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NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Top 25 impact Junior College transfers for 2019-20

By Tristan Freeman

BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 16: Khadim Sy #2 of the Virginia Tech Hokies shoots against Vitto Brown #30 of the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 16, 2017 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 16: Khadim Sy #2 of the Virginia Tech Hokies shoots against Vitto Brown #30 of the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 16, 2017 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 14: Evan Battey #21 of the Colorado Buffaloes reacts after hitting a shot and getting a foul call against the Oregon State Beavers during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Buffaloes defeated the Beavers 73-58. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 14: Evan Battey #21 of the Colorado Buffaloes reacts after hitting a shot and getting a foul call against the Oregon State Beavers during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Buffaloes defeated the Beavers 73-58. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

There are many NCAA Basketball teams who benefitted from incoming Junior College transfers for this upcoming season. Who are the most notable JUCO guys?

Recruiting is always a huge part of NCAA Basketball, just look at schools such as Duke and Kentucky. Their annual No. 1 and 2 classes are why they always are contenders for national titles year in and year out. That’s why the Memphis Tigers have been the talk of the town this offseason, landing the top 2019 class. However, there’s another way to land quality talent for a respective program and that’s through the Junior College route.

Junior Colleges or (JUCO), whether coming straight out of high school or going after spending time at the Division 1 level is an effective way for athletes who aren’t satisfied with their current situation. It could be because a player had academic issues that needed to be dealt with, were dismissed and had to take an alternative route, weren’t happy with their original scholarship offers out of high school or simply just trying to work on their games.

Whatever reason they use, Junior Colleges are more than just a stepping stone for these basketball prospects. When they do make the jump to D-I, they’re ready to have a big impact for their respective teams. There are annual examples of this, with some specific players from last year including Wendell Mitchell (Texas A&M), Devante Bandoo (Baylor), Kylor Kelley (Oregon State) and Andres Feliz (Illinois). Mid-major NCAA Basketball schools really have benefitted from those who fly under the radar, with the best example being Bethune Cookman’s Cletell Pope, who averaged 14.1 ppg and 12.2 rpg (3rd nationally).

Outside of sites such as 247sports and more specifically jucorecruiting.com leading the way, Junior College news and transactions aren’t as covered on a traditional basis. But there is plenty of talent coming to NCAA Basketball for the 2019-20 season. Looking at both the player himself along with their potential fit with the team they’ve committed to, I listed the top 25 who I think will impact the game the most this year.

25. Maddox Daniels – Colorado

JUCO school: Florida SouthWestern State College

As a full-time starter last season, Daniels averaged 13.9 ppg in just 26 mpg. He shot around 43% from three-point range on six attempts a night and can play multiple positions on the perimeter. The 6’6 wing will have a role for Colorado despite returning over 90% of their scoring production from a season ago.

Besides being another rotation wing to use, Daniels three-point shooting will be a boost for a Buffalo team that ranked 282nd (in 3pt %) in the country last year. Although a lot of product returns for the team, they only had two double-digit scorers that overall was average. Inserting a sharpshooter who even may just be a specialist, could be the difference between another NIT bid and the NCAA Tournament.

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