The dead period rolls on, and as college basketball gets closer to the Final Four, the entrants into the portal are starting to taper off, and commitments are starting to pick up. There were a ton of commitments on Friday, and most of them were from players who had been on this list at one point.
Here are a few of the enormous commitments today: Josh Dix to Creighton, Pryce Sandfort to Nebraska, Ja’Kobi Gillespie to Tennessee, Jason Edwards to Providence, Terrence Brown to Utah, Jamar Brown to UCLA, and Nait George to Syracuse. These transfers will move the needle and be a massive part of their new teams.
Commitments are significant, and that is ultimately what the transfer portal is all about, but what about the players entering the transfer portal on Friday? There were substantial portal entrants on Friday. Every one of them will have an impact with their new team.
Three are players who can and should lead their teams in scoring. One of the players was an Ivy League star who recorded a triple-double. Another player was a key rotational piece for one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament who made the Elite Eight. Here are the 10 best players to enter the portal on Friday, April 4, 2025.
No. 10 Jordan Burks - Georgetown Hoyas
5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, .6 assists
Head coach Ed Cooley quickly turned the Georgetown program around and had them in a postseason tournament in year two. It was the College Basketball Crown, but it was still a postseason. Burks had a good year as a part-time starter for the Hoyas.
The forward didn't get a ton of minutes this season for Georgetown, but when he did get in the game, it was clear what he was trying to do. Shoot threes, he made them at 36%. It's hard to say that the forward will be a great shooter when he only took 45 shots from deep, but Burks has a high ceiling and started his career in Kentucky. He will get a look and hopefully find a starting spot somewhere where he can shine.
No. 9 Morris Ugusuk - South Carolina Gamecocks
5.9 points, 1.4 rebounds, .9 assists
South Carolina was disappointing this season and struggled mightily in the SEC, but they did have some bright spots on the roster and had a slew of good role players. Ugusuk was a role player who accepted and excelled in his role all season long.
The guard didn’t get a ton of minutes or a ton of shots in the offense. The ones he did get were always coming from downtown. Ugusuk shot over 40% from deep; that is an excellent number for a guy who took over 70% of his shots from deep. Ugusuk is of tremendous value as a three-point shooter. He may try to drop down a level and see if he can turn himself into a true scoring guard.
No. 8 Coltie Young - Louisiana Monroe Warhawks
11.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Young will have one more season left when he commits to his new school, and given his history, it will likely be a low to mid-major team. He started his career at Jackson State and, after three years, transferred to Louisiana-Monroe. Unfortunately, the guard has never been on a winning team during his tenure in college, and he will look to change that.
Young shoots many threes, and the guard has shot over 200 threes twice and took over 180 the other season. His career three-point shooting percentage is good at 34%, but the last season as a Warhawk saw him shoot over 40% from deep. Was this season an anomaly for the shooter? Time will tell; wherever he ends up, he will be a shooter and probably shoot well over 200 threes again.
No. 7 Brenen Lorient - North Texas Mean Green
11.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists
North Texas is another mid-major school that lost its coach to a better school. They were loaded with talent and made the NIT Semifinals. Transfers from North Texas have panned out and succeeded over the years at the Power Five level, and Lorient is looking to be the next one.
The forward earned the sixth man of the year in the Conference USA and should have a good list of potential landing spots when the dead period ends. Lorient finally got some playing time after transferring from Florida Atlantic. He showed he is a capable three-level scorer with a ton of athleticism. His breakout year earned him a Power Conference offer.
No. 6 Smurf Millender - UTSA Roadrunners
14.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists
Millender got the nickname Smurf because he is only 5’11”, but sometimes big things come in small packages. Do not let his height deter you; the point guard is one of the best scorers in the game. He is excellent at many things, but his biggest asset is his ability to shoot the ball.
Millender is a career 43% three-point shooter and will shoot many of them. He can use his height to his advantage because he has quick feet, which allows him to get by the defense and into the paint. He may not finish those shots, but he is a great passer and can dump the ball off for easy baskets or kick it out for a wide-open three. There is a lot to like in the point guard’s game.
No. 5 Daimion Collins - LSU Tigers
8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, .5 assists
LSU improved significantly this season but is still trying to navigate the treacherous SEC. Players like Collins are promising building blocks to make sure you can climb out of the basement and start to win more consistently. LSU will have to wait because the big man wanted to enter his name in the transfer portal.
Collins popped on the screen instantly for me every time I would watch LSU play. He is an athletic marvel and can jump out of a gym. There was a play that will live with me forever that involved Collins. He was running the floor as the trailer on the fast break; his teammate missed the layup; Collins came out of nowhere, grabbed the rebound with one hand, and threw down a posterizing tomahawk dunk in one motion. It was impressive. He has likely reached his point ceiling, but his athleticism will improve any team.
No. 4 Demarco Minor - Oregon State Beavers
9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists
That is it for the Beavers; all five starters have entered the transfer portal. Minor isn’t quite in the top tier of portal point guards but in the second tier. He is a rare point guard in this era of basketball because he doesn’t look to score first. He is a pass-first point guard who uses his scoring as a secondary option.
Sometimes, pass-first point guards are wired that way because they can’t score. That isn’t the case with Minor. He is a capable scorer when he needs to be and can get a clutch basket to win a game. As mentioned, he is at his best when passing to set up the offense and uses his offense to complement his elite passing skills. Minor can play Power Conference basketball.
No. 3 Mouhamed Dioubate - Alabama Crimson Tide
7.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists
Alabama has been one of the best programs in the sport over the last 5 years. They play fast, shoot many threes, and get to the free-throw line. Their players get a lot of offers when they enter the transfer portal because they win a lot, and their players are all talented.
Dioubate was the perfect bench player for Alabama. He is quick, can run the floor, and is incredibly efficient from the floor. The forward shot well over 60% from the floor and over 45% from three. He didn’t play for many minutes, but the minutes he played were packed with production. If the forward can get 30 minutes a night, he can turn into a star.
No. 2 Malik Thomas - San Francisco Dons
19.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists
A change of scenery usually does a player good, which was the case for Thomas. The guard started his career at USC, never played, and then decided to transfer to San Francisco. The Dons typically run a fast-paced offense with a guard who puts up big numbers; this season, that was Thomas.
Thomas is not a system guy, though. He is a great three-point shooter and is elite at getting to the foul line. Those two things have allowed him to score many points without taking many shots. The guard has one year left at the college level and is the alpha on offense. Every successful team will need a player like Thomas, who can get a bucket whenever he wants. Don’t let San Francisco deter you. The guard is an elite offensive player.
No. 1 Xaivian Lee - Princeton Tigers
16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists
There will not be too many players who hit the portal this season that can affect a game like Lee can. The point guard is one of the best players in the entire country, and leaving the Ivy League will further cement that. Lee has a triple-double this season and is among the nation's best passers.
Point guards are the most critical position on the floor, and Lee may have over 100 offers in the transfer portal. The point guard shoots 38% from three and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3-1. He puts up huge numbers, and it is a surprise that he only recorded two double-doubles and one triple-double; this year, I thought they would have been more frequent, given how much he can stuff a stat sheet.
Lee wants to become the first Ivy League player in the NBA since Jeremy Lin. He is good enough to get drafted and have a long NBA career. Lee will probably wind up at a blue blood school, but he will have his choice from just about any school in the country.