NCAA Basketball: Analyzing top 3 teams for Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland

Missouri Tigers

Unlike Miami, Missouri has been successful in the transfer portal so far this offseason. They’ve landed a trio of players, including JUCO transfer Curt Lewis, former Indiana guard Tamar Bates and Colorado State transfer, John Tonje. Of the group, Tonje, who averaged 14.2 ppg last season, is the only one that can play at the three-spot.

With All-SEC guard Kobe Brown coming back along with Isiaih Mosley, there’s some talent for the Tigers to work with. But with the four-spot covered with Brown, that means Cleveland would have to play exclusively at the three-point and he wouldn’t get around 35 mpg as he did this past season at Florida State.

Still, it’s a risk worth taking if you’re the transfer in question. Even dating back to his days at Cleveland State, Coach Dennis Gates, who is a former FSU assistant, has a great history with scoring wings. The latest example was D’Moi Hodge, who was second on the team in scoring and was a key piece on Missouri this past season.

All three options have compelling cases when it comes to trying to maximize Cleveland’s potential since he still has pro potential. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he ultimately ended up at all three spots, which makes this a fun recruitment to watch going forward.