NCAA Basketball: Top 30 impact Junior College transfers for 2020-21 season
9. Tae Hardy – Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Pearl River Community College
Isaih Moore and Rogerick Brown are also on this list from Pearl River but it was Hardy who led the team in scoring (16.6 ppg), while also shooting over 37% from deep. The 6’2 combo guard reached double figures in all but three games and had a 31-point effort at Baton Rouge Community College.
Meet All American Tae Hardy
— USMVoice (@USMVoice) April 24, 2020
The Southern Miss signee, a first team NJCAA All American, averaged 16.6 pts, 3.7 ast, & 3.6 stls per game. Led his team to undefeated record. #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/zEECJI1NIq
With leading scorer Gabe Watson transferred out, Southern Miss is in need of some major offensive production. Hardy can slide right in next to point guard Jay Malone and could potentially lead the team in scoring this season. The JUCO All-American has plenty of expectations but should be an impact star in Conference USA.
8. Sadaar Calhoun – Florida State Seminoles
Missouri State West Plains
The 6’6 guard/wing had a tremendous past season, averaging 18.9 ppg and making 46% of his three-point attempts. There was the occasional stinker of an outing but Calhoun did have a stretch of 13 games of at least 20+ points in a 14-game span. He had far more than 20 towards the end of last season, going for 48 points on 17/26 shooting against Moberly Area Community College.
Calhoun will certainly figure into the Seminoles rotation this season and provide needed scoring on offense. Five-star point/forward Scottie Barnes will have most of the attention but it could be the under the radar JUCO transfer that decides how far the team can go in March. If Calhoun can be the kind of scorer he was at West Plains, Florida State could potentially repeat as ACC champs.
7. Tariq Silver – Oregon State Beavers
Tallahassee Community College
A great example of what the Junior College development can do for an individual, Silver went from struggling to crack Eastern Michigan’s rotation in 2018 to being one of the most sought after transfers in the class. The 6’5 shooting guard/wing averaged over 12 ppg and four rebounds while making 45% of his three-pointers. He’s a two-way contributor who can guard multiple positions at the power conference level.
https://twitter.com/Frankie_Vision/status/1290684189088636929
Oregon State will certainly need that from him, as star forward Tres Tinkle graduated this offseason. Ethan Thompson will lead the way in the backcourt, with Silver potentially scoring double figures as a starter. If he and another talented JUCO transfer Maurice Calloo can perform up to expectations, the Beavers could be a sneaky mid-tier threat in the Pac-12.