NCAA Basketball: Top 10 storylines of second week of 2022 offseason

2. Saint Louis suffers brutal blow with Yuri Collins leaving

The offseason was going fairly smoothly for the Billikens, boosted by the great news that Javonte Perkins, a 17 ppg scorer who missed all of last season with an injury, would be back for a 6th-year. And with the team set to return almost everyone, adding Missouri transfer guard Javon Pickett but losing small forward Jordan Nesbitt, Saint Louis was a team that I had as a way-too-early preseason top-25 team for next season.

Of course, that’s going to change after the somewhat shocking news that starting point guard Yuri Collins is set to enter the transfer portal. But he’s not just any regular point guard, the junior playmaker led the country with 7.9 apg this past season. Collins had 10+ assists on eight different occasions, including a school-record 19 against Boston College.

The 6’0 guard had a big season in absence of Perkins and with him and 16 ppg scorer Gibson Jimmerson on the perimeter, this could’ve been one of the best trios in NCAA Basketball. Instead, Collins is off likely to a mid-major program and becomes the latest point guard to be in the portal.

That leaves the Billikens in a tough spot, as they don’t have a true ball-handler on the roster. They’re going to need to add a starting-caliber ball-handler from the portal somewhere or else the offense could fall apart. As long as no one else important departs in the next 10 days, Saint Louis should remain in the top-tier of the Atlantic 10 next season. But this news makes it clear that Dayton is the team to beat in the league.