The Most Impactful Transfers In The Big Ten

In the world of College Basketball in the year 2023, it is pretty imperative to be somewhat active in the Transfer Portal. In large part this has a lot to do with the rule change during the pandemic, that granted student athletes the ability to transfer once without the penalty of having to sit out a season. What makes things really complicated, is that many players have transferred more than once before graduating, relying on the NCAA to grant them a waiver in order to play this season.  

There are still a large number of coaches waiting for a decision to be made when it comes to their transfers eligibility this season, however no one can deny how much the transfer portal has changed College Basketball. In the Big Ten, there are a handful of transfers ready to enter the league and make a serious impact to help their teams win. Here are the guys you should be keeping an eye on.  

A.J. Storr – Wisconsin 

After missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, there are a number of Wisconsin fans who aren’t particularly thrilled with their Head Coach Greg Gard. While it is understandable to be disappointed, Wisconsin looked like a team that was bound to make the big dance prior to the injury to Tyler Wahl in February. Although the season completely unraveled after that, Wisconsin will return just about every key piece from last season in addition to Storr. The IMG Academy product from Rockford Illinois, scored in double digit points in 9 of St. John’s final 13 games to close out last season.  

Now, he will join a team with a winning culture and will form one of the best backcourt duos in the Big Ten alongside Chucky Hepburn. Wisconsin hasn’t had a backcourt this talented in this past decade, and to go alongside Wahl and Steven Crowl up front, this Wisconsin team has Top 25 potential. One thing that really sticks out about Storr’s game is his three-point percentage, in which he shot 40.4% on the season. This wasn’t just due to a small sample size either, as Storr attempted over 90 three-point attempts as a true Freshman. Wisconsin ranked right in the middle of the Big Ten in terms of three-point percentage in 2023 at 34%, and the addition of Storr should only help that cause.  

The Badgers are a team that I will be higher on compared to the consensus entering next season, due to their returning core, consistent coaching and Storr being the most impactful transfer Wisconsin has added since the inception of the portal.   

Olivier Nkamhoua – Michigan 

The 2023 offseason didn’t have a ton of bright spots for Juwan Howard and the Wolverines.  Michigan not only lost a significant portion of last year’s roster, but also lost out on Caleb Love after his commitment to the Wolverines earlier in the offseason. The one positive for the Wolverines however, was adding the services of Nkamhoua. The Tennessee Transfer started his college career by playing his first four seasons in Knoxville, before transferring to Michigan this offseason. After struggling to stay healthy for the majority of his college career, Nkamhoua scored a career high 10.8 points and 2.0 assists per game last season. In addition to his health, it wasn’t always easy for Nkamhoua to get on the floor early in his college career due to the depth Rick Barnes had at Tennessee. That shouldn’t be a problem at all at Michigan this season, with the Wolverines losing each of their top three scorers from last season.  

Michigan is another fanbase who isn’t particularly thrilled with their Head Coach right now, as the Wolverines just missed their first NCAA Tournament since 2015. Unlike Wisconsin however, there isn’t a ton of hope to get back as Michigan will enter this Basketball season with their lowest expectations in over a decade. Without Nkamhoua, Michigan would be pegged as almost a lock to finish among the bottom of the conference. With him though, they do have a legit best player who should stuff the stat sheet and provide veteran leadership and experience.  

The native of Finland showed he is also capable of doing it on the biggest stage, scoring a career high 32 points in Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament victory over Duke in the Round of 32 last season. That is the same Duke team that will be returning their entire core and will likely open up 2023-2024, as the #1 ranked team in the country.  

Jordan Geronimo – Maryland 

Maryland will enter the 2023-2024 season as one of the more intriguing teams in the Big Ten, considering they do return about half of their rotation that got the Terps to the NCAA Tournament last season. It was a very successful first season for Kevin Willard in College Park, considering he was able to get Maryland right back to the big dance after they missed the tournament for the first time since 2014 in 2021. The core that is returning however, features the trio of Jahmir Young, Julian Reese and Donta Scott, who will all be entering at least their third season of College Basketball.  

In addition, Maryland will bring in one of the top Freshman classes in the Big Ten headlined by Deshawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Keiser. That leaves Indiana Transfer Jordan Geroimo a little bit under the radar, but this should be a piece that contributes and will help make an immediate impact for the Terps. Geronimo is already familiar with the Big Ten, starting his college career at Indiana and spending the last three seasons in Bloomington.  

Despite having some moments, we never saw the consistent play from Geronimo on what were some loaded Indiana teams. Geronimo will definitely have his fair share of playing time in College Park and he is definitely someone who will take advantage. The Indiana transfer  proved he can play on the biggest stage, as Geronimo scored a career 15 points in only 19 minutes of action to help Indiana secure their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2016 against Wyoming in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. With plenty of open spots for playing time around Maryland’s experienced trio, look for Geronimo to make a significant impact.  

Kel’el Ware – Indiana 

Since Mike Woodson arrived in Bloomington in 2021, he has done a great job getting mileage out of players from the transfer portal, usually guys who are underrated or a little under the radar. From Miller Kopp to Xavier Johnson, to Parker Stewart, there have been plenty of guys to come to Indiana from the Transfer Portal that have been significant contributors in the Mike Woodson era. Ware however, should be a transfer placed into a different category, that is in a much different circumstance than any of the other Indiana Transfers under Woodson.  

Primarily, Ware is a former top 15 recruit and a year ago at this time, he was considered likely to be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. That hype unfortunately didn’t entirely translate onto the floor at Oregon, as Ware only averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in only 15.8 minutes per game. Ware had trouble establishing a role for himself in a very crowded Oregon frontcourt filled with veteran players. That will not be the case for Ware at Indiana, as there is a major hole in the Hoosiers frontcourt. Indiana will miss Trayce Jackson-Davis, who had one of the best careers for a College Player at Indiana since the end of the Bob Knight era. Indiana will be looking at Ware to help replace the ridiculous 20.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game that Jackson- Davis averaged last season. While it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect Ware to be anything close to the Hoosiers legend, this is a major opportunity for him to redeem himself after such a disappointing Freshman season at Oregon.  

There is a reason why Ware was such a highly regarded recruit out of High School, and if he comes anything close to his ceiling, then Indiana will be in really good shape, despite trying to replace so much production. This will be the first time that Mike Woodson will coach a game without Jackson- Davis at Indiana, and all eyes will be on Ware in what is an all of a sudden thin frontcourt without Rayce Thompson as well.  

Ace Baldwin – Penn State 

The offseason didn’t get off to the greatest start in Happy Valley, as Penn State will be losing each of their top 5 leading scorers and Head Coach from last year’s team. This was the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in over a decade and it seemed like the program had zero chance to carry any momentum that was built to end last season. That was until the hiring of former VCU Coach and Pennsylvania native Mike Rhoades, who has done about as good of a job as you can expect since he arrived. You can definitely be in a worse situation as a first year Power 5 Head Coach, by bringing in the reigning Atlantic 10 Conference Player and Defensive Player of the Year.  

In addition, Baldwin has scored over 800 points and has been a part of two NCAA Tournament teams. Coach Rhoades will bring a unique new style of basketball to Penn State, that is significantly different than the brand of basketball Penn State played in under former Head Coach Micah Shrewburry. The Nittany Lions offense was among the best and well run units in the country a season ago, and it was evident that Shrewburry’s scheme was helping put the team in a great position to succeed.  

Under Rhoades however, defense will be the primary focus for any teams coached by Rhoades, and Baldwin is the head of the snake. With other notable transfers like Zach Hicks, Puff Johnson and D’Marco Dunn also in the mix, Penn State could be better than expected and the opposite of an easy out in the Big Ten.  

Ryan Langborg – Northwestern 

After only making their second NCAA Tournament in program history which also resulted in only the second tournament win in program history, Northwestern entered this offseason with a ton of hype. After there were some conversations about this Wildcat team possibly finishing near the top of the Big Ten, a lot of that momentum was halted when Guard Chase Audige announced he would be turning pro, despite having one season of eligibility remaining. While losing arguably the best on ball defender in the Big Ten was less than ideal, Northwestern did add a legitimate piece from another NCAA Tournament team last season. That is Ryan Langborg from Princeton, who absolutely shined during the Tigers Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 last season.  

Since the inception of the Extra COVID season many of the top players in the Ivy League have been able to showcase their talents at the Power 6 level, due to the fact that the Ivy League only allows you to play four seasons of College Basketball. Anyone who is looking to use their extra COVID year, must serve as a graduate transfer and move on from anywhere in the league. Langborg led the way for Princeton in their final NCAA Tournament game against Creighton, scoring 26 points and shooting 4/7 from three.  

In addition, he also scored 22 points in Princeton’s impressive Round of 32 victory over Missouri. Shooting the basketball shouldn’t be much of an issue for the Wildcats with Langborg and sharpshooter Ty Berry on the other side to go along with one of the best players in the Big Ten in Boo Buie.