mexico.
Guards DJ Campbell, Christian Tucker, Andrej Stojakovic, and senior Jovan Blacksher Jr will be one of the scariest backcourts to face this season. Combination of experience, scoring, and playmaking is brought by this elite group. It also doesn’t hurt that these kids can shoot from the outside.
Down low in the middle, Madsen and the Bears also beefed up in the transfer portal. Joshua Ola-Joseph and Mady Sissoko will give this team a paint presence on defense as well as on the boards.
A lot would have to go right for this team to finish in the top 5 in the ACC. However, they have the talent to compete in every game on their schedule. This is a team I will be backing as underdogs all season in college basketball.
Oregon Ducks – Big 10
This is an Oregon Ducks team that went 24-12 last season. A season that concluded with them winning the final Pac-12 Conference Tournament. Six players are returning for head coach Dana Altman who always has his players ready to roll.
I still think this is a team not on many people’s radar going into the 2024-25 season. Why shouldn’t they be a top 25 school?
This team added only five transfers, yet four of them will have a huge impact. Ra’Heim Moss, the Junior guard averaged 15.5 points and over 5 boards a game for Toledo last season. TJ Bamba from Villanova will be in the backcourt with him. Bamba averaged 10 points per game last season and is a 6’5 senior. Experienced guards win in March!
Big man sensation Supreme Cook, the 6’9 forward who averaged 10.5 points and 8 rebounds a game last season for Georgetown will be joined by Brandon Angel. Angel, the 6’8 forward from Stanford averaged 13 points per game. Both of these players have elite skills for their size and position and will look to dominate the paint.
In Oregon’s first season in the Big 10, coach Altman has built the perfect college basketball team to play in this league on paper. Experienced guards and tough bigs.
Washington Huskies – Big 10
This is the perfect combination of first year head coach in Danny Sprinkle with an elite transfer class. Sprinkle led the Utah State Aggies to a 26-7 record last season which was the best in the MountWest.
In his first year at Washington it appears he went looking for one thing in the transfer portal, and found it. Scoring, seven out of the eight transfers averaged double digits last season. This Huskies team will be fun to watch.
Great Osobor followed his coach from Utah State where he averaged close to a double double last season for coach Sprinkle. Osobor averaged 17.7 points and 9 rebounds in a dominate season he will look to copy.
Tyree Ilhenacho averaged 14.5 points at North Dakota. Mekhi Mason averaged 14 at Rice. DJ Davis from Butler averaged 13.5 points and Tyler Harris from Portland averaged 12.1 points. Two players averaged exactly 10 points per game last season; Chris Conway from Oakland and Luis Kortright from Rhode Island.
Washington also has the number 43 in ESPN’s top 100 recruits coming out of high school in Zoom Diallo.
It will be a lot of sacrificing to make this work, which is always the hardest part of the portal. The Huskies now have seven players who led their team in scoring last season. If they can pass up good shots for great shots this team will be scary come March.
McNeese Cowboys – Southland
Only coach Will Wade could bring players from big name schools to the Southland conference. McNeese went 30-4 under Wade in his first season as head coach last year, including a tournament birth.
Unfortunately they ran into Gonzaga in the first round. This season it looks like Wade went out and got players used to playing against big schools to help in March.
Out of the six returning players for McNeese, three of them averaged double digits last season. This year four out of the six transfers averaged double digits as well. Also the transfers on this list bring passion and energy on the defensive side of the ball.
This team will be a score by committee team relying on defense and tempo to tire out opponents.
Sincere Parker, Jerome Brewer Jr, and Joe Charles highlight this transfer list. Parker averaged 15.9 points for St. Louis last season as a Sophomore. Brewer Jr averaged 13.8 at Texas A&M Commerce and Charles averaged 11.3 points per game at Louisiana.
Quadir Copeland, Brandon Murray, and Bryant Selebangue are all coming from big name schools to buy into the McNeese program. Copeland from Syracuse, Murray from Ole Miss, and Selebangue from Arizona State.
Mark my words, McNeese will be in the sweet 16 this season. Add that to the bucket of way too early college basketball predictions. It is only July.
Rowan Donaghey, Sports Reporter and Betting Analyst for Stare Down Sports.You can follow him onthe X via @RowanDonaghey
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