UConn, Kentucky among those seeing big changes thanks to transfers in college basketball portal window – Thehour.com

Days after winning a second straight national championship, UConn coach Dan Hurley posted a photo of himself on social media lying on the ground and covering his eyes.

The caption read “Day 1 in the portal…”

Several weeks later, Hurley added several key pieces as the portal window closes Wednesday, with the Huskies attempting to become the first team to win three consecutive NCAA titles since UCLA’s streak of seven consecutive titles between 1967 and 1973. And they are among many major programs shuffling their cards through portal work.

UConn, which could lose all five starters from this year’s title winner, added former Michigan center Tarris Reed and former Saint Mary’s star guard Aidan Mahaney from the portal. The Huskies also signed top recruit Liam McNeeley, who decommitted from Indiana while the Hoosiers retool their roster with transfers.

“Obviously we used the portal to great benefit and the players where it didn’t make a lot of sense for them here, you know, left,” Hurley said. “But it is obvious that we need a lot more structure in our game because no other sports league works this way.”

Here’s how the portal affected some other top programs this season.

Kentucky: The biggest change of hands in the offseason carousel resulted in numerous changes to the Wildcats roster with the release of John Calipari to Arkansas and the arrival of Mark Pope from BYU. Additions to the portal include guard Lamont Butler, who hit the buzzer-beater game-winner for San Diego State in the 2023 Final Four against Florida Atlantic; Oklahoma forward Otega Oweh; Wake Forest forward Andrew Carr; Oklahoma State big man Brandon Garrison; Dayton guard Koby Brea, the nation’s best 3-point shooter at 49.8 percent; and Dayton big man Amari Williams. And on Wednesday, former Arizona and West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa committed to Kentucky, according to On3 Sports.

Arkansas: The additions to Calipari’s portal are headlined by Florida Atlantic guard Johnell Davis, the leading scorer on the Owls’ 2023 Final Four team and the No. 2 transfer in 247Sports’ rankings. Arkansas also landed Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo and Kentucky big man Zvonimir Ivisic. A mass of departures included leading scorer Tramon Mark (to Texas), although Calipari also added 247sports’ No. 6 recruiting class with three four-star prospects who originally committed to him at UK.

Duke: Jon Scheyer’s third team will look nothing like his second. Seven players pursued transfers, headlined by veteran guard Jeremy Roach landing at Baylor and forward Mark Mitchell going to Missouri. But Duke added veterans like Syracuse forward Maliq Brown and Purdue forward Mason Gillis, while the departures largely paved the way for the nation’s best recruiting class to play lead roles: a class of six players that includes 247Sports’ No. 1 overall prospect, Cooper. Flagg, No. 3 prospect Khaman Maluach and three other top-20 recruits.

Michigan: The Wolverines added six transfers with the hiring of Dusty May from Florida Atlantic while losing Reed and four other players. Newcomers include 7-foot-1 center Vladislav Goldin, who followed his coach to FAU after withdrawing his name from the NBA draft. Other big names include center Danny Wolf of Yale, forward Sam Walters of Alabama and guard Roddy Gayle Jr. of rival Ohio State.

Indiana: Mike Woodson has removed four big names from the portal, including Oumar Ballo, 247Sports’ top-ranked transfer from Arizona. He joins former Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle, former Washington State guard Myles Rice and former Illinois guard Luke Goode.

Kansas: The Jayhawks jumped aggressively into the portal by adding AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Riley Kugel (Florida) and Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State). The haul included Rylan Griffen, a starter on the Alabama team that reached the Final Four. “Rylan won everywhere he went,” said coach Bill Self, who also recruited star big man Hunter Dickinson for a second season at Lawrence after transferring from Michigan.

Memphis: Penny Hardaway helped her backcourt by drawing Texas guard Tyrese Hunter (11.1 points) and Tulsa’s PJ Haggerty (21.2).

North Carolina: The Tar Heels found peripheral help by adding Belmont scoring wing Cade Tyson (16.2 points) and got a boost when top defender Seth Trimble reversed course on the handoff to return for his third season alongside RJ Davis – a first-team Associated Press All-American returns for a fifth season.

North Carolina State: Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts relied on transfers to make an unexpected run to the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1987 and its first Final Four since 1983. Its next wave includes Louisville big Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Georgetown wing Dontrez Styles, who began his career at Wolfpack rival UNC.

UCLA: A 16-17 stumble led coach Mick Cronin to add several transfers, including forward Kobe Johnson from USC across town, Louisville guard Skyy Clark, forward Oregon State Tyler Bilodeau and Oklahoma State forward Eric Dailey Jr.

West Virginia: The hiring of Darian DeVries as coach also led to the addition of his son, Tucker, as a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year who averaged 21.6 points last season .

As the window to enter the portal closed, several big names were still looking for a new home, including Bronny James. After one season at USC, LeBron James’ son is still debating whether he should join another college program or his father in the NBA.

The list includes several names from 247Sports’ Top Transfers List, including Utah State center Great Osobor (No. 5), Miami forward Norchad Omier (No. 6), Seton Hall Kadary Richmond (No. 7) and Rutgers great Clifford. Omoruyi (11th).