NCAA Basketball: Analyzing all 13 teams invovled with Rhode Island transfer Fatts Russell

A year ago, Rhode Island got some great news with the announcement that star guard Fatts Russell would be coming back for his senior season. The two-time All-Atlantic 10 player came off averaging 18.8 ppg and 4.6 apg, along with nearly three steals a game.

This year, with a completed revamped roster and dealing with covid protocols and injuries, Russell’s numbers took a bit of a dip this time around, going for 14.7 ppg and 4.5 apg, which for most normal players would still be an impressive feat.

Russell may be a 5’10 point guard but he has quality ball-handling skills and can score on all three levels of the court. He can be a high-volume shooter at times but can go off for 30+ points in a given game.

Normally, after completing four seasons in NCAA Basketball, a player’s eligibility is up. However, a blanket extra year given by the NCAA allows anyone to stay for an extra year if they want to. Several have already taken it up, including Russell. But the extra year won’t be with the Rams, as he elected to enter the transfer portal.

Russell is one of the top available guards in the market and has 83 starts and nearly 1,600 points of experience to offer to teams. And he has 13 power conference programs in the running to land him. Here’s a look at how he would currently fit with each option.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Currently going through a highly successful season, Arkansas will likely need to replace leading scorer and freshman star Moses Moody and top passer and former mid-major star Jalen Tate out of the backcourt.

The history of successful transfer conversion from this coaching staff makes the offs of Russell succeeding here high and he would be able to replace both the outgoing passing and scoring production. They’re also after many others in the portal, as expected, so whether this remains a viable option after a couple of weeks will be a question.