Obviously this will be updated as new grad transfers hit the open market but I may as well get my completely arbitrary ranking started on this lovely Selection Sunday-less afternoon.
1. Seth Towns - Harvard - 6'7" Jr Wing - Composite Recruit Rank: 129
A pretty clear best immediate player available, Towns was the 2018 Ivy League Player of the Year before dealing with a cartilage tear in his knee that just wouldn't heal for the past two seasons. When healthy he's an elite shooter, shooting 41.4% from three point range on his career, who can get to the line as well. Also pitches in on the glass where his defensive rebounding rates on his career are just under 20%. Has consistently played well against top competition as well so as long as he is healthy he's a premium talent. Considering mostly blue chip landings including Kansas, Virginia and Michigan.
2. Bryce Aiken - Harvard - 6'0" Sr CG - Rank: 86
Yes, the top two grad recruits right now are both Crimson grads which is kind of wild. Aiken was a big recruiting coup for Harvard and has largely lived up to expectations while, like Towns, battling severe injury issues. A volume scorer, Aiken is one of the best players in the nation at getting to the line (top 15 in each of the past two seasons) and that skill has not dropped off against elite competition. Will be choosing between the elites this summer.
3. Kevin Marfo - Quinnipiac - 6'8" Sr C - Rank: 190
Pitt expressed some interest in Marfo as a prep before he committed to George Washington but he left GW after one season due to unhappiness both in playing time and in his role. Has almost no experience against top level competition but he is an elite rebounder, a skill that translates well to higher levels, grabbing a staggering 34.2% of available defensive rebounds to lead the nation. Not a polished offensive product but he does draw a lot of contact based on the fact that he's a brick shithouse and shoots a respectable 71.0% from the line. Definitely have to imagine that we'll make some inquiries here.
4. Kodye Pugh - Stanford - 6'8" Jr F - Rank: 94
Stop me if you've heard this one already in these rankings but Pugh has spent most of his career struggling with injuries and missed this entire campaign with a knee injury. An intriguing stretch 4 candidate, Pugh was a top 100 recruit who came in undersized as a 4 and slow for a 3 and battled ankle injuries but has put on a lot of good weight since arriving in Palo Alto and looked to be a breakout candidate before injuring his knee in Italy. Has added value as a player with two years to play but there isn't a lot of tape or stats available on him so he's something of a wild card. Excellent student.
5. Mike Smith - Columbia - 5'11" Sr PG - Rank: NR
The Ivy League's leading scorer this past season, Smith has a ton of value as a playmaking point guard on the grad transfer market as he posted an Ast% of 30.2% this past season while only turning the ball over 13.5% of the time. And this is not an aberration either as Smith never had a TO% in his career higher than 14.1%, numbers that hold true even against P6 competition. A little bit undersized but posted a 20/9/6 line against St John's this past season and a 16/3/2 line against Virginia so he can play. I'm a big fan even though he doesn't have the highest ceiling on this list because he also has a very high floor.
6. Mattias Markusson - Loyola Marymount - 7'3" Sr C - Rank: NR
You can't teach 7'3". After sitting out this past season following the death of his mother, Markusson hits the market as certainly the tallest prospect but he can play a little bit as well. Not a great athlete, Markusson is an efficient low volume post scorer putting up a 61.6% TS% on 20.6% possessions used and can hit the glass a bit with a DR% of 22.%. While all of this seems pretty tasty, the reason that I'm not higher on Markusson is that over his two years as a starter his numbers drop of pretty precipitously against Gonzaga and Saint Mary's which are really the only good competition that he has ever faced. Should be a solid P6 starter for a year but not likely to be a big impact outside of being big.
7. Evan Cole - Georgia Tech - 6'10" Sr C - Rank: 500
Grew from a perimeter based wing into a grinder of a center over his time at Tech. Solid but not elite rebounder at 11.6% OR% and 19.9% DR% but a very good defender with a Drtg of 93.4 this past season, Cole is definitely the sort of player who can be a big help for teams lacking interior presence but isn't going to offer you anything offensively. Probably the last player on this list with a chance to be a P6 starter but could benefit from playing down a little bit.
8. Matthew Moyer - Vanderbilt - 6'8" Sr F - Rank: 66
A catastrophic bust, Moyer arrived at Syracuse as raw athlete with top level leaping ability and he still possesses that. Unfortuately he really never developed anything resembling high level basketball skills, is a poor defender, and his shot is a broken disaster. Has some value, I think, as a lower level center and could benefit from taking a page out of Malik Ellison's book and having fun as a senior star in a small conference.
9. Gorjok Gak - Florida - 6'11" Sr C - Rank: 248
Fairly sought after as a recruit, Gak never really developed and has been hampered by knee surgery and shoulder surgery as a Gator. Best known for scoring 6 quick points against Virginia as a freshman in the Tournament. Might have some upside but it's tough to see him being healthy for a full season.
10. Jonah Antonio - UNLV - 6'5" Sr G - Rank: JUCO 12
The Australian Antonio has had a very interesting journey going from a Kansas Christian school to Mount St Mary's to JUCO to Las Vegas and now to the almighty Portal. Played well as a freshman for The Mount but mostly a nonfactor for UNLV. Has the player profile of a shooting specialist and never turns the ball over but also only shot 31.5% from deep for the Rebels. A poor man's Ryan Murphy.
1. Seth Towns - Harvard - 6'7" Jr Wing - Composite Recruit Rank: 129
A pretty clear best immediate player available, Towns was the 2018 Ivy League Player of the Year before dealing with a cartilage tear in his knee that just wouldn't heal for the past two seasons. When healthy he's an elite shooter, shooting 41.4% from three point range on his career, who can get to the line as well. Also pitches in on the glass where his defensive rebounding rates on his career are just under 20%. Has consistently played well against top competition as well so as long as he is healthy he's a premium talent. Considering mostly blue chip landings including Kansas, Virginia and Michigan.
2. Bryce Aiken - Harvard - 6'0" Sr CG - Rank: 86
Yes, the top two grad recruits right now are both Crimson grads which is kind of wild. Aiken was a big recruiting coup for Harvard and has largely lived up to expectations while, like Towns, battling severe injury issues. A volume scorer, Aiken is one of the best players in the nation at getting to the line (top 15 in each of the past two seasons) and that skill has not dropped off against elite competition. Will be choosing between the elites this summer.
3. Kevin Marfo - Quinnipiac - 6'8" Sr C - Rank: 190
Pitt expressed some interest in Marfo as a prep before he committed to George Washington but he left GW after one season due to unhappiness both in playing time and in his role. Has almost no experience against top level competition but he is an elite rebounder, a skill that translates well to higher levels, grabbing a staggering 34.2% of available defensive rebounds to lead the nation. Not a polished offensive product but he does draw a lot of contact based on the fact that he's a brick shithouse and shoots a respectable 71.0% from the line. Definitely have to imagine that we'll make some inquiries here.
4. Kodye Pugh - Stanford - 6'8" Jr F - Rank: 94
Stop me if you've heard this one already in these rankings but Pugh has spent most of his career struggling with injuries and missed this entire campaign with a knee injury. An intriguing stretch 4 candidate, Pugh was a top 100 recruit who came in undersized as a 4 and slow for a 3 and battled ankle injuries but has put on a lot of good weight since arriving in Palo Alto and looked to be a breakout candidate before injuring his knee in Italy. Has added value as a player with two years to play but there isn't a lot of tape or stats available on him so he's something of a wild card. Excellent student.
5. Mike Smith - Columbia - 5'11" Sr PG - Rank: NR
The Ivy League's leading scorer this past season, Smith has a ton of value as a playmaking point guard on the grad transfer market as he posted an Ast% of 30.2% this past season while only turning the ball over 13.5% of the time. And this is not an aberration either as Smith never had a TO% in his career higher than 14.1%, numbers that hold true even against P6 competition. A little bit undersized but posted a 20/9/6 line against St John's this past season and a 16/3/2 line against Virginia so he can play. I'm a big fan even though he doesn't have the highest ceiling on this list because he also has a very high floor.
6. Mattias Markusson - Loyola Marymount - 7'3" Sr C - Rank: NR
You can't teach 7'3". After sitting out this past season following the death of his mother, Markusson hits the market as certainly the tallest prospect but he can play a little bit as well. Not a great athlete, Markusson is an efficient low volume post scorer putting up a 61.6% TS% on 20.6% possessions used and can hit the glass a bit with a DR% of 22.%. While all of this seems pretty tasty, the reason that I'm not higher on Markusson is that over his two years as a starter his numbers drop of pretty precipitously against Gonzaga and Saint Mary's which are really the only good competition that he has ever faced. Should be a solid P6 starter for a year but not likely to be a big impact outside of being big.
7. Evan Cole - Georgia Tech - 6'10" Sr C - Rank: 500
Grew from a perimeter based wing into a grinder of a center over his time at Tech. Solid but not elite rebounder at 11.6% OR% and 19.9% DR% but a very good defender with a Drtg of 93.4 this past season, Cole is definitely the sort of player who can be a big help for teams lacking interior presence but isn't going to offer you anything offensively. Probably the last player on this list with a chance to be a P6 starter but could benefit from playing down a little bit.
8. Matthew Moyer - Vanderbilt - 6'8" Sr F - Rank: 66
A catastrophic bust, Moyer arrived at Syracuse as raw athlete with top level leaping ability and he still possesses that. Unfortuately he really never developed anything resembling high level basketball skills, is a poor defender, and his shot is a broken disaster. Has some value, I think, as a lower level center and could benefit from taking a page out of Malik Ellison's book and having fun as a senior star in a small conference.
9. Gorjok Gak - Florida - 6'11" Sr C - Rank: 248
Fairly sought after as a recruit, Gak never really developed and has been hampered by knee surgery and shoulder surgery as a Gator. Best known for scoring 6 quick points against Virginia as a freshman in the Tournament. Might have some upside but it's tough to see him being healthy for a full season.
10. Jonah Antonio - UNLV - 6'5" Sr G - Rank: JUCO 12
The Australian Antonio has had a very interesting journey going from a Kansas Christian school to Mount St Mary's to JUCO to Las Vegas and now to the almighty Portal. Played well as a freshman for The Mount but mostly a nonfactor for UNLV. Has the player profile of a shooting specialist and never turns the ball over but also only shot 31.5% from deep for the Rebels. A poor man's Ryan Murphy.
