The Best Late Off-Season Transfer Portal Additions

We are about two weeks removed from the NBA Draft Decision Deadline, and a handful of teams received key decisions that have affected their roster in a big time way. What might be a little bit off the radar however, is the fact that there were still plenty of really good quality transfers that were either still available or that put their name into the mix following the draft deadline. Here are a few key transfer decisions that have really helped their new teams this late into the offseason.  

Arthur Kaluma – Kansas State 

In only his first season on the job, Jerome Tang showed the country why Kansas State Basketball is a program on the map, as he led the Wildcats all the way to the Elite 8 in a miraculous run. The duo of Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson was absolutely electric to watch, and it was evident just how much trust and belief Coach Tang put into his guys. With both of them now gone, it was very intriguing to see what Kansas State would do to replace them this offseason and we now have our answer.  

Primarily, Kansas State added North Texas Transfer and Reigning Conference USA Player of the Year, Tylor Perry to replace Nowell as the primary ball handler. Perry averaged 17.3 points per game for a very good North Texas team that competed with the same FAU team that made the Final 4 and beat Kansas State on the way there, plus won the NIT this past season.  

Even with Perry and big man Nae’Qwan Tomlin back in the fold, it still felt like Kansas State was one piece short if they wanted to compete at the top of the Big 12. They now have that player in Creighton Transfer Arthur Kaluma, who chose Kansas State over Kentucky, Alabama and others. Kaulma was a former Top 50 Recruit out of High School and was named to the Big East All Freshman team in 2022. Despite not necessarily living up to the lofty expectations as a Sophomore, Kaluma is still someone with valuable NCAA Tournament experience that has played over 70 games in his collegiate career.  

With guys like Kaluma coming in, added to expected jumps from Tomlin and Cam Carter, Kansas State is a team that will be a factor in the Big 12. There aren’t many coaches in the country I’d rather buy stock in right now than Jerome Tang, as it is evident why some of the top available players in the country want to play for someone that has so much belief in his guys.  

Cam Spencer – UConn 

Despite the fact that Dan Hurley’s team is fresh off a National Championship, there were some slight concerns with the Huskies roster considering they lost the trio of Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson to the NBA Draft. All three of these guys were vital towards UConn’s championship and that is a ton of production that is going to have to be replaced. There will be some pieces from the core of the National Title team that will be back including a very solid veteran presence at Guard in Tristen Newton, plus younger players like Donavan Clingan and Alex Karaban, where it is totally reasonable to expect a massive jump. The Huskies even have one of the better Freshman classes in the country coming in, headlined by McDonald’s All American and Top 10 Recruit Stephon Castle.  

Even with all of these pieces in the fold, it felt like UConn needed a little more firepower on the offensive end to help replace the production of that trio that moved onto the NBA. Enter Rutgers Transfer Cam Spencer, who was a key piece to a Scarlet Knights team that had a legitimate gripe to not being selected to the NCAA Tournament. Coming from Loyola, Spencer proved he was good enough to produce on the big stage, averaging 13.2 points per game on 43.4% from three, for a Rutgers team that really struggled to score the basketball at times.  

Any Scarlet Knights fan will tell you just how much of a loss Spencer is, and with UConn looking for a wing scorer throughout the offseason in the portal, it is unlikely they could have added a better piece than Spencer. The Big East has improved mightily as a conference with the additions of Rick Pitino, a handful of Transfer at Villanova, plus Providence retaining the majority of their NCAA Tournament team from last season, even after losing Ed Cooley. UConn needed one more scorer like Spencer to stay in the mix at the top, and now with Spencer they can compete for a Big East Title.  

Olivier Nkamhoua – Michigan 

There weren’t many programs in the Power 6 who were in a worse spot following the NBA Draft Decision Deadline then Michigan. The Wolverines had lost two likely first round picks early to the NBA Draft, plus they had the best player who was available in the Transfer Portal this offseason leave the program in Hunter Dickinson. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, Caleb Love decommitted from Michigan after committing earlier in the offseason. Despite Love being super boom or bust, the natural talent and ability is there. You could have at least seen what Juwan Howard was trying to do, building around a player like Love, who really has the ability to score the basketball.  

All hope really did feel lost however, after Love decommitted and after missing the NCAA Tournament this past season for the first time since 2015, the pressure really was starting to ramp up on Juwan. While Michigan still isn’t necessarily in a great spot, they did add someone who is a formidable best player in Olivier Nkamhoua. The Tennessee Transfer, has played in over 100 career games and is fresh off the best and most productive season of his college career. That included matching a career high 27 points scored, in Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament victory over Duke.  

With guys like Tray Jackson, Tarris Reed, and Will Tschetter with Nkamhoua, Michigan’s frontcourt has some nice depth and the Wolverines will be relying on Nkamhoua’s offense in a big way. With other teams like Baylor and West Virginia also in the mix for him, it was vital for Michigan to add another significant transfer to help with the loss of Love. Adding another piece this late in the offseason can at least give fans some hope, even with Michigan not having a ton of lofty expectations with this roster, entering the Big Ten next season.  

David Jones – Memphis 

Since Penny Hardaway got to Memphis, his Tigers have always been super involved with some of the biggest names in the Transfer Portal around this time of year. That was no different this offseason, when Memphis added a handful of really good players early in the cycle including Caleb Mills from Houston, Division III Star Jonathan Pierre, and Teafale Lenard Jr. from Middle Tennessee State.  

While the Tigers still have an impending question about DeAndre Williams and his eligibility for next season, Memphis did need a little more of a scoring punch without the services of Kendric Davis Jr. Davis was one of the premier Guards in the country last season, averaging a staggering 21.9 points per game. The Tigers really relied on the combination of Davis and Williams to provide a scoring punch on the offensive end. If Williams is not eligible for the Tigers, Memphis will have lost each of their top six leading scorers from a season ago.  

Coach Hardaway made a pivotal hire to his staff this offseason, adding former Western Kentucky Head Coach and one of the best recruiters in the country in Rick Stansbury. This hire was reportedly vital to the Tigers getting Jones, who should be in for a bounce back season. Just two seasons ago in 2022, Jones was one of the biggest surprises in the Big East, averaging 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for DePaul. With much more talent around him and a green light to score, Jones will be one of the more impactful transfers added this late into the cycle, as Memphis puts the finishing touches on their roster for next season. 

Tyler Burton – Villanova 

There hasn’t been a team more active in the Transfer Portal since last season ended, than Kyle Neptune and Villanova. Regardless of the fact that Jay Wright wasn’t necessarily the most active coach when it came to the portal, this is officially a new era of Villanova Basketball and anyone who watched the Wildcats last season had to come to that realization. Cach Neptune was already in a very difficult position replacing a legend in Jay Wright, and things got even more difficult with the injury to future lottery pick Cam Whimtore prior to the start of last season.  

The McDonald’s All American didn’t play his first game in a Wildcats uniform until December and Villanova was already out of NCAA Tournament contention after a brutal start to the season. With Justin Moore also out dating back to an Achilles injury that he suffered in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Villanova was behind the eight ball before last season even started.  

Neptune was very aggressive in the Transfer Portal as soon as Villanova’s season came to an end, adding the likes of T.J Bamba from Washington State, Hakim Hart from Maryland and Lance Ware from Kentucky. All of these players fit the Villanova culture really well and with Moore and Eric Dixon returning from last year’s team, Villanova already was entering this season in a better position compared to last season.  

That is when Neptune added Tyler Burton from Richmond, who has a future at the professional level and is one of the best players in the Transfer Portal. Burton has played each of the last four seasons at Richmond, averaging double digits in the last three campaigns. In addition, the Massachusetts native has NCAA Tournament experience including scoring 18 points in Richmond’s upset victory over Keegan Murray and Iowa in 2022. Burton finished third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring last season, with 19 points per game and this is the type of move that drastically raises Villanova’s ceiling heading into 2023-2024.