NCAA Basketball: 10 most important transfer portal battles left of 2023 offseason
![LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 30: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greet each other prior to the game at Allen Fieldhouse on January 30, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 30: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greet each other prior to the game at Allen Fieldhouse on January 30, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/75626fdd7a05ff67ff746ebc7590e17d5bc14ac4a77a1931146a759459af600c.jpg)
Everyone loves a good matchup in NCAA Basketball on the court. However, it can be just as fun off the court when it comes to the high school recruiting battles for the top available prospects. Now, there’s a new element in the offseason with the transfer portal, with many quality veteran players now up for grabs.
We’ve seen many compelling battles between certain programs for transfers. Some examples include Gonzaga beating Arizona for Ryan Nembhard, Tennessee defeating Indiana and Oregon for the services for Dalton Knecht and most recently, Texas overcoming Kansas State in order to land star guard, Max Abmas.
Not all recruitments are truly wide open, as some players know exactly where they’re going. A good example of that is players simply following their head coaches to their new spots, such as Josh Oduro going from George Mason to Providence, as well as A-10 Player of the Year guard Ace Baldwin going from VCU to Penn State. It’s not always a done deal, as Walter Clayton didn’t follow Coach Rick Pitino over to St. John’s but instead, went down south to Florida.
There are still plenty of quality transfers still out there to find a new spot and most of them have a list of options, either via their own or from reports from either visits or simply regular contact. There are a lot of recruiting battles going on and some teams are setting themselves up to be either winners or losers.
Here’s a look at the top 10 portal matchups going on.