Multiple universities have created an incredible transfer portal despite the open transfer window. St. John’s, Michigan, and Louisville find themselves at the top of the leaderboard according to 247Sports. While these programs have caught the eyes of the media, several programs have produced transfer windows that haven’t received the deserved recognition. The eyes of the media may be closed, yet these programs have their eyes open and set on bigger expectations. These are three programs that have produced underrated transfer classes.
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes have produced the seventh strongest transfer class according to 247Sports. It may be considered a surprise to rank a top ten transfer class as “underrated”. However, there is a certain aspect of this core that is not getting the right recognition.
Culture and chemistry.
After an underwhelming 7-13 record in Big Ten competition last season, the Hawkeyes desperately needed a revamp of culture and chemistry. The Hawkeyes flocked out of their home and brought a new coach to their nest — Ben McCollum.
Coach McCollum produced a successful season with the Drake Bulldogs. Finishing the season with a 31-4 record, including a first-round March Madness upset against the University of Missouri.
It wasn’t the success that brought eyes to McCollum and the Bulldogs, it was their style of play. They played the slowest pace and broke down teams with their defensive brilliance.
McCollum will continue that style of play with the Hawkeyes, bringing five of his former players with him. The most notable being five-star Bennett Stirtz. Despite receiving some eyes from the professional level, Stirtz returns for one more year of collegiate basketball.
The Hawkeyes did more than bring in former Bulldogs. McCollum and his staff brought in three more four-stars, including Brendan Hausen and Alvaro Folgueiras. This new core of players looks to produce the level of success that the Iowa Hawkeyes faithful are used to seeing.
Maryland Terrapins
Brand new head coach Buzz Williams is used to producing a buzz anywhere he goes. After turning Marquette, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M into respectable programs, he looks to do the same with the Maryland Terrapins.
This offseason has been a fantastic start towards Williams’ attempt to bring success back to Maryland.
Similar to the McCollum and the Hawkeyes, Williams brings in four players from his previous school, Texas A&M. The marquee player from this core of players is Pharrel Payne. The six-foot-nine forward averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds during his 20.1 minutes per game.
Along with his former Aggies, three players come into this squad who averaged 10+ points per game this previous season. This list of players includes Virginia’s Elijah Saunders, Indiana’s Myles Rice and Washington State’s Isaiah Watts.
The icing on the cake — Kansas’s Rakease Passmore. The former four-star freshman was destined for greatness as a Jayhawk. Now he will get the opportunity to shine brightest with Maryland and Buzz Williams.
This exciting group of players makes Maryland a legit threat in the Big Ten next season.
Grand Canyon Antelopes
It is challenging to lose a player of the quality of Tyon Grant-Foster. However, Grand Canyon University found a way to reload and are ready to shoot towards the big dance in March.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs took away Grant-Foster. Yet the Antelopes got their get back, recruiting Dusty Stromer. The six-foot-six guard was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. Despite not getting an excessive amount of minutes with Gonzaga, Stromer looks to emerge into his true potential with the Antelopes.
The Antelopes weren’t done just there. GCU brought in a herd of mid-major buckets. Brian Moore Jr averaged 18.1 points per game with the Norfolk State Spartans, Nana Owusu-Anane averaged 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game with the Brown Bears and Jaden Henley averaged 12.5 points per game with the UNLV Rebels.
GCU wraps up its transfer portal with some size, bringing in six-foot-ten center Wilhelm Breidenbach from the University of Washington.
The Antelopes look to continue being one of the most dominant mid-majors of recent times.
Being underrated does not mean much during the offseason. When success comes on the court, these teams will get the love they deserve. However, do not be surprised when these teams succeed early on because their transfer portal additions were underrated.