NCAA Basketball: 8 teams that should target Colgate transfer Nelly Cummings

Last offseason, one of the major storylines was the high number of mid-major point guards entering the NCAA Basketball transfer portal. Guys such as Marreon Jackson, Tyson Walker, Wendell Green, Storm Murphy, and Devante Jones were some of the former stars at smaller schools that went up a level. And expect another batch to do the same in the coming weeks, led by Nelly Cummings.

The 6’0 ball-handler originally started out at Bowling Green off the bench as a freshman, before transferring out to Colgate. After sitting out a year, Cummings became the starting point guard and was a big part of the offense, averaging in double figures and leading them in assists.

In the past couple of years, Cummings was an All-Patriot League player and made the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons. This year, the senior averaged a team-leading 14.7 ppg, along with 3.4 apg and shooting 36% from three-point range. He had at least 20 points in seven different games this season, including 26 against Columbia and 20 in the Round of 64 matchup with Wisconsin.

Thanks to an extra year of eligibility, the Pittsburgh area native has elected to enter the transfer portal and will certainly get a lot of power conference interest. He’s a proven ball-handler although he’s a bit smaller and the shooting percentages aren’t great. But the ability to get a 6th-year experienced senior is something teams will want.

There will be a bunch of NCAA Basketball that will be in the mix; here are eight that make the most sense at this early of the speculation.

Maryland Terrapins

New head coach Kevin Willard has a lot of work to do in the transfer portal to get back into the NCAA Tournament pick, especially at the point guard position. Fatts Russell will be moving on, while transfer pickup Cashius McNeilly will be on his third team in as many years, still without any proven production at the D-I level.

Cummings would be a nice one-year rental starter for Maryland while Coach Willard gets recruiting at his new stop and should be a double-digit performer. If he could replicate what Russell did, that would be a win for the Big Ten program and one hole filled.

Memphis Tigers

The Tigers rebounded from a miserable start to the season to nearly making the Sweet 16 but the roster is going to need a ton of work. They’re losing both Jalen Duren and Emoni Bates and likely a couple of other key pieces. But arguably the biggest area of improvement is at point guard, with Alex Lomax and Tyler Harris getting all the minutes but both are fairly limited in what they can do.

Ar argument can be made that Memphis could aim higher than Cummings but having a veteran ball-handler that won’t be high usage also makes sense. They currently don’t have any class of 2022 commits and some veterans may not be willing to join after the constant drama this program reportedly had. But if they can land a senior point guard like Cummings, they can focus on revamping the frontcourt later on.

Miami Hurricanes

The Hurricanes are now in the Sweet 16 after a big season from the quality perimeter trio of guards. However, only shooting guard Isaiah Wong can return, as both Kameron McGusty and point guard Charlie Moore will have to move on since they have no eligibility left. Considering how important having a true point guard next to Wong is, finding a ball-handler is probably what they have to focus on.

Unless Miami believes freshman guard Bensley Joseph is ready for prime minutes, Cummings should be a potential target here and he and Wong would be a nice pairing. Head coach Jim  Larranaga is at his best with true point guard play and the Colgate transfer is arguably the best at that currently in the portal.

Pittsburgh Panthers

As mentioned before, Cummings is from the Pittsburgh area and his friends and family were in attendance when Colgate played against the Panthers this season, which ended with a 71-68 win for the home team. Cummings had a team-high 17 points on 5/14 shooting.

The ability to come home should be a massive selling point, along with playing with leading scorer and rebounder John Hugley, who recently announced that he’s coming back for next season. This is a team that had no true point guard last season, playing former walk-on Onyebuchi Ezeakudo for a lot more minutes than expected. Cummings would be in position to play 25-30 mpg for the “hometown” team and can help transform the entire offense next season.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

The Scarlet Knights knew they would be without senior point guard Geo Baker for next year but freshman guard Jaden Jones entering the NBA Draft early came as a complete shock and leaves them without a proven ball-handler. They’re another regional option that needs a point guard for Cummings to consider and he’d get plenty of playing time as well.

Rutgers will have lost almost all of its golden core that led them to the NCAA Tournament, leaving center Cliff Omoruyi and Paul Mulcahy as the only confirmed starters. Although Mulcahy quietly led the team with 5.3 apg this year, you’d prefer another ball-handler to pace the offense and bring the ball up the court. Cummings would be great to pair with the other veteran guard and he could have his own role scoring-wise in the offense.

Syracuse Orange

Cummings is also very familiar with local foe Syracuse, leading Colgate with 18 points and seven assists in the team’s 100-85 win in the Carrier Dome this season. If the transfer doesn’t want to move far away, he could play for Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, who will be without both of his sons (Jimmy and Buddy) going forward.

Joe Girard will be around and he is the starting point guard but he may be best moving off-ball on offense. Adding Cummings can take the ball out of his hands and he’s the kind of experienced newcomer that can pick up the Syracuse zone system without much of a transition process. His smaller size would be a slight concern but this is a team that is coming off a losing season and needs as much talent as possible.

UConn Huskies

This option is entirely dependent on what RJ Cole decides to do. He has another year of eligibility left but after five years in NCAA Basketball (4 as a starter at both Howard and UConn), he may just opt to go pro. Cole is around the same size as Cummings and was able to successfully transition from the MEAC to the Big East so the former Patriot League star can potentially do the same.

What also will help the process is having All-Big East big man Adama Sanogo to throw the ball down inside to. Assuming Cole and Tyrese Martin both move on this offseason, that leaves the big man and a bunch of underclassmen guards on the roster. Having a senior in Cummings a steady hand would be beneficial, although, with so many other talented guards that will be looking for minutes, it won’t be a guarantee that the Colgate transfer ends up as the lead ball-handler.

Xavier Musketeers

New head coach Sean Miller joins a Musketeer team that barring an exodus should still have plenty of talent to be viable in 2022-23. One position that will need work is point guard, with starter Paul Scruggs moving on. Sophomore Colby Jones (3.1 apg) is a do-it-all guard and good passer but this team needs a true point guard to lead the offense.

Coach Miller has worked with a mid-major transfer in the past in T.J. McConnell, who went from Duquesne to Arizona and started at the Wildcats. If Cummings can have a similar impact from Colgate, Xavier will be back to the NCAA Tournament sooner than later. Picking him up will also be a big sign from the Musketeers that the rest of the Big East should be on notice.