The PAC-XII poached five teams from the Mountain West to rebuild its conference status. Alabama basketball will be ranked higher than Alabama football. Kansas will trot out a starting lineup featuring five players all in contention for the AP’s First Team All-America. Gonzaga has vowed to move conferences and bring an end to its terror over its West Coast inferiors. Bottom line: a lot of stuff happened this off season – which cannot all be covered in this one column. In the first installment of the 2024 college basketball preview series, I will lay out my all-transfer team as well as my preseason mid-major picks for March upsets.
Preseason all-transfer team
Guard: Kadary Richmond – St. John’s (Prev. Seton Hall)
Richmond migrated across the George Washington Bridge to join Rick Pitino in Queens following a 15.7 point-per-game average and seven rebound-per-game season at Seton Hall. The fifth-year senior was 247Sport’s No. 1 ranked transfer, visiting Oklahoma before opting to join the Red Storm this May. Richmond is a physical threat in the backcourt who is most effective when singled up with opposing guards (many of whom he is considerably larger than). Richmond led the Big East in number of shots per 100 possessions and percent of possessions used per team last season as the Pirates’ number one option.
Guard: Jeremy Roach – Baylor (Prev. Duke)
The 6-foot-2 senior guard transferred out of Durham following an 11.3 points per game campaign with the Blue Devils, joining Scott Drew in Waco as the Bears gear up for a run in the Big-XII. The former two-time Duke captain joins the likes of Jayden Dunn, Langston Love and highly coveted freshman VJ Edgecombe in the backcourt. Roach is a slicing, penetrating guard with a pass first mindset, fitting perfectly into Baylor’s three point centered offensive scheme.
Forward: Michael Ajayi – Gonzaga (Prev. Pepperdine)
Ajayi was the West Coast Conference’s leading scorer in 2023, averaging 17.2 points per game with the Pepperdine Waves before entering the portal and committing to Mark Few’s Bulldogs in late March. Ajayi is a force on the defensive glass, averaging 9.9 rebounds per game and ranking 12th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (28.2%). The true senior will get opportunities to score early and often in Spokane next to proven scorers Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike.
Forward: Norchad Omier – Baylor (Prev. Miami)
The second now-Bear on this list, Omier, along with fellow Miami star Wooga Poplar (Villanova), left Coral Gables for higher powered teams this spring. Omier averaged a double-double for the Hurricanes in 2023, scoring in double digits in all but four games and nabbing over 13 rebounds nine times. The Nicaragua native will slide nicely into the four spot with the Bears, sharing the frontcourt with five-star freshman, Jason Asemota.
Center: Great Osobor – Washington (Prev. Utah State)
Osobor elected to follow Head Coach Danny Sprinkle to Seattle following a 28-win 2023 which saw the Aggies win the Mountain West regular season title and Osobor average 17 points and nine rebounds per game. Osobor wears many faces as an interior scorer and is a solid rebounder on the offensive glass. The Husky senior also averaged nearly three assists –per game as an Aggie in 2023 and will look to create opportunities for a lineup of five transfer guards.
Preseason mid-major picks for March upsets
UAB – AAC
Preventing potential Conference Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg from slipping into the portal was key for a Blazers team looking to build off of last year’s tournament appearance. Lendeborg will control the paint and open up gaps for dynamic guards Butta Johnson and Georgia Southern transfer Tyren Moore to operate. UAB ranked 56th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (aided by dominant offensive rebounding), but struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 32.7%. Behind a strong group of backcourt transfers and the return of the powerful Lendeborg, the Blazers march into November as the clear AAC frontrunner.
Saint Joseph’s – A-10
Guard play is vital for mid-major teams when weighing the likelihood of an upset in March. Luckily for Saint Joseph’s, senior guard Erik Reynolds II opted to return to Hawk Hill for his final season of eligibility, and the Hawks lured Rutgers wing Derek Simpson from the transfer portal, creating one of the higher-powered mid-major backcourts in America. Reynolds is a potential NBA-prospect, who will work down low with Harvard transfer Justice Ajobar to terrorize opposing A-10 defenses. The Hawks lost to Kentucky, Charleston, VCU and Seton Hall by less than seven points each last season, and with a returning nucleus spearheaded by Reynolds, expect the Hawks to be a tough outfit this season.
Northern Arizona – Big Sky
The Lumberjacks bring back four starters from last season, forming one of the more experienced groups in the Big Sky. First-teamer Trent McLaughlin returns to Flagstaff to build off an impressive 16.6 points per game last season. NAU ranked 65th nationally in 3P% defensively and 72nd in non-steal turnovers (KenPom), meaning the Lumberjacks create opportunities on the defensive end. All-defensive selection Carson Basham will help with that. If the Lumberjacks grab the bid out of the Big Sky, don’t be surprised if they’re sticking around with a two or three seed come March.
High Point – Big South
The Panthers were last season’s upset darling that didn’t make it to the tournament, upended by eventual champion Longwood in the Big South Semifinals. High Point retained four starters and brought in dynamic transfers Bobby Pettiford (ECU) and D’Maurian Williams (TTU) to bolster the already strongest roster in the conference. Returning forward Kimani Hamilton and big man Justin Bodo Bodo are some of the best players at their positions in the conference. The Panthers ranked 36th in adjusted offensive efficiency and played at a fast-paced tempo of 18.1 seconds per-possession, a notorious formula known for upsetting higher seeds.
