It has never been harder to follow the constant machinations of the men’s college basketball offseason.
From the mass migration of transfers across the sport’s landscape to a chaotic spring of coaching changes, we won’t blame you if you’re shaky on some of the details of all that has happened since the UConn Huskies cut down the nets in April. But before you know it, a new college basketball season will be here, with the opening tip-off on Nov. 4 just 101 days away. In that spirit, Sports Illustrated has you covered with the 101 things to know about the offseason. From coaching changes to players coming and going to the games to watch next season, here’s everything worth paying attention to ahead of the start of the season this fall.
Coaching Carousel
The move that sparked perhaps the wildest coaching carousel domino effect in recent memory was a seemingly innocuous one that went down the same day as the first day of Round of 64 men’s NCAA tournament games. With a move to the ACC coming, the SMU Mustangs surprisingly sacked second-year coach Rob Lanier (1), despite Lanier having led the Mustangs to a 20-win season. And with that, the chaos began.
SMU, with its deep pockets and unlimited ambition, wanted a proven winner at the high-major level. USC Trojans coach Andy Enfield (2), off a deeply disappointing 2023–24 season, wanted a soft landing spot to avoid any hot seat talk entering 2024–25. The match was made, opening the USC job just in time for the Trojans’ move to the Big Ten. Arkansas Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman (3) had been known to be hunting escape routes from Fayetteville, Ark., and getting back to the West Coast had been a long-rumored priority. USC opening was nearly a best-case scenario for Musselman, and he had the inside track to the job from the moment Enfield was first connected to SMU.
The real seismic move came at Arkansas. Early buzz connected the likes of Ole Miss Rebels coach Chris Beard and Kansas State Wildcats coach Jerome Tang to the job, but both quickly ruled themselves out for the vacancy. Then, the day before the national championship game, came an out-of-nowhere development: Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari (4) was involved. Things had to move quickly, and after a quiet courtship by athletic director Hunter Yurachek, the Hogs had pulled off a stunner, swiping a national title–winning coach from in the league at Kentucky (albeit one whose seat had warmed after multiple shocking early exits in the NCAA tournament in recent years).
From an afterthought move at SMU came a vacancy at the sport’s biggest brand, all in the matter of two weeks. Kentucky swung big, getting rebuffed by two-time champion Dan Hurley (5) and Baylor Bears title architect Scott Drew (6) despite strong pursuits from AD Mitch Barnhart. Drew posting a picture from a Mexican restaurant in Waco, Texas, in the midst of Kentucky’s reported pursuit (sparking a flood of calls to the restaurant from Kentucky fans) broke the college basketball internet.
But once Drew and Hurley were out, Kentucky turned to one of the program’s native sons: Mark Pope (7). The BYU Cougars head coach had won a national title as a player at Kentucky and was perceived as a rising star in the business, with the UK job always circled as a potential move down the line. But there’s no question that some shock was involved to see one of the sport’s top programs hire a coach with zero career NCAA tournament wins as a head coach.
Other carousel moves of note from a wild cycle:
- The FAU Owls’ Dusty May (8) was a wanted man at nearly every big job, connected at one point or another to Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan, West Virginia and Vanderbilt. Michigan was the surprise winner of that sweepstakes in a decision that had several dominos attached.
- Louisville’s search went into chaos mode once May chose Michigan, with the Cardinals scrambling to stick the landing after the disastrous Kenny Payne era. Pat Kelsey (9) was the eventual choice, who like Pope was seen as a rising star but lacked the March success a job like Louisville would typically target.
- West Virginia and Vanderbilt each picked from the next tier of top mid-major coaches, with the Mountaineers landing Darian DeVries (10) after six 20-win seasons with the Drake Bulldogs and the Commodores replacing Jerry Stackhouse with James Madison’s Mark Byington (11) following a 32-win season.
- As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes surprisingly promoted Jake Diebler (12) after a strong finish to the season as interim head coach that included wins over Purdue and Michigan State. An accomplished recruiter, Diebler kept star Bruce Thornton and will look to build on that late-season momentum in 2024–25. Meanwhile, his predecessor Chris Holtmann (13) landed on his feet quickly with the DePaul Blue Demons.
- All these moves couldn’t have worked out better for Saint Louis, which landed a top mid-major name in Indiana State’s Josh Schertz (14). Had the Sycamores snuck into the NCAA tournament, Schertz almost assuredly would have landed at a high-major, perhaps even Louisville. Circle this one as perhaps the best hire of the cycle.
The other high-major movers: Steve Lutz (15) to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Kevin Young (16) to BYU, Kyle Smith (17) to the Stanford Cardinal and Danny Sprinkle (18) to the Washington Huskies.
As for moves that didn’t happen, which tend to serve as a good predictor for next year’s carousel:
- Hurley being connected to the Los Angeles Lakers head job (19) in early June sent shockwaves through the sport. After a brief courtship, he elected to stay at UConn to chase a three-peat. Expect more NBA teams to come after him in the coming years.
- Indiana Hoosiers fans were fed up with Mike Woodson (20) after a miserable 2023–24 season. The Hoosier legend was brought back for another season and spent big on a new-look roster that looks like one of the Big Ten’s most talented. The pressure will be on to win, and win big, in 2024–25.
- It wasn’t a surprise that Kyle Neptune (21) got a third year with the Villanova Wildcats, but missing the NCAA tournament considering the talent on the roster in 2023–24 means the heat is on. Miss the dance again, and Neptune’s fate may be sealed.
- Plus, we’re still on retirement watch for at least another season with the likes of Jim Larrañaga (22) at Miami, Leonard Hamilton (23) at Florida State, Dana Altman (24) at Oregon … and given the unstable state of the sport, a surprise retirement or two shouldn’t be ruled out.
Transfer Portal
The combination of this being the final spring with players using their extra year of eligibility with the chaotic coaching carousel created perhaps the busiest transfer portal yet. We should see a noticeable drop in the number of transfers next spring, but for now, we saw just over 2,000 players hit the portal this offseason. Some of the most notable portal classes:
- Kansas hit the portal hard early, looking to bolster a wing group that held the Jayhawks back a year ago. Rylan Griffen (25) was a huge part of Alabama’s run to the Final Four, AJ Storr (26) is one of the best returning scorers in the country, while Zeke Mayo (27) and Shakeel Moore (28) provide valuable backcourt depth. This group is a big reason why Kansas is expected to bounce back and contend at the top of the sport.
- Its in-state rival, Kansas State, may have assembled the most expensive portal class. Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins (29) got a reported $2 million to spurn NBA interest for a final year of college, while Samford’s Achor Achor (30) and Kentucky’s Ugonna Onyenso (31) were also high-priced frontcourt additions. Add in Michigan transfer point guard Dug McDaniel (32) and KSU should have enough talent to make noise in the Big 12.
- Kentucky added nine pieces from the portal after its roster was gutted post-Calipari. The headliners: Wake Forest’s Andrew Carr (33), BYU’s Jaxson Robinson (34), Dayton’s Koby Brea (35) and San Diego State’s Lamont Butler (36). This group will be less talented than UK’s one-and-done rosters under Calipari, but the amount of shooting on the floor could help make up for that.
- Meanwhile, a side effect of starting over at Arkansas was Calipari being forced to build a more portal-centric roster. Three players transferred over from Kentucky, headlined by point guard DJ Wagner (37), but the Hogs also added star power from outside Calipari’s ecosystem in top wing Johnell Davis (38) from Florida Atlantic and rim-protecting big man Jonas Aidoo (39).
- Baylor already had a monster freshman class incoming, but piled on with a pair of massive portal additions. Jeremy Roach (40) and Norchad Omier (41) were among the best players in the ACC a year ago at Duke and Miami, respectively, and each has played in the Final Four already in their four-year college careers.
- Analytically, the best portal work this spring was done by Rick Pitino and St. John’s, which brought home the No. 1 spot on EvanMiya.com’s “transfer activity rank.” The Red Storm added two high-profile ballhandlers in Kadary Richmond (42) and Deivon Smith (43), a duo Pitino has compared to the Peyton Siva/Russ Smith backcourt that won him a later-vacated national championship at Louisville.
But not everyone can win the portal. Seton Hall was decimated, with Richmond and talented Ole Miss–bound forward Dre Davis (44) leading a significant exodus from the program. Wisconsin lost Storr as well as Chucky Hepburn (45), two above-average starters, and had to scramble to replace them later on in the cycle. Virginia Tech lost its top four returning scorers to the portal, including star point guard Sean Pedulla (46) to Ole Miss. And Oklahoma, fresh off an NCAA tournament snub, got gutted, with PG Milos Uzan (47) headed to Houston, SG Javian McCollum (48) off to Georgia Tech, wing Otega Oweh (49) part of Kentucky’s portal class and big man John Hugley IV (50) en route to Xavier.
Ten more portal commitments worth your attention:
- Utah State star Great Osobor (51) got a $2 million in NIL deals to follow Sprinkle to Washington.
- Alabama landed a missing piece in the frontcourt in Rutgers transfer Cliff Omoruyi (52) over the likes of North Carolina and Georgetown.
- Bespectacled sensation Robbie Avila (53) followed Schertz from Indiana State to Saint Louis rather than move up to the high-major ranks.
- The recruitment of Chaz Lanier (54) was among the most watched of the spring, with Kentucky and Tennessee duking it out over one of the nation’s most prolific scorers. In the end, he picked his home-state school and will suit up with the Vols … and might lead them in scoring when all is said and done.
- Despite his consistent complaints about dealing with the portal, Hurley has proven to be pretty good at recruiting it. The highlight from this spring: Aidan Mahaney (55), a huge piece of the St. Mary’s Gaels backcourt the last two years.
- Few freshmen were as productive in 2023–24 as JT Toppin (56) at New Mexico. He was coaxed into the portal late and recruited by several heavy hitters before picking Grant McCasland and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
- The crown jewel of Indiana’s portal class was Arizona transfer big Oumar Ballo (57), a double-double machine the last two years. That said, the Hoosiers’ ceiling is likely defined more by how point guard Myles Rice (58) fits in after moving over from Washington State.
- Roddy Gayle Jr. (59) made the rare move across rivalry lines from Ohio State to Michigan. The versatile guard is a solid bet to be the Wolverines’ leading scorer in 2024–25.
- Don’t sleep on defensive game-wrecker Sion James (60) in his new home with the Duke Blue Devils after four productive years at Tulane.
Who’s Back?
Not everybody hit the transfer portal this offseason. Returning talent remains the best way to build championship-caliber teams, even in this modern era of roster-building. And given the boom in NIL money, a lot of fringe NBA draft decisions went to the side of staying in school. A look at the biggest names returning for another year:
- UConn getting Alex Karaban (61) back was its most consequential move of the offseason, especially after the Huskies’ other four starters from their title-winning team turned pro. Karaban should be UConn’s leading scorer and a legitimate All-American candidate as the Huskies hunt a three-peat.
- Getting Grant Nelson (62) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (63) back was one thing for Alabama and Nate Oats. Reeling in one more year of Mark Sears (64)? Now that was game-changing. Alabama has the nucleus of its Final Four team back, adds a loaded recruiting class AND brings in an elite rim-protecting big man in Omoruyi. This team should be as good as any nationally.
- RJ Davis (65) gets a chance to further add his name to the North Carolina Tar Heels lore in his fifth and final season in Chapel Hill, N.C. His explosion in 2023–24 led the Tar Heels to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and his return makes him a top National Player of the Year contender in the preseason for a team with title aspirations.
- Davis isn’t the only star guard running it back in the ACC though: Hunter Sallis (66) returning to Wake Forest was massive for the Demon Deacons as Steve Forbes’s club looks to break through and reach the NCAA tournament.
- Traditional big men tend to be the easiest to keep in school longest given the narrow path to NBA success for them. The star crop this year includes Hunter Dickinson (67) at Kansas, Johni Broome (68) at Auburn, Ryan Kalkbrenner (69) at Creighton and Eric Dixon (70) at Villanova.
- Gonzaga looks poised to be back in serious title contention thanks to the returns of Ryan Nembhard (71), Nolan Hickman (72) and Graham Ike (73), who combined to average over 43 points per game a year ago.
- Caleb Love (74) is back for one final act in his roller-coaster career, and he should easily eclipse the 2,500 career points plateau at some point during his fifth season of college basketball.
- The Florida program is on the rise again under Todd Golden, and a big reason why is Walter Clayton Jr. (75), who was immediately one of the best guards in the SEC a year ago after transferring in from Iona. He should have a monster senior season.
10 Freshmen to Know
76. Cooper Flagg (Duke): A do-it-all forward who has put up incredible numbers in every setting as a prospect. If the hype train hadn’t already left the station, lighting up Team USA during pre-Olympics camp added to the excitement about seeing Flagg in a Duke uniform.
77. Ace Bailey (Rutgers): Athletic, physically gifted wing with a deep shotmaking bag … and a monumental recruiting win for Steve Pikiell at a program not known for attracting elite talent.
78. Dylan Harper (Rutgers): This one made more sense for Rutgers given his brother also played for the Scarlet Knights, but was still a huge get. Harper’s size and playmaking ability make him an elite prospect.
79. VJ Edgecombe (Baylor): Edgecombe is on a rapid upward trajectory, earning plenty of praise for putting up big numbers with the Bahamian national team in Olympic qualifying this summer. He’s an explosive athlete with high-level feel.
80. Liam McNeeley (UConn): Flagg’s running mate at Montverde Academy now joins Hurley in Storrs, Conn. His shooting ability and competitiveness make him a natural fit in Hurley’s system.
81. Kasparas Jakucionis (Illinois): Excitement is through the roof in Champaign, Ill., about the Lithuanian guard, whose big performances this spring and summer in a variety of settings have helped him blossom into a likely one-and-done.
82. Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State): A huge NIL package flipped Quaintance to ASU after initially committing to Calipari at Kentucky. At 17 years old, is he polished enough to make that type of investment pay off for Bobby Hurley and the Sun Devils?
83. Ian Jackson (North Carolina): Jackson’s talented enough to crack a veteran backcourt unit at North Carolina as a freshman. Any pressure he can take off RJ Davis offensively is a win.
84. Tre Johnson (Texas): Keeping Johnson in the state of Texas was a big statement by Rodney Terry. He has struggled at times with consistency, but the highs with Johnson are incredibly impressive.
85. Thomas Sorber (Georgetown): Hope of the Hoyas showing tangible progress in Ed Cooley’s second season rely heavily on Sorber making a significant impact as a freshman. That’s a tall task for a young big, but Sorber was highly impressive last summer with Team Final on the Nike EYBL circuit.
Games/Events to Watch
The spring’s scheduling drama surrounded the rise of the Players Era Festival (86), a disruptor in the early-season tournament world promising $1 million NIL payouts to each participating school’s roster. While there’s skepticism from longtime event operators in the space over the financial model, top programs will want in as long as the checks cash. That led to some late reshuffling of schedules, with the Creighton Bluejays (87) jumping into the festival after initially being slated to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis and the Providence Friars (88) replacing the Bluejays at Atlantis. The first Players Era event could feature as many as six preseason top-25 teams with Creighton, Alabama, Houston, Rutgers, Oregon and Texas A&M.
In Atlantis, the Gonzaga Bulldogs (89) and Arizona Wildcats (90) could face off in a heavyweight bout that would mark the first meeting between Mark Few and longtime assistant Tommy Lloyd. Meanwhile, the always-loaded Maui Invitational (91) field includes UConn, North Carolina, Iowa State, Michigan State and Auburn among others.
Ten other games to circle on your calendars this winter:
92. Arkansas at Kentucky (Date TBD): Calipari’s return to Lexington. Need I say more? The reception from Big Blue Nation should be worth the price of admission alone.
93. Duke vs. Kansas (Las Vegas, Nov. 26): An early showcase game for Flagg against what could be the No. 1 team in the country.
94. Alabama at Purdue (Nov. 15): Two Final Four participants from a year ago … and a much-needed high-level nonconference game actually played on a college campus rather than a neutral site!
95. Illinois vs. Arkansas (Kansas City, Nov. 28): Thanksgiving Day hoops, and two heavyweights at that. With a prime TV slot on CBS following the Detroit Lions game, this is a safe bet to be the most-watched college hoops game until March.
96. Baylor at UConn (Dec. 4): The highlights of UConn’s schedule are the trip to Maui, Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden, a showdown with Texas and this matchup with a loaded Baylor team.
97. Gonzaga vs. UCLA (Los Angeles, Dec. 28): These teams facing off have produced a number of memorable March matchups over the years. Would have loved this as a true home-and-home, but we’ll take big pre-conference showdowns where we can get them.
98. Louisville at Kentucky (Dec. 14): This rivalry gets a different flavor with Pope and Kelsey on the sidelines. That may lack the juice of the Calipari-vs.-Pitino battles of old, but it will be fascinating to watch these new coaches on parallel paths build up these storied programs.
99. Auburn at Duke (Dec. 4): Excitement is high at Auburn with Broome back at center, and the Tigers could make a big statement with an early December win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 101 Things to Know About Men’s College Basketball Offseason.
