WCC Basketball: Top 10 impact transfers for 2021-22 season

1. Cameron Shelton, G, Loyola Marymount Lions

19.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists with Northern Arizona

Loyola Marymount and second-year head coach Stan Johnson turned heads last season finishing third in the WCC. With the retention of leading scorer Eli Scott and Dameane Douglas, Joe Quintana, Keli Leaupepe, it seemed hard to fathom how LMU could get better prior to the season. Then Cameron Shelton announced his transfer decision to join the Lions and his former high school teammate in Scott.

Shelton finished 5th in KenPom’s possession usage percentage last year with the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, which helps you comprehend his 19.2 points and 4.2 assists per game average for the year. He did so while averaging 35.6 minutes per game and attempting 190 more shots on the season than the Lumberjacks’ second-leading scorer Luke Avdalovic.

Even with that incredible usage rate, Shelton remained a solid shooter averaging 42% from the field and 34.7% from behind the arc. That shooting percentage is likely to only get better playing alongside Scott. Shelton’s stellar season landed him on the All-Big Sky First Team and was perhaps only shadowed by the year of former Eastern Washington Eagle Tanner Groves.

Shelton likely takes over the starting point guard duties, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll eclipse 35 minutes per game like he has the last two seasons. Shelton’s perhaps only noticeable blemish was his 3.3 turnover rate, which will also no doubt decrease from the lessoned usage rate and elevated play from teammates.

The addition of Shelton all but ensures a top third finish for the Lions in the WCC and gives them a puncher’s chance to make the tournament and upset the Gonzaga-St. Mary’s-BYU top dogs narrative. And having a natural scorer like Shelton will no doubt help in the slugfests against the top half and middle of the conference.