In basketball terms, Kentucky is entering a whole new era. John Calipari chose to depart the program for Arkansas after fifteen seasons as head coach, and the Wildcats have moved on with Mark Pope, a former player, taking over as head coach. With this team hoping to relive some of Calipari’s magic from a decade ago, the previous season ended in bitter heartbreak as Kentucky was stunned by Oakland in the NCAA Tournament.
It won’t surprise you to learn that nearly none of the team from the previous season returns for the current campaign. That team was loaded with both young talent and accomplished veterans. Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are two players with bright careers in the NBA who were both excellent freshman. Leading scorer Antonio Reeves ended his time as a student-athlete, while a number of other players, including DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw, transferred.
Pope hasn’t spent any time in using the Transfer Portal to assemble a fresh roster. They signed outstanding scorer Otega Oweh from Oklahoma, premier shooter Koby Brea from Dayton, and promising young center Brandon Garrison from Oklahoma State, among a number of other players. In the interim until March Madness hero Lamont Butler from San Diego State arrives, former West Virginia point player Kerr Kriisa may play a significant role. Additionally, this staff recruited Amari Williams from Drexel, a great forward, and enticed Jaxson Robinson from BYU.
We’re going to give Andrew Carr more attention even though it’s unclear how this roster will come together or who will stick out. Carr, a 6’9 forward from Pennsylvania, excelled as a freshman at Delaware and has been Wake Forest’s main forward for the past two seasons. Carr helped the talented Demon Deacons team by averaging just 13.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game as a senior.
People in Lexington should be thrilled about one year of Carr for a number of reasons. He is rated as an above-average rebounder in addition to being among the ACC’s finest shot blocks. He fills a clear hole in the frontcourt for a club that will also rely a lot on younger players, such as Garrison. Strong players with a ton of experience are essential when assembling a squad of transfers, and Carr is a perfect fit in that regard.
There’s virtually no wrong answer to this one because, like Dillingham and Sheppard the previous year, Butler or Brea, two shooters, could really stand out, or Garrison could make a tremendous leap forward as a sophomore. There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding how this team will gel. Carr will play hard, score close to the basket, and even make a couple shots beyond the arc, that much is certain. He’s a balanced player who has a chance to lead the Wildcats in scoring at some point this season.
Next: 2024–2025’s Top 100 Impact Transfers
This offseason, everything in Lexington is brand-new, and it will be fascinating to watch how things develop over the next few months and years. Lexington fans began to worry about early Tourney exits. Is Pope’s team good enough to make a significant impact in his debut campaign? Will Carr have a fantastic last season and be able to advance his growth even further?
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SEC Basketball: Each team’s 2024 offseason grades
On August 5, 2024, by Justin Wiles
Semifinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament
Semifinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament / Andy Lyons/GettyImages
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ONE OF 16
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With various roster changes occurring on every college basketball team in the nation, the offseason is rarely boring. The SEC’s composition will be very different this year. Not only is the conference adding Oklahoma and Texas, but every team in the conference saw a significant amount of roster upheaval this summer.
Based on events that have occurred since the season’s conclusion, here are the offseason rankings for every SEC team.
Crimson Tide of Alabama – Grade: A
With their successful 2023 season coming to an end, having advanced to the Final Four before falling to eventual winner UConn, the Tide had little to do in the offseason. A few months ago, Alabama had two main areas of worry, both of which were resolved.
The first was the difficult assignment of persuading Mark Sears to stay in the league rather than play in the NBA for another season. For the past two seasons, Sears has been the engine of Nate Oats’ potent offense. His return for a second season confirmed Alabama’s status as one of the best offenses in the nation. Furthermore, Grant Nelson’s comeback made things easier.
The defense was the second domain. Alabama needed to establish some sort of defense if it wanted to consistently compete with the top collegiate basketball teams; in the previous season, Alabama’s defense allowed more than 81 points per game. Nate Oats acquired possibly the best defender available through the transfer portal to address this problem. Clifford Omoruyi’s signing allowed the Tide to immediately strengthen their defense. Omoruyi easily would have led Alabama with his 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game from his previous season at Rutgers.
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Although Alabama was able to get two reliable scorers from the transfer portal in Chris Youngblood and Houston Mallette, the Tide did lose a few key players this summer due to eligibility issues and the transfer portal. Mallette averaged 14.7 points at Pepperdine last year, while Youngblood averaged 15.3 points at South Florida.
This offseason, Alabama and Coach Oats made wise decisions to address areas that were clearly in need of improvement. This squad was in a strong position going into the summer, and it could get much better going ahead with the addition of a genuine defender.
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Butler Basketball: There is already buzz about the Bulldogs’ 2025 recruiting class.
On August 5, 2024, by Jack Gutzler
Butler v. Xavier
Butler against Xavier | Justin Casterline/GettyImages
Although the class of 2025 recruiting cycle is still in its early phases, Butler has already secured a number of noteworthy commitments and could soon add more. Due to their early success in the recruiting process, the class of 2025 is currently rated as the best in the Big East and among the top 5 classes nationwide. In addition, the class of 2025 might be the Bulldogs’ best-ever recruiting class if they manage to land one or two more commitments.
Butler has recruited three four-star players thus far: Colt Langdon, Jack McCaffery, and guard Azavier “Stink” Robinson. The latter two are expected to reclassify and play for the Bulldogs this season. McCaffery, who is 6’8″, will provide the Bulldogs frontcourt a lot of height and physicality in addition to his ability to shoot beyond the arc. Once he joins the Bulldogs, expect him to have an immediate impact. McCaffery was regarded by 247sports as Butler’s highest-rated prospect of all time when he made his early-week commitment.
But it would only last a short while, as Indianapolis native Azavier Robinson, who is now ranked as Butler’s top rated recruit, made his commitment to the program on Saturday. Robinson, a muscular basketball player with explosive guard skills, will immediately establish himself with the Bulldogs when he joins the team in the fall of 2025. The Bulldogs’ recruiting class so far is strong, as seen by Robinson’s ranking as a top 100 recruit and McCaffery’s ranking as a top 150 recruit in the class of 2025.
Conversely, Langdon is expected to play alongside Butler this season and appears to be building on his success thus far. Langdon just finished an incredible junior year at Millbrook High School in his own Raleigh, North Carolina, where he averaged more than 25 points per contest. Despite just playing three seasons, he also broke the school record for most points ever scored. Even though Langdon will probably redshirt this season, he still has a chance to advance to the next level and play some kind of role off the bench. But if his redshirt year really does help him adjust to collegiate basketball more easily, Langdon might be a vital scorer for Butler in 2025–2026.
In terms of recruitment, Butler is still in the running for a number of other four-star prospects, such as Chris Jeffrey, a guard, and Dezmon Briscoe, a forward. If Butler signs a fourth four-star prospect, it should be sufficient to make the class of 2025 not just Butler’s best-ever recruiting class, but also guarantee a spot in the top 25 overall after everything is said and done.
Subsequent: Big East Basketball: The 20 best transfers for the…
Nevertheless, Butler supporters have a lot to look forward to, and they shouldn’t be shocked if their success in recruiting top players eventually helps them bring in elite additions.
Two years later, evaluating the most significant 2022 CBB coaching hiring in NCAA basketball
examining the coaching carousel for college basketball in 2022 again. What’s the story with the biggest hires?
Aug. 8, 2024 | By Cole Amundson
Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State
Peter G. Aiken/GettyImages, Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State
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Senior writer for CBS Sports Matt Norlander offers an intriguing perspective on the largest coaching carousel additions. He waits four years to grade the hires rather than assigning grades right once. For better or worse, the four-year sample size gives coaches a suitable window of opportunity to leave their stamp on their individual programs.
We will perform the same process here, but we won’t adhere to Norlander’s customary four-year window. Instead, we’ll adhere to a two-year timeframe. One thing is certain amid the confusion and craziness of the transfer portal era: a software may be rapidly and completely rebuilt using it.
The days of head coaches having a four- or five-year grace period are long gone. For instance, it required seven years for Leonard Hamilton to lead Florida State to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Before finishing as the eventual runner-up in 2013, John Beilein had not made it to the second weekend in any of his five seasons. It took Scott Drew some time to reconstruct Baylor. Not even Tom Izzo, in his first two seasons at Michigan State, advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
In order to determine whether or not a coaching job was (or will be) successful, is a two-year sample size appropriate? Not at all. or not most of the time, either.
However, because coaches in this cycle have already left their stamp on their program—good or bad—a two-year sample size is sufficient for evaluating where a particular school is headed in this ever-changing era of transfer portals.
In light of this, two years later, we will review and rank the top 2022 college basketball coaching appointments.
Butler Bulldogs: B-Thad Matta
In 2022, Thad Matta made a comeback to Butler, his alma institution, following a five-year break following his exit at Ohio State. The Bulldogs have improved steadily over the past two seasons even if they haven’t made it to the NCAA Tournament. After a difficult first season, the Bulldogs were threatening to make the NCAA Tournament for the majority of the previous season until going on a devastating five-game losing streak in mid- to late-February. The Bulldogs’ recent success on the recruiting trail serves as further evidence of Matta’s beneficial impact on the team. Although Matta hasn’t exactly blown everyone away, the results thus far are encouraging.
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Why Oumar Ballo is the most significant club move for Indiana basketball in 2024–2025
Writer: Joey Loose | August 9, 2024
On March 28, 2024, in the West Regional semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, Arizona Wildcats center Oumar Ballo (11) reacts during the first half against the Clemson Tigers. Required Credit: USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin / Oncea
On March 28, 2024, in the West Regional semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, Arizona Wildcats center Oumar Ballo (11) reacts during the first half against the Clemson Tigers. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports is required to be credited.
It’s simple to feel unimpressed with Indiana basketball’s recent performance. It took the very significant program six years to return to the NCAA Tournament before Mike Woodson guided them in each of his first two seasons back in charge. The Hoosiers only finished.500 in the Big Ten last year, which was significantly less successful than it was the year before. Nevertheless, a comeback attempt may be in store for this season.
Although Indiana did lose some talent in the offseason, it still has a far stronger roster than many other Big Ten schools. Though leading scorer Malik Reneau, rising sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako, and gifted veteran guard Trey Galloway are all back in Bloomington, Kel’el Ware and Xavier Johnson are headed for greater things. The fact that Woodson and his employees used the Transfer Portal with great effectiveness just serves to sweeten the pot.
The former Illinois shooting guard Luke Goode was among the many faces that the Hoosiers claimed. In addition, Indiana signed former Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle and Washington State point guard Myles Rice, two extremely gifted freshmen from the previous Pac-12. The Hoosiers not only added a significant upgrade to their backcourt, but they also signed one of the best prospects in the country.
In 2019, Oumar Ballo, a 7-foot center from Mali, was ranked among the Top 100 prospects. After wearing a redshirt and playing seldom at Gonzaga, he followed Tommy Lloyd to Arizona, where he spent the next three seasons blossoming as the Wildcats’ frontcourt standout. Ballo made the First Team All-Pac-12 for the second consecutive season with an average of 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
Indiana gains access to Ballo during his final season of eligibility, and they will get a real beast for the next year. Ballo led the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds and field goal percentage, making him one of the most effective offensive players in the country. Though his free throw shooting might use some improvement, he is a large athlete who excels at the rim.
Ballo’s inclusion in this lineup represents a significant offseason triumph for Woodson. He doesn’t have to score in double figures every game for the Hoosiers to win; his intensity on both ends as a kind of stop gap might be very valuable going forward. He potentially gives the Hoosiers the best lineup in the Big Ten and significantly enhances a frontcourt that primarily relies on Mgbako and Reneau.
Next: 2024–2025’s Top 100 Impact Transfers
Although the makeup of this roster is yet unknown, it is safe to assume that Indiana has the talent to return to the Big Dance. Woodson’s supporters in Bloomington are not at all patient, so anything less than that will be a certain letdown for him. Does Ballo’s arrival set the Hoosiers to be a major player this season?
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