Seth Towns will be one of the top NCAA Basketball transfers on the market this offseason. Which teams are vying for his services?
Even though we’re in the middle of NCAA Basketball conference tournaments, that doesn’t stop player personnel moves from occurring. Transfers occur all the time, for a variety of reasons. For the Ivy League though, it’s usually a different story, which is why elite player Seth Towns is currently on the market.
In normal rules, players who miss an entire season due to injuries are permitted to get an extra year of eligibility via a medical redshirt. The exception is the Ivy League, whose scholarships are only good for four years, meaning that you can’t get a fifth year with any of those eight programs. What players will do is simply transfer out to keep eligibility, such as Makai Mason, Stone Gettings, and Evan Boudreaux.
The latest example is now Towns, a 6’7 forward who last played in the 2017-18 season. He showed how great he was when healthy, averaging 16.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg in route to winning the Ivy League Player of the Year Award. In two seasons with the Crimson, Towns shot over 42% from deep and displayed a versatile skillset both inside and out. But having dealt with knee injuries for over two years now, there’s a reasonable concern as to what he can bring on the court going forward.
The top teams clearly are still interested, with blue bloods looking to make a run at the Columbus, Ohio native. And since he has two years left to play and is immediately eligible, Towns would be the equivalent of landing a top-30 overall prospect.
So who will land the quality forward? Here’s a closer look at the six teams’ rosters and overall situations that Towns will consider going towards.
*Article based on assumption that seniors will not be given another year of eligibility
Kansas Jayhawks
The Jayhawks were arguably the best overall team in the country last season, led by elite center Udoka Azubuike and star sophomore point guard Devon Dotson. Wings Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji provided the defense to make Kansas so great but they were missing in the power forward department, using either fellow center David McCormack or undersized forwards such as Christian Braun.
It worked this past season but the two All-American caliber players won’t be around. Five-star guard Bryce Thompson is coming in, along with top JUCO wing Tyon Grant-Foster but the 2020 class doesn’t feature a top frontcourt prospect. That leaves Mitch Lightfoot, who redshirted this past season, Silvio De Sousa, who was suspended after the ugly incident against Kansas State, Jalen Wilson, who was injured last season, and sophomore Tristan Enaruna, who struggled this past season.
It would be a great opportunity for Towns to come in and start as a grad transfer at the four-spot and would be surrounded by a great level of talent. But will he be able to contribute at a high level in the Big 12 or could it be too big a step?
Maryland Terrapins
Assuming the likely loss of Jalen Smith to the NBA Draft (along with losing the Mitchell twins earlier in the season), Maryland will have a huge need for frontcourt scoring. Only Donta Scott (5.9 ppg and 3.6 rpg) and Ricky Lindo are currently set to return, with the guard trio of Darryl Morsell, Eric Ayaya, and Aaron Wiggins leading the way for the 2020-21 Terrapins.
While the perimeter won’t be a question, finding production from the frontcourt will be a key for head coach Mark Turgeon. Towns would absolutely help in the scoring department and would be inserted as a starter. And ultimately, he would only need to contribute 10-15 ppg for the team to help Maryland remain as a viable Big Ten team next season.
Michigan Wolverines
Admittedly, this is a tough situation for Towns to potentially go to. Just looking at who could return at the forward position, there’s Franz Wagner, Brandon Johns Jr. and Isaiah Livers, who led the team in scoring despite dealing with injuries since December. That doesn’t even include five-star power forward Isaiah Todd or top-90 frontcourt prospect Terrance Williams arriving from the 2020 class.
This is a projected top-15 team with second-weekend potential to if playing on another winning squad matters, the Wolverines can make a case for Towns to choose them. But from a playing-time perspective, the minutes may not be there if Wagner does indeed return for another season.
Ohio State Buckeyes
As the hometown option, Ohio State could be the favorite to land Towns at the end of the day. The interesting point is that there is just one senior graduating from the rotation (Andre Wesson), with Cal transfer Justice Sueing (14.1 ppg and 5.7 rpg) coming off a redshirt year.
The Harvard forward can certainly find minutes at the 3-4 spot, with Kaleb Wesson and Kyle Young taking over at the center position and the Buckeyes will be very good next season. The decision will look to find a proper balance between playing on a winning team, while still getting an appropriate amount of minutes. Would Towns start over EJ Liddell? That question could determine where he ends up.
Syracuse Orange
Finding playing time could be an issue for Towns on some of these options but certainly not for Syracuse. Especially since the team just lost several players to the transfer portal in the past couple of days. Making things direr for them in the scoring department, leading scorer Elijah Hughes could very well declare – and stay in the NBA Draft after an exceptional junior campaign.
Towns could find himself starting with a 30 mpg average next season on an ACC team. The question, however, will be whether he can play in the 2-3 zone after dealing with knee issues for the past couple of years. He could be a target for opposing defenses if his lateral quickness isn’t up to par but his scoring ability would be badly needed for an Orange squad now looking for rotation pieces once again.
Virginia Cavaliers
Speaking of scoring needs, Virginia always could use some more in its offense, particularly since they’ll be losing two of their key pieces, Mamadi Diakite and Braxton Key to graduation. It leaves junior guard Kihei Clark as the only solid returning scoring option, although there are already a pair of newcomers set to fill those spots.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim is a top-40 small forward prospect joining the team next season, while Marquette transfer Sam Hauser (12.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.2 apg) is coming off a redshirt season. His game and Towns are fairly similar and would be great assets to the Cavaliers. On the defensive end, the former Harvard Player of the Year wouldn’t have any potential weaknesses exposed under Tony Bennett’s system.
While Towns may have to play back-fiddle to Hauser for a year off the bench, he’d have a major role to play in his own senior season. And having a full year to literally get his legs under him may be a better option than going full-out this upcoming campaign. Some team is going to land a former Conference Player of the Year winner for the next two years. Who will it be?