Big Ten Basketball: Top 20 impact transfers heading into 2021-22 season

No. 4 Fatts Russell – Maryland

The 5-10 point guard’s best season at Rhode Island may have been the 2019-20 season when he was selected to the All-Atlantic Ten First Team and the conference’s All-Defensive Team, but his so-called ‘down year’ was still impressive and has him more than prepared to take on the Big Ten after four years at Rhode Island.

The 2020-21 season saw Russell stuff the box score on a regular basis, with averages of almost 15 points, over four assists, and four rebounds per game. These numbers are good enough that he will be the Golden Gophers’ starting point guard despite his sub 34 percent field goal shooting and his 23 percent shooting from behind the arc.

Russell’s quickness cannot be denied as it aids him as he uses his dribble to create space for a jumper or from behind the arc. Even when his low three-point percentage is taken into consideration, the range that he has on the three-pointers he connects on has to be on the minds of defenders.

Along with his obvious offensive upside, his defensive prowess will remain a constant, for switching conferences will not make working hard on defense any more difficult. The prospect of contribution on both ends of the floor makes Fatts Russell one of the top Big Ten transfers for the 2020-21 season.