It's been a while since I wrote about the portal, which has obviously slowed down since it closed two weeks ago. 

Still, here are some moves that caught my attention during the last week of reviewing the portal on a daily basis.

Here are some recent moves since my last post on Tuesday that I found interesting. 

• Guard Nick Dorn transfers from Indiana to Miami (FL). Hurricanes' Head Coach Jai Lucas had great success with a former Hoosier in Malik Reneau last season. Will something similar happen with Dorn? 
• Power forward Corneilous Williams transfers from North Alabama to Memphis. Tigers' Head Coach Penny Hardaway has been active in the portal the past few days, with his additions not the big names of offseasons past, in what figures to be a make-or-break year from the former Orlando Magic star guard. Memphis also added forward Tylik Weeks from Southern Mississippi and guard Josh Holloway from Texas A & M. Hardaway seems to be focusing on finding complementary pieces rather than just throwing stars out on the court and hoping for the best. I like the shift in strategy. 
• Guard Kennard Davis Jr. transfers from BYU to Missouri. Dennis Gates has been active this portal season, and  it will be interesting to see how it translates on the floor for the Tigers. 
• Guard Davion Hannah transfers from Alabama to South Carolina. Lamont Paris seems to be on the hot seat, but has added some intriguing players from Alabama, Texas and Wisconsin with the goal of getting into the NCAA Tournament. 
• Power forward ND Okafor transfers from Washington State to Mississippi State. This should be interesting as Okafor originally committed to Ole Miss in the portal. I wonder what happened here. 
• Forward Dwayne Aristode transfers from Arizona to Oregon. From the little that I saw of Aristode in the NCAA Tournament, I liked. I am always skeptical about players transferring to Oregon, which seems to the ultimate make-or-break destination. 
• Guard Jason Drake transfers from Indiana to Temple. I miss when Temple basketball was good. It's been a long time. 
• Center Damon Wilkinson transfers from South Dakota State to Nebraska. Fred Hoiberg has really added a lot of pieces to a Cornhuskers' team that won its first NCAA Tournament game and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen this past season. I am intrigued to see how all these additions fit in with a team that will return Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager. 
• Center Olivier Rioux transfers from Florida to UC Irvine. The 7'6'' big man seemed to be nothing more than a novelty at Florida. It will be interesting to see how he fits with the Anteaters. Rioux is not mobile at all. 
• Guard Darius Adams transfers from Maryland to N.C. State. Adams impressed me against Illinois late in the season. First-year Head Coach Justin Gainey has added two interesting guards in Adams, an offensive talent, and Santa Clara's Christian Hammond. 
• Guard Jerone Morton transfers from Washington State to Kentucky. The embattled Mark Pope adds some depth to the backcourt. Pope also added James Madison power forward Justin McBride after #1 prep recruit Tyron Stokes chose Kansas instead of the Wildcats. 
• Forward Asa Thomas transfers from Furman to UIC. It's nice to see the Flames get a player from an NCAA Tournament team in the Paladins. My heart breaks for Bob Richey, a great coach who has lost so much talent to bigger programs this offseason. UIC nearly made the NCAA Tournament last season, losing to Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Championship game, though the Flames have lost some key pieces in the portal as well. 
• Forward Jayden Hastings transfers from Boston College to Cincinnati. Jarrod Calhoun has impressed me with what he's added to the Bearcats since taking the job at his alma mater. I wouldn't be surprised if he has Cincinnati sniffing the tournament next season. 
• Center Massamba Diop transfers from Arizona State to Gonzaga. Mark Few beats out St. John's Rick Pitino for the services of Diop, one of the top bigs in the portal. 
• Guard Armoni Zeigler transfers from Ball State to Boston College. First-year Eagles Head Coach Luke Murray has really added a lot of players through the portal. How will it translate in Year One in the ACC at one of the toughest jobs in all of the major conferences? 
• Guard Nils Machowski transfers from Wofford to UCONN. Going from the Terriers to the Huskies is a big step up, leaving me wondering if this is a depth piece or someone who can actually give some backup minutes off the bench. 
• Forward Max Green transfers from Northwestern to College of Charleston. Green seems like a nice addition for first-year Head Coach John Groce, who surprisingly left Akron shortly after the Zips were eliminated by Texas Tech in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. 
  

Here are a few moves that caught my eye this morning as I wait to see where some former Illini are going. 

• Center Julius Halaifonua transfers from Georgetown to Oklahoma State. I had heard that the 7'1'' sophomore center might be an option for North Carolina with Henri Veesaar off to the NBA Draft, but that will not be happening. 
• Center Cade Bennerman transfers from Northwestern to North Carolina. Talk about a move up for Bennerman, who will try to help replace Veesaar. 
• Forward Jaylin Stewart transfers from UCONN to SMU. From Seattle, Stewart drew some interest from Gonzaga from what I read, but ends up with Andy Enfield's Mustangs. Stewart was starting for UCONN at the beginning of the year before eventually going to the bench. 
• Shooting guard Nolan Groves transfers from Texas Tech to Minnesota. Niko Medved has added transfers from the Red Raiders, North Carolina and Michigan (x2). 
• Forward Frances Folefac transfers from Siena to Syracuse. Folefac joins Gavin Doty and Tasman Goodrick to leave Sienna and go with former Saints' Head Coach Gerry McNamara to the Orange. Folefac had some nice moments against Duke during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. 
  
• Guard Jayden Reid transfers from Northwestern to Memphis. Reid had a couple of big games for the Wildcats this past season. Penny Hardaway hopes that will be the case for Memphis, which also added shooting guard Luke Almodovar from Southeast Missouri State yesterday. 
• Guard Laymen McGrady transfers from Oral Roberts to Wagner. I did not know Tracy McGrady's son was playing in college basketball. 
• Forward James Brown transfers from North Carolina to Howard. Bison Head Coach Kenny Blakeney has to be happy getting a former Tar Heel, even though Blakeney played for Duke back in the day. 

While movement in the transfer portal has obviously slowed down, here are a few moves since the last time I wrote that intrigued me. 

• Power forward Elijah Strong transfers from South Carolina to St. Louis. Head Coach Josh Shertz will be without Robbie Avila this year so Strong intrigues me as a I guy who could have an important role for the Billikens. 
• Power forward Pape N'Diaye transfers from Xavier to Kansas State. New Wildcats' Head Coach Casey Alexander gets a seven-footer from the Musketeers. 
• Guard Jerry Easter transfers from USC to Oregon. Intra-conference transfers always catch the eye, even if I know nothing about Easter, which I celebrated this year. 
• Center Gabe Dynes transfers from USC to Louisville. Pat Kelsey adds a 7'3'' big to his portal haul. 
• Guard Quin Berger transfers from Bucknell to Miami (FL). Jai Lucas is very good at identifying talent, so this move makes me wonder about Berger's game. 
• Guard Aleksej Kostic transfers from BYU to Northwestern. Wildcats' Head Coach Chris Collins needs players; getting one from BYU can't hurt. 
• Center Christian Reeves transfers from College of Charleston to Kansas. Jayhawks' Head Coach Bill Self also needs player, with Reeves joining his fourth school in four seasons (Duke, Clemson, College of Charleston, and now Kansas). 
• Small forward Aaron Womack transfers from Syracuse to Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After getting a former Marquette player earlier this week, Panthers' Head Coach Bart Lundy adds a player from the city of Milwaukee. 
• Guard Nick Janowski transfers from St. Thomas (Minnesota) to Davidson. St. Thomas also lost Nolan Minessale to Marquette earlier in the week. Janowski looks like a guy who could play at Davidson, giving me Jason Richards vibes. 
• Guard De'Shayne Montgomery transfers from Dayton to Louisville. Was this Kelsey's backup plan when Wisconsin's John Blackwell chose Duke?
• Center Moustapha Thiam transfers from Cincinnati to Michigan. Has Morez Johnson declared yet? I'm assuming this means he is gone. Michigan paid a price for Thiam, who joins LSU's Jalen Reed and Tennessee's J.P. Estrella on the revamped frontline for the Wolverines. It shall be interesting how May, a maestro with big men, makes this group work. 
• Power forward Braeden Lue transfers from Kennesaw State to Tennessee. The Volunteers have really revamped their roster as Rick Barnes tries to break through to a Final Four after three-straight losses in the Elite Eight. Will Nate Ament be returning? If so, Tennessee could be dangerous next season. 
• Guard David Terrell Jr. transfers from North Texas to SMU. Is this kid the son of David Terrell, the former Michigan wide receiver who was drafted by the Chicago Bears? 
• Power forward Oskar Giltay transfers from Stanford to UCONN. Dan Hurley operates in the shadows, adding a young big who can help replace Eric Reibe. Hurley knows talent so this move catches the eye. 
• Power forward Cooper Schweiger transfers from Wake Forest to Florida State. Schweiger began at Valpo and joins his third school in three seasons. 
• Power forward Marcus Overstreet transfers from San Jose State to Southern Mississippi. From Chicago, Overstreet, specifically his name, sounds familiar, though I could be confusing him with a Longstreet or similar name from the area.  
• Guard Avery Brown transfers from Columbia to St. John's. Rick Pitino is solid at identifying and utilizing players from smaller schools so Brown must have some ability to step up to the Big East. 

The college basketball transfer portal may have closed Tuesday night, but that doesn't mean the movement has stopped or gotten less interesting. 

The college basketball transfer portal was flooded today for various reasons. First, the window to enter the portal closes tomorrow. Second, there is a rumor that college basketball may adopt a rule allowing players to play five seasons in five years, what is being called the "five-for-five." Thus, many seniors who seemed to be out of eligibility entered the portal today, with the hope of possibly getting one more year of college basketball. It is a mad, mad world in college basketball today, though I will say NBA free agency has nothing on the transfer portal. 

Here are some moves that have stood out to me the past few days.

• Experienced seniors who are seemingly out of eligibility flood the portal. Peter Suder from Miami (OH). Cade Tyson from Minnesota. Christoph Tilly from Ohio State. Marcus Hill from Texas A & M. Seth Trimble from UNC. Darrion Williams from N.C. State. Tyler Nickel from Vanderbilt. T.K. Simpkins from Oregon. Jayden Pierre from TCU. These guys may not be superstars, but they would certainly be valuable additions to many teams looking for experience. The allure of one more season in college basketball, and one more payday, is apparently too much to surpass. It shall be interesting to see if these players get a fifth year, and what the market will be. Personally, Suder is my favorite guy on this list. That kid just knows how to play basketball. 
• Forward Eian Elmer transfers from Miami (OH) to Wisconsin. Elmer fits the part of a Badger, as a guy who likes to shoot the three. While phenomenal against SMU in the First Four, Elmer really struggled against the physicality of Tennessee during the first round, throwing up four or five airballs from three. Still. Elmer is a guy whom Badgers' Head Coach Greg Gard will get to work out. 
• Guard Will McClendon transfers from North Texas to Pepperdine. After one season with the Mean Green, the former UCLA Bruin McClendon will be playing in California once again. 
• Forward Sebastian Rancik transfers from Colorado to Florida State. Apparently, Rancik was ready to commit to Kentucky, but Mark Pope is waiting on Syracuse's Donnie Freeman. Rancik ends up with Luke Louks at FSU. It sucks to be Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle, who always seems to find under-the-radar guys before losing them to either the NBA or other programs. 
• Guard Terrence Hill Jr. transfers from VCU to Tennessee. Apparently, Rick Barnes has had enough of losing in the Elite Eight with defensive-minded teams that couldn't score enough. Tennessee has not been close in its last two seasons in the Elite Eight, and Hill is someone with scoring prowess in March. Hill scored 34 points during VCU's upset of North Carolina in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. 
• Forward Drew Scharnowski transfers from Belmont to Duke. In this cycle, Belmont has lost four players to bigger programs, Tennessee, Duke, Nebraska and Murray State. Poor Belmont, which always seems to have very smart players who get the most out of their physical limitations. 
• Guard Elijah Crawford transfers from UIC to Villanova. Never in my life would I expect a player to transfer from UIC, my graduate school alma mater, to Villanova. Crawford nearly had UIC in the tournament this year before the Flames fell to Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference title game. 
• Guard Nasir Whitlock transfers from Lehigh to Georgia Tech. Whitlock was the best player for Lehigh, but struggled mightily during a First Four game against Prairie View A & M. How will he fare in the ACC?
• Forward Owen Freeman transfers from Creighton to Auburn. Freeman and Josh Dix left Iowa for Creighton last offseason following the firing of Fran McCaffery. Things did not go well for the Blue Jays. Will Freeman be athletic enough to compete in the SEC? 
• Forward Vangelis Zougris transfers from Louisville to St. Mary's. A week ago, my brother told me Marquette was in on a big from Louisville. At first, I thought he meant Zougris, whom I liked for the Cardinals against Michigan State. St. Mary's seems like a great fit for the muscular but undersized big. 
  
• Guard Myles Rice enters the portal from Maryland. The Terps have added Bishop Powell from Tennessee and D.J. Wagner from Arkansas, making Rice on the move for the third-straight offseason. A few seasons ago Rice was supposed to be a huge portal get for Indiana out of Washington State, but it didn't work out that way for all parties involved. 
• Center Eric Reibe transfers from UCONN to USC. Reibe gave Illinois some problems during a Black Friday game at Madison Square Garden. I am not looking forward to him being in the Big Ten, which continues to get bigger and bigger. USC and UCLA definitely got the message after last season, adding size to their frontlines. 
• Guard Roddie Anderson III transfers from Xavier to Seton Hall. Transfers within the same conference always appeal to me. Remember back in the old days when coaches wouldn't let transfers go to programs within the same conference, even when players had to sit out a year? 
• Guard Joseph Pinion enters the transfer portal from South Florida. One fun thing about the portal is that you stumble upon guys whose names you have heard before like Pinion, who once was at Arkansas. 
  
• Center Aaron Bradshaw enters the transfer portal from Memphis. Prior to Memphis, Bradshaw played at Ohio Sate and Kentucky. I thought Bradshaw was going to be a bit of a problem for the Big Ten while at Ohio State, but that also didn't happen. 
• Guard Brady Dunlap transfers from St. Louis to Georgia. Last week Dunlap had committed to UCSB, a move that surprised me. Apparently, Dunlap has had a change of heart, going to Georgia, a school St. Louis destroyed during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. 
• Guard Elijah Perryman transfers from Utah State to Cincinnati. New Bearcats' Head Coach Jarrod Calhoun has now brought Perryman and Adlan Elamin from his old school. Cincinnati looks like it could have a sneaky roster next year, with Eric Mahaffey from Akron also in the fold. 
• Center Mouhammad Diabate transfers from Kentucky to LSU. Don't look now but Will Wade has his first player on his roster. Now he has about 11 more spots to fill. 
  
• Guard Liutauras Lelevicius transfers from TCU to Clemson. I actually liked what I saw from Lelevicius off the bench for TCU during the NCAA Tournament. The kid was not afraid, and I could see him having success with Brad Brownell at Clemson. 
  

The transfer portal continues to catch the eye, especially these developments since Thursday, beginning from most to least recent. 

• Guard Alex Wilkins transfers from Furman to Kentucky. Will Wildcats' fans cut Mark Pope some slack, just for a bit? I know the answer is "Absolutely Not," but Wilkins is a tremendous addition. The freshman gave UCONN all it could handle during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament after scoring 17 points a game in the SoCon. The Wildcats now have an intriguing backcourt of Wilkins and Zoom Diallo. 
• Center Andrew McKeever transfers from St. Mary's to Iowa. I am not going to pretend I know a lot about McKeever's game. In fact, I am not the biggest fan of St. Mary's basketball, a good program that often got lumped with Gonzaga to seemingly get a seventh-seed every year. I do know that St. Mary's bigs are usually skilled and that if Ben McCollum likes this kid, there must be something there. McKeever must be the replacement for Alvaro Folgueiras. 
• Guard Jimmie Williams transfers from Duquense to Ohio State. The Buckeyes have already brought in Justin Pippen from California and Andrija Jelavic from Kentucky. Williams is not from as big of a problem but must be an intriguing player for Jake Diebler to bring to Ohio State. 
• Jasper Johnson transfers from Kentucky to Oregon. Johnson was someone Illinois was interested in coming out of high school, with the guard choosing to stay home. Oregon usually has talent, but that talent is often inconsistent. Will Johnson be an Oregon player who fulfills such talent, or one who underachieves? 
• Kyan Evans transfers from North Carolina to Minnesota. The Golden Gophers found success with former Tar Heels Cade Tyson last season and Dawson Garcia a few seasons ago. Of course, Garcia was from Minnesota. From Missouri, Evans seems like a solid get for the Golden Gophers, which also added Winters Grady from Michigan yesterday. The Golden Gophers are getting players from bigger name programs, which is a good sign for Head Coach Niko Medved as he enters year two with the program. 
• Forward Nik Khamenia transfers from Duke to UCONN. I am always harder on Duke players as many Blue Devils' freshmen are hyped to death. With that said, Khamenia was fine with the Blue Devils during the 2026 NCAA Tournament, providing some nice minutes off the bench. Personally, I feel Khamenia's game will develop much better under Dan Hurley. Khamenia is apparently the replacement for Alex Karaban, lofty expectations indeed. Still, if Khamenia plays a few years with Hurley, he will develop into a very good college basketball player. 
• D.J. Wagner transfers from Arkansas to Maryland. After playing three years with John Calipari, including one at Kentucky and two at Arkansas, Wagner moves to a Maryland program entering Year Two of the Buzz Williams' era. While I did not like Maryland losing freshman Darius Adams after adding Tennessee's Bishop Powell on Thursday, I do like plugging Wagner into the Terps' lineup. Wagner is a low-maintenance player who does whatever it takes to win. Maryland is looking like a team that will fare much better in the Big Ten and likely make the NCAA Tournament next season. 
• Center Boden Kapke transfers from Boston College to Nebraska. There is no one I trust more than Fred Hoiberg when it comes to finding players that fit his system. With Berke Buyuktuncel transferring to Vanderbilt, Kapke should help fill the void for a Cornhuskers team returning Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager. Hoiberg also added 6'5'' guard Trevan Leonhardt from Utah Valley and 6'8'' forward Kadyn Betters from Montana yesterday. I'm assuming Leonhardt must be a shooter to play for Hoiberg. Betts formerly played for Minnesota, giving Hoiberg some familiarity. 
• Guard LA Pratt transfers from Northeastern to Northwestern, and center Luke McEldon transfers from Mt. St. Mary to Northwestern. After losing eight players to the portal, Northwestern Head Coach Chris Collins is slowly starting to build up his roster.
• Forward Aleksas Bieliauskas transfers from Wisconsin to South Carolina. I really liked what I saw from the big man Bieliauskas last season as a stretch four who could hit the three for the Badgers. I was surprised he left Wisconsin. He will now be teaming up with another former Big Ten player, Cam Heide, at South Carolina. 
• Guard Dylan Darling transfers from St. John's to Grand Canyon. This move came relatively quickly after Darling entered the portal when St. John's added international recruit Quinn Ellis. Darling must be very comfortable with Grand Canyon Head Coach Bryce Drew to make this move, which should be a good fit for the southpaw point guard. 
• Forward Jaylin Stewart enters the portal from UCONN. Stewart was a starter early in the season for the Huskies before falling out of the rotation, though he did give some decent minutes in the Final Four and championship game. At 6'8'', Stewart is still an intriguing body. It shall be interesting to see where he goes next. 
• Forward Berke Buyuktuncel transfers from Nebraska to Vanderbilt. After floundering under Mick Cronin at UCLA,  Buyuktuncel seemingly found a home the last two seasons with Hoiberg at Nebraska. While his departure was surprising, Buyuktuncel is landing at a program on the upswing with Head Coach Mark Byington, whom I think North Carolina should have hired. Vandy did lose to Nebraska during a classic game in the second round. If you can't beat them, take from them, apparently. 
• Guard Tre Holloman enters the portal from N.C. State. After three seasons at Michigan State, including a sixth-man role on an Elite Eight team, Holloman surprisingly left Tom Izzo for Will Wade last offseason. Now he is seeking a waiver for one more year of college basketball. Would Izzo consider bringing Holloman back, or has that bridge been burned? My guess is that it has. 
  
• Center Bukky Oboye transfers from Santa Clara to Auburn. Oboye can jump out of the gym and has Auburn player written all over him with his athleticism and energy. I am surprised Oboye did not draw interest from bluebloods, no offense to Auburn, which was in the Final Four in 2025. 
• Guard Trey Autry transfers from George Washington to Wisconsin. Losing John Blackwell is a big blow for the Badgers, though Head Coach Greg Gard has found very good guards in the portal the last two seasons in Nick Boyd from San Diego State and John Tonje from Missouri. It will be interesting to see if Autry will follow that group or be more of a role player, which I am suspecting. 
• Guard Cruz Davis transfers from Hofstra to Texas Tech. I did not get to see Davis and Hofstra play during the NCAA Tournament, though I am reading this is a great get for the Red Raiders. I will trust Grant McCasland as an evaluator of talent every day of the week. 
• Guard Travis Perry transfers from Ole Miss to Dayton. Perry was a big deal going to Kentucky, where he played during Mark Pope's first season.  I didn't even know he was at Ole Miss last year. This seems like a sneaky get for Dayton Head Coach Anthony Grant. 

Since Tuesday, there has been a lot of movement in the college basketball transfer portal. Here are some moves that have stood out to me as intriguing or perplexing. 

I have a lot of thoughts about all the player movement that took place during the college basketball transfer portal today, though I will have to share those opinions tomorrow. 

In the meantime, it was a good day to be an Illinois fan as the Illini retained David Mirkovic this afternoon and the Ivisic twins and Jake Davis tonight. As for another favorite program of mine, Marquette is bringing in its first transfer portal player since 2021, before Shaka Smart had even coached a game on the sidelines for the Golden Eagles! 

While a lot of people get excited about big programs like Louisville getting name players like Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad, I enjoy the less-heralded moves, specifically when programs pick up interesting players to fill a role. Here are some moves that I have really liked the past few days, in no particular order.