Mid-major Basketball: 5 biggest offseason storylines heading into 2020-21

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 18: Drew Timme #2 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs battles for control of a loose ball against Zac Seljass #2 of the BYU Cougars in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on January 18, 2020 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 14: Head coach Richie Riley (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

1. South Alabama once again scores in the transfer market

Last offseason, the Jaguars filled their roster with a number of transfers, including double-digit scorers Chad Lott and Andre Fox. That effort was good enough for a 20-win season, the most for the program in over a decade. Head coach Richie Riley clearly is using this formula to add talent to the roster in order to compete at the top of the Sun Belt.

With seven seniors having graduated (including the top five scorers), South Alabama elected to go back into the transfer portal to add both talent and experience to avoid a rebuilding campaign. They added 6’6 wing Terrence Lewis from Iowa State, former D-II star and 6’8 forward Kayo Gonçalves, and most notably, Michael Flowers from Western Michigan.

The 6’1 guard, who had plenty of power conference offers when he entered the portal, averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.3 apg last season. He’s one of the best transfer pickups for any mid-major program and fills a huge need on the perimeter. The frontcourt is more secure on paper, between the arrival of Goncalves and having both Deaundrae Ballard and Sam Iorio, a pair of transfer forwards who sat out this past season.

That doesn’t even include Nebraska transfer Dachon Burke, who also picked the Jaguars this offseason but eventually opted to go pro. Had he stayed, South Alabama would’ve had the clear-cut best roster for the Sun Belt. Still, with these five rotation newcomers, this team will be formidable to deal with. Having a roster fille with transfers didn’t work for some mid-majors last season (UTEP and Missouri State), but Coach Riley seems to have the formula to make it work.

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