NCAA Basketball: 20 early team winners of 2023 transfer portal offseason

18. Villanova Wildcats

First-year head coach Kyle Neptune opted not to use the transfer portal at all a year ago and that proved to be the wrong decision. Villanova simply didn’t have enough talent and finished 17-17 overall, missing out on the postseason. Clearly, he and the team has looked to fix that, landing two quality power conference starters.

TJ Bamba was the first pickup, a 6’5 guard from Washington State. He had a breakout junior campaign, leading the team with 15.8 ppg on 43% shooting and 37% from three-point range. Bamba dropped 36 points on the road at Washington and produced around 20 ppg in the final 10 games of the season.

Villanova just recently added Hakim Hart, a 6’6 wing from Maryland. The 4th-year senior produced career-high numbers of 11.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg, making 33% of his three-point shots. Hart went for 23 points against Penn State, while also having 13 points and eight assists in a game versus Wisconsin.

The Wildcats aren’t done yet, as they’re reportedly in the mix for Michigan transfer, Hunter Dickinson. If they find a way to land the center to round out the starting lineup, the Big East program could go from .500 to a preseason contender next season.