It was a typically wild offseason in college basketball.
After winning his second straight national championship, Dan Hurley flirted with leaving Connecticut for the Lakers, but opted to return.
John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas and was replaced by BYU’s Mark Pope, the captain of the 1996 championship Wildcats. The transfer portal only increased in the frequency of players switching schools.
It all sets up for a fascinating year. UConn is looking to make history as the first program to win three straight titles since UCLA won seven straight in 1967-73, and it will have a host of challengers — from Alabama to Kansas, Houston to Duke, and Baylor to Gonzaga, among many others.
The nation’s top high school prospects opted for college — led by Duke phenom Cooper Flagg, Rutgers duo Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper and Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe. Plus, it is the first year of the new super-power conferences, adding even more intrigue to an already anticipated season.
It’s all here in The Post’s preseason top 25:
The Crimson Tide featured one of the nation’s premier offenses a year ago, and the leaders of that potent group are back, led by National Player of the Year candidate Mark Sears and shot-making forward Grant Nelson. Nate Oats added to that with the second-best recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports.com — five-star wing Derrion Reid highlights that quartet — and a strong transfer portal haul headed by Rutgers shot-blocking dynamo Cliff Omoruyi and Pepperdine marksman Houston Mallette. For now, Alabama is a basketball school.
Bill Self brought back three starters and added multiple high-level transfers, giving the Jayhawks hope of a big March on the heels of back-to-back second-round exits. There will be few frontcourt tandems better than Hunter Dickinson and K.J. Adams Jr., and newcomers Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and AJ Storr (Wisconsin) provide explosiveness on the perimeter alongside fourth-year starting point guard Dajuan Harris Jr.
Few, if any, programs have been more consistent over the past four years than the gritty, defense-first Cougars. They have averaged 31.2 victories and an NCAA Tournament seed of just 2.2 in that time. More winning is on the way after Kelvin Sampson brought back projected starters L.J. Cryer, Emanuel Sharp, Ja’Vier Francis and J’Wan Roberts, and replaced departed floor general Jamal Shead with Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan.
They’re chasing history this year in Storrs, looking to be the first school to win three straight national championships since UCLA won seven in a row from 1967-73. Four starters are gone from last year’s juggernaut, but coach Dan Hurley returns plenty in heart-and-soul forward Alex Karaban, reigning Big East Sixth Man of the Year Hassan Diarra, senior forward Samson Johnson, and high-upside sophomores Solo Ball and Jaylin Stewart. Transfers Aidan Mahaney (Saint Mary’s) and Tarris Reed Jr. (Michigan), and five-star freshman wing Liam McNeeley are all potential difference-makers.
Few coaches had a better offseason than Scott Drew. He landed coveted transfers Norchad Omier (Miami) and Jeremy Roach (Duke) a few months after beating out Duke and Kentucky for potential one-and-done and projected top-10 NBA draft pick V.J. Edgecombe of Long Island Lutheran. That trio gives Baylor major star power after losing four of its top five scorers from a year ago, and it also brings back quality pieces in snipers Langston Love and Jayden Nunn.
Duke had the last freshmen-dominant team to win the title way back in 2015. Could history repeat itself? Jon Scheyer brought in a super class that features do-it-all forward Cooper Flagg — the heavy favorite to be the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft — and three other five-star prospects: Khaman Maluach, Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel. Returning guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown and Purdue transfer Mason Gillis give this group much-needed experience.
Any discussion of the best coach in the sport has to include T.J. Otzelberger. In three years at Iowa State, he has led the Cyclones to the Sweet 16 twice while averaging 23.3 wins and featuring a top-10 defense each season. This could be his best campaign yet, led by the guard trio of Keshon Gilbert, Tamin Lipsey and Curtis Jones, which combined to produce 37.1 points and 6.1 steals a season ago.
Even in a down year, Gonzaga reached the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight time. A 10th consecutive second-weekend appearance for the Zags feels likely after they brought back four starters, and added high-scoring guard Khalif Battle (Arkansas) and well-rounded wing Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine) in the transfer portal.
A strong bounce-back year ended in disappointing fashion with a Sweet 16 loss to Alabama. Expectations are high for an even better winter in Chapel Hill after superstar guard R.J. Davis opted to return for a fifth season. Hubert Davis has surrounded him with plenty of talent on the perimeter in five-star freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, along with court-spacing Belmont transfer Cade Tyson. Look for sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau to take a leap after a strong finish as a freshman. The biggest question is in the middle — where Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin replaces Armando Bacot, the school’s all-time leading rebounder.
The Bluejays are built around 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is looking to be the second four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, joining Patrick Ewing. Sharpshooting lead guard Steven Ashworth is back, joined by high-scoring Texas Tech transfer guard Pop Isaacs. Mason Miller, the 6-foot-9 son of former NBA player Mike Miller, is a breakout candidate. Montenegrin import Fedor Zugic, still waiting to be cleared by the NCAA, is a highly regarded 6-foot-6 prospect who could make an instant impact on the perimeter.
Point guard play has been a problem in recent years for Auburn, an issue Bruce Pearl hopes to have resolved by bringing in Furman transfer JP Pegues. The 6-foot-2 Pegues — who averaged 18.4 points, 4.8 assists and shot 36.2 percent on 7.6 attempts from distance last year — should form a potent 1-2 inside-out attack for the Tigers with All-American forward Johni Broome.
There isn’t a more fascinating player in the sport to follow than Caleb Love. The fifth-year senior can shoot you in or out of games. Oakland transfer Trey Townsend, who spearheaded the Golden Grizzlies’ first-round upset of Kentucky last March, and former Campbell wing Anthony Dell’Orso will prove to be major recruiting wins for coach Tommy Lloyd. But Arizona’s most important player is junior Jaden Bradley, the team’s projected starting point guard and a former top-30 prospect who was a reserve last season.
There is a strong local flavor in Knoxville. Zakai Zeigler of The Bronx enters his third season as Tennessee’s starting point guard, and Hofstra transfer Darlinstone Dubar arrives as one of the players expected to help fill the void left by breakout star Dalton Knecht — as will high-scoring North Florida transfer guard Chaz Lanier.
A frustrating 19-win season led to some questioning Mike Woodson’s aptitude for the job. Those calls have gone quiet for now after Indiana reeled in the country’s second-ranked transfer class, per 247Sports.com. Arizona center Oumar Ballo, Washington State guard Myles Rice and Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle are the headliners, and Woodson did well by retaining double-digit scorers Malik Reneau, Mackenzie Mgbako and Trey Galloway. Another empty March would be inexcusable given this roster.
The Aggies have won 46 games the past two years despite poor starts in both seasons. If A&M can avoid that happening again, perhaps a big March is possible — especially since All-American guard Wade Taylor IV returns along with forwards Henry Coleman III and Solomon Washington, and SMU guard Zhuric Phelps was brought in to add offensive firepower.
New school, same loaded roster for John Calipari. Arkansas — or Calipari University, as some have dubbed the new-look Razorbacks — brought top-30 recruits Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond with him to Fayetteville. Former Kentucky players D.J. Wagner, Zvonimir Ivisic and Adou Thiero also followed Calipari, and he did well in the portal by landing coveted transfers Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee) and Johnell Davis (Florida Atlantic). Of course, procuring talent has never been an issue for Calipari. Maximizing that talent, however, has proven to be challenging.
It’s the supporting cast’s chance to show that last year’s run to the national championship was about more than riding Zach Edey’s broad shoulders. Starters Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn all return. Matt Painter opted against going into the portal, counting on player development instead. Purdue was picked to win the expanded Big Ten by media members, but that only happens if the aforementioned trio are ready to make a significant leap.
If not for season-long injuries to forwards Jerome Hunter and Zach Freemantle last year, Xavier would’ve been in the NCAA Tournament last March. That duo is now healthy and part of a deep roster that includes returning playmaking guard Dayvion McKnight, and a trio of impact transfers in Ryan Conwell (Indiana State), Marcus Foster (Furman) and Dante Maddox Jr. (Toledo).
Don’t expect another subpar season in Westwood. Mick Cronin suffered through his first losing season since 2007-08, and has made sure to avoid a similar fate with an active offseason. He hit the portal hard, bringing in Oregon State forward Tyler Bilodeau, USC wing Kobe Johnson and Oklahoma State forward Eric Dailey Jr., among others. Returning point guard Dylan Andrews will run the show, and sophomores Sebastian Mack and Lazar Stefanovic could be ready to take significant leaps.
Everyone in Lexington seems thrilled right now with new coach Mark Pope, a former Wildcat who was the captain of the 1996 championship team. Pope stockpiled transfers — landing the likes of lockdown defender Lamont Butler (San Diego State), 3-point specialist Koby Brea (Dayton) and his former star at BYU, Jaxson Robinson — giving Kentucky the experience past teams have lacked. For all the excitement over Pope, he has never won an NCAA Tournament game.
Shaka Smart is banking on continuity and Kam Jones’ emergence as one of the nation’s premier guards. The Marquette coach passed on the portal after losing Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro to the NBA, hoping internal development will help fill the void left by those stars. Upperclassmen Stevie Mitchell, David Joplin, Ben Gold and Chase Ross can all expect to see their roles expand — in fact, their development will likely determine the caliber of Marquette’s season.
It’s Walter Clayton Jr.’s team now. The former Iona University star had a big first season in Gainesville, setting career-highs in points (17.6), minutes (31.0) and 3-pointers made (2.6). The senior guard is joined by returning starters Alex Condon and Will Richard, as Florida looks for its first back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament since 2017-19.
It’s all about the portal in Austin. Without it, the Longhorns would be looking at a rebuilding year. Rodney Terry is counting on newcomers Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State), Jordan Pope (Oregon State), Jayson Kent (Indiana State), Julian Larry (Indiana State) and Tramon Mark (Arkansas) to be immediate contributors after losing his top four scorers from a year ago. This is modern roster-building these days.
The experienced Bearcats have the pieces to go dancing for the first time since 2019. Leading scorers Dan Skillings Jr., Simas Lukosius and Day Day Thomas are back, and coach Wes Miller found two major additions in uber-athletic Texas forward Dillon Mitchell and Bradley shotmaker Connor Hickman.
I had Rutgers here before I saw St. John’s outplay the Scarlet Knights in an exhibition. The Johnnies backcourt of returning sophomore Simeon Wilcher, Seton Hall transfer Kadary Richmond and Utah transfer Deivon Smith will be one of the nation’s best. RJ Luis is healthy after injuries limited him a year ago and could lead them in scoring, while Zuby Ejiofor looks primed to emerge as one of the Big East’s best forwards.
Final Four Picks: Baylor, Alabama, Auburn, Xavier
National champion: Baylor
