NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest transfer winners of 2021 offseason so far
By Matt Melton
4. Texas Longhorns
New head coach Chris Beard’s time in Austin has gotten off to a phenomenal start as the Longhorns have been a big winner in the transfer portal so far this offseason. This is partly due to the addition of Utah transfer forward Timmy Allen, who is one of the top available transfers of the offseason.
A 3-year starter at Utah, Allen is a career 15.6 PPG scorer and has dominated the Pac-12 the past two seasons. Texas has also added Kentucky transfer guard Devin Askew who averaged 6.5 PPG during his freshman season with the Wildcats. The Longhorns have added two instant impact transfers, and might not be done yet either.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
The defending SEC Regular Season and Tournament Champions have arguably had one of the best offseason’s of any team in the country, but their transfer portal additions alone have them on this list. Obviously, the addition of former McDonald’s All-American Nimari Burnett from Texas Tech is the move that sticks out, but the other addition from Nate Oats and Co. may be the one that makes the biggest impact next season.
The Crimson Tide landed Furman 3-year starting forward Noah Gurley who should step in and help replace some of the lost production of SEC Player and Defensive Player of the Year Herbert Jones. Gurley averaged 15.4 PPG and 5.8 RPG a year ago and should play a key role both offensively and defensively. It appears Alabama picked up two impact players that could play prominent roles next season for a deep Alabama team.