NCAA Basketball: 8 possible grad transfer candidates to watch for 2023

NCAA Basketball transfer candidate – Josiah-Jordan James (Tennessee Vols)

2022-23 season stats: 10.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg

James is the rare former five-star prospect that played all four seasons with a team, starting 87 games as mostly a starter. He never was a huge offensive threat, shooting just 38% from the field in his career and 33% from three-point range.

The strength of James is his defense and versatility as a 6’6 combo guard/forward. He was injured for a good part of this past season but still managed to average double figures, including 15 points and 14 rebounds against Auburn and 22 points on 4/6 shooting from deep on the road at LSU.

Tennessee has undergone a lot of changes this offseason on the wings. They landed three quality transfers, including forward Chris Ledlum from Harvard. The team also lost Olivier Nkahmoua and another former five-star wing in Julian Phillips to the transfer portal.

Reportedly, they left in order to have a different role in the offense. Considering that he hasn’t produced much on offense and is viewed more as a role-playing defender, a case can be made that James should follow their paths and enter the portal as well. There’s still room for the Vols if he wanted to return or James could just start over elsewhere.