NCAA Basketball: Top 20 early transfer portal pickups in 2023 offseason

4. Mike Mitchell – Pepperdine to Minnesota

2022-23 stats: 11.4 ppg and 5.0 apg

Fewer unsolved mysteries in NCAA Basketball can’t be explained more than Pepperdine finishing last in the WCC despite all of the talent they had this past season. One of them is Mitchell, a 6’2 guard that averaged 42% from three-point range in the past two years. His scoring production was inconsistent at times but Mitchell is capable of going off, including three games of at least 20 points. One of them was a 22-point effort on the road at San Francisco.

Mitchell goes from one of the more talented teams in the WCC to the least talented in the Big Ten in the Gophers. They don’t have Jamison Battle anymore, along with Ta’Lon Cooper (already on this list), who was the starting point guard. The former Wave ball-handler is set to run Minnesota’s offense and has the talent to have a big year. For a “first” pickup, the Gophers did pretty well with Mitchell.

3. Josh Oduro – George Mason to Providence

2022-23 stats: 15.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg

Oduro has 90 career starts in four seasons at George Mason and is a multi-time All-A-10 player. He shot 55% from the field and after a slow start this year ended with 21 straight double-digit scoring games. That includes 26 points and 15 rebounds against Saint Louis, along with 16 points and 10 rebounds versus Richmond.

Oduro is following his head coach, Kim English, over to Providence. He joins All-Big East forward Bryce Hopkins to form a quality frontcourt next season. He’ll play the five-stop but also will have to defend at the center position as well. It’ll be a jump in competition but Oduro is capable of playing at the power conference level.