NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal already loaded and impacting Big 5 schools

More than 900 men’s basketball players were in the NCAA’s transfer portal as of Tuesday morning, and there will be many more in the coming days and weeks. Last year, more than 1,800 players — about one-third of the Division I basketball population — put their names in the portal.

We’ve only just begun. The NCAA Tournament is still going on, with 16 teams remaining in the field. There are still some coaching vacancies. And players, who have until May 1 to enter the portal, are still mulling their decisions.

Still, the first two weeks of the portal being open have had a big impact on the Big 5.

(Note: It’s worth mentioning at the top that a player can enter the transfer portal and still return to campus.)

» READ MORE: Mike Sielski: Kyle Neptune has to make some changes to resurrect Villanova. The boosters will have to get used to them.

No Big 5 roster has been impacted by the portal quite like La Salle’s.

Khalil Brantley, Jhamir Brickus, Daeshon Shepherd, and Anwar Gill — the team’s top four scorers, in order — have put their names in the transfer portal. The backcourt duo of Brantley and Brickus seems most likely to attract interest from major programs. Brickus, a Coatesville native who has one year of eligibility remaining, reportedly has heard from the likes of Virginia, Seton Hall, and California, as well as a few Atlantic 10 schools.

It’s unclear what the market looks like for the others.

Tommy Gardler, a walk-on who was given a scholarship for the second semester this season, is also in the portal.

It’s also unclear who will be coaching the Explorers next season. Fran Dunphy said he would spend some time after the season ended talking with La Salle’s administration about the future.

La Salle is opening up a new arena next fall. It’s likely the roster will look quite a bit different.

Drexel’s Amari Williams made Coastal Athletic Association history this year, becoming the first player to win the conference’s top defender award for three consecutive seasons. Now, he’s likely taking his rim-protecting abilities elsewhere for his fifth and final season of eligibility.

Williams, who posted 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game, is reportedly hearing from a long list of suitors. They include, in no order, Kansas, Villanova, Creighton, St. John’s, Arkansas, Baylor, and many others.

Justin Moore, an Archbishop Wood graduate, also put his name in the portal this week. The Dragons’ leading scorer is likely to have many options, too, after scoring 12.4 points per game during his sophomore season. Reserve guard Lamar Oden Jr. is also in the portal.

Drexel does not have much in the way of NIL dollars to keep high-major talents on its roster, so seeing Williams and Moore in the portal should not come as much of a surprise.

» READ MORE: ‘I hurt for them’: A promising Drexel season comes to an abrupt and sudden end

Penn losing Clark Slajchert and Andrew Laczkowski to the transfer portal after the season ended? No surprise. The Ivy League does not allow graduate students to play.

Top freshman Tyler Perkins entering? A bit of a surprise, but not a huge one given the way the Ivy League treats NIL and how Perkins performed as a freshman.

Perkins, a 6-foot-4 guard from Virginia, scored 13.7 points and grabbed 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 34.7% from three-point range. With Perkins and Lower Merion’s Sam Brown, it looked like the Quakers had a bright future with their 2023 recruiting class, but Perkins is testing the waters and could be on the move. Villanova is among the teams that have contacted Perkins since he entered the portal.

As of Tuesday morning, three Temple Owls were in the portal, all of them little-used reserves — Taj Thweatt, Emmanuel Okpomo, and Deuce Roberts.

The trio combined for 27 total points this season. Okpomo played in 24 games, but Thweatt played 58 total minutes and Roberts played just 10.

It remains to be seen, of course, if any other Owls enter the portal. And it remains unclear what, if anything, will come from the ongoing gambling investigation.

While the departures from the roster are still not finalized, you can be sure coach Adam Fisher will be looking to add some more talent through the portal.

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Billy Lange’s St. Joseph’s Hawks made a run to the A-10 semifinal before accepting a bid to the NIT and nearly knocking off top-seeded Seton Hall.

Things on Hawk Hill seem to be headed in the right direction, and so far no returning players were in the portal as of Tuesday morning. Only Christian Winborne, who left the program in 2023, was in the transfer portal.

Will Erik Reynolds II stick around? He’d instantly be one of the top guards on the market if he enters the portal, and would have interest from probably every major program in college basketball. But if he returns, he’d be a big reason why St. Joe’s will be one of the contenders in the A-10 next season.

(UPDATE: Lynn Greer III entered the transfer portal late Tuesday night. With the emergence of Xzayvier Brown, the ball would have been in Greer’s hands less in 2024-25, especially if Reynolds stays and Christ Essandoko and Rasheer Fleming continue to develop. Greer isn’t a proficient three-point shooter, and St. Joe’s would probably prefer to replace his starting spot with someone who can space the floor. Wednesday morning, reserve forward Kacper Klaczek also entered the portal.)

Villanova made the first major decision of its offseason last week, when it publicly backed coach Kyle Neptune and made clear that no changes were coming.

Up next? Figuring out who is back and who is gone.

As of Tuesday morning, no Villanova players were in the portal. But Villanova will need to be shopping for talent in the portal no matter who stays or goes. The Wildcats are losing Justin Moore, Tyler Burton, Hakim Hart, and Chris Arcidiacono, all of them out of eligibility. They’re also likely to lose Eric Dixon, who seems ready to move on to professional basketball.

With a three-player 2024 recruiting class, Dixon’s departure would leave two scholarships open unless anyone else leaves.

It’s an important offseason for Villanova, and it’s only just beginning.