NCAA Basketball: Top 25 high-major Junior College transfers for 2021-22 season
When it comes to looking at the potential impact of Junior College (JUCO) transfers in NCAA Basketball overall, there tends to be a belief that they tend to impact mid-majors more so than high-majors. And while that may be true from a statistical standpoint, JUCO transfers certainly have played a big role in the past for teams looking to make the NCAA Tournament or at least being more competitive than expected.
But there are plenty of former Junior College stars that just recently have had an impact at the power conference level. Teddy Allen (Western Nebraska College) led the Nebraska Cornhuskers in scoring with 16.5 ppg, while Isiah Moore (Pearl River Community College) and Vince Cole (USC Salkehatchie) combined to produce 17.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg for St. John’s in their solid team campaign. And even Sardaar Calhoun (Missouri State-West Plains) managed to carve out a role on the deep Florida State Seminoles roster, making 40% of his three-point attempts.
Yet the best Junior College transfer of recent memory has to be Chris Duarte. The 2019 National JUCO Player of the Year and top prospect from that class, the 6’6 guard went from Northwest Florida State to Oregon where he became an NCAA Basketball All-American and an eventual lottery pick in the 2021 NBA Draft for the Indiana Pacers.
Will the 2021 class have another Duarte among its ranks? Who knows. But there are some very talented JUCO prospects to watch, who’ll all have three years of eligibility thanks to the new NCAA rule due to last season’s irregularities dealing with the covid-19 pandemic.
Focusing solely on the high-major programs (teams from the traditional power-5 conferences + AAC and Big East), here are the top-25 impact Junior College transfers to watch for the 2021-22 season.
25. G Abdoulaye Thiam – Minnesota Gophers
Junior College: Indian River State College
The 6’3 guard was fantastic off the bench for Indian River, second on the team with 15.0 ppg on 56% shooting, including 49% from three-point range. Thiam was fairly consistent as well, going for double-digits in 20 of 24 games played. He’s a pure shooting guard, with 16 assists total all of last season.
Considering that Minnesota’s rebuilt backcourt features mid-major transfers such as Sean Sutherin, Elijah Stevens, and Luke Loewe, Thiam has a real shot at big minutes and a sizeable role in the offense, even as the team’s 6th man. The Gophers aren’t going to be good but Thiam has 3-4 years of eligibility left and will be a good piece for the future of the program. If he can be a double-digit producer, that’ll serve as something positive Minnesota can build off of.