As the calendar flipped to May, college basketball roster additions immediately slowed down, while the final handful of power conference level players continue to weigh their options for next season. The transfer portal has thinned out, as evidenced with the growing influx of international pros who have recently signed. A handful of top quality players could still become available before the May 27th NBA Draft withdrawal deadline, but the top of the crop can mostly be found below.
Possible Draft Withdrawals
1a. F Milan Momcilovic - Iowa State (17.2 ppg, 49.3% 3pt)
1b. F Allen Graves - Santa Clara (11.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
1c. F Tounde Yessoufou - Baylor (17.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Momcilovic, Graves and Yessoufou have all indicated that their final decision will likely come down to the likelihood of being drafted in the first round. If any of the trio decide to return to college, the price tag may narrow their list to schools that struck out on major targets early in the offseason. Along that line, LSU is rumored as the favorite should Graves become available.
Power Conference Starters
2. F Jordan Burks - Central Florida (13.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
3. G Javontae Campbell - Bowling Green (18.7 ppg, 5.1 apg)
4. G Myles Rice - Maryland (5.6 ppg, 1.3 apg)
5. G Vyctorius Miller - Oklahoma State (10.8 ppg, 37.5% 3pt)
6. C Robert Miller III - LSU (6.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
7. G Christian Bliss - Delaware (16.7 ppg, 5.9 apg)
Burks gains tremendous value from his position, as the very last proven, productive high level big man left available, which also puts a premium on interesting projects like Miller III. Campbell is a do it all guard, who was top five in the MAC in scoring and assists, while also being the Defensive Player of the Year. Rice was a huge disappointment at Maryland, but still has the track record of his star performance at Washington State and a decent season at Indiana.
Power Conference Contributor
8. C David Fuchs - San Francisco (12.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
9. F Hamad Mousa - Cal Poly (20.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
10. G Isaiah Coleman - Oklahoma State (6.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
11. G Tijan Saine - Weber State (17.5 ppg, 4.3 apg)
12. G Semetri Carr - California (3.8 ppg, 2.2 apg)
13. G Sencire Harris - Cincinnati (5.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
14. G Melih Tunca - Penn State (7.8 ppg, 2.4 apg)
The best bets in this group may be the players who were fantastic at a lower level, including Coleman, a good stats, bad team guy at Seton Hall. Mousa may even have a case for the #2 spot on the list, as a former top 100 recruit, who had a massive breakout after dropping down to the Big West. Carr doesn't have impressive numbers, thanks to a lack of minutes early in his freshman year, but he became an excellent sixth man in February.
Mid-Major Starter
15. G Prophet Johnson - Sacramento State (18.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
16. G Zaon Collins - Fresno State (11.6 ppg, 4.6 apg)
17. G Ethan Copeland - Stetson (15.0 ppg, 42.9% 3pt)
18. G Jan Vide - Loyola Marymount (12.1 ppg, 4.0 apg)
19. F Shelton Williams-Dryden - West Georgia (20.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg)
20. G Aleksandar Gavalyugov - Santa Clara (9.0 ppg, 2.7 apg)
21. G Isaiah Watts - Maryland (4.3 ppg, 1.8 apg)
22. G Nick Anderson - Rice (15.5 ppg, 40% 3pt)
23. G Chris Johnson - Central Florida (6.2 ppg, 1.4 apg)
24. G Corey Stephenson - Florida International (18.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
25. G Dasonte Bowen - St Bonaventure (10.9 ppg, 4.8 apg)
Johnson put up one of the most impressive stat lines in the nation (including 3.7 apg), but did so for an awful 10-21 Sacramento State team. Copeland and Anderson are elite shooters, but their smaller frames do a create a question around the role that they could potentially play at a higher level. Williams-Dryden completely quit basketball after high school, but eventually landed at West Georgia and made First Team All-Atlantic Sun. Gavalyugov saved his best for the biggest games, with 23 points and 5 assists in a WCC Tournament win over St. Mary's and a triple nickel (16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) in the NCAA Tournament against Kentucky.
Wild Cards and Honorable Mentions
G KK Robinson - Little Rock (15.8 ppg, 4.3 apg in 2023-24)
C James Nnaji - Baylor (1.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
G Christian Jeffrey - Villanova (3.0 ppg, 1.0 apg)
C Josh Hayes - Utah (2.8 ppg, 63.8% fg)
G Ty-Laur Johnson - San Diego (14.6 ppg, 4.3 apg)
F Kelvin Odih - St. John's (1.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
Robinson would have been ranked based on performance but has missed back-to-back seasons with injuries. Jeffrey and Odih are former top 100 recruits who never found minutes. Nnaji and Hayes are centers who have at least been physically competitive in the Big 12. Johnson had a nice season at San Diego, but may not have much of market after rough years at Louisville and Wake Forest.
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