Big 12 Basketball Portal Thoughts: Hard Work Ahead For Steve Lutz
For the next couple of months, the transfer portal for men’s and women’s basketball is going to start heating up. In fact, one could argue that right now, it’s already overcooked.
As men’s and women’s basketball heads to the Final Four this weekend, the eight programs that won’t be there are already thinking ahead to next season. Occasionally, as the portal churns, I’ll have some Big 12-related thoughts.
Today, we start with Oklahoma State.
Steve Lutz’s Road Ahead
Steve Lutz is the new men’s basketball coach at Oklahoma State. His career as a head coach has been short, just three seasons. But he took each of his teams — Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (two years) and Western Kentucky (one year) — to the NCAA Tournament. That’s the success the Cowboys are looking for, at least as a baseline.
But in the immediate term, Lutz has a difficult road ahead.
The transfer portal is likely to put him in the position of rebuilding the Cowboys. That was one of the risks in firing Mike Boynton Jr., who, by the way, now appears poised to take a chair alongside new Michigan coach Dusty May in Ann Arbor.
Go to Verbal Commits on Tuesday night and the Cowboys already have five players in the transfer portal — Eric Dailey Jr., Brandon Garrison, Quion Williams, Naz Brown and Javon Small. Dailey and Garrison are big long-term losses as they were highly-rated players in Boynton’s 2023 class. Both were four-star players.
Yes, Lutz could try to lure any of these players back. But in the short history of the transfer portal, that’s unlikely. Remember when Jerome Tang took over for Bruce Weber at Kansas State? Only two players stayed behind. Tang basically started over.
That’s the prospect Lutz faces with the Cowboys. Darian DeVries faces the same thing at West Virginia, as guard Kerr Kriisa is reportedly headed for the transfer portal.
It’s going to be a hard road for both coaches over the next several weeks.
What’s Driving The Portal?
This offseason, one thing is going to drive the transfer portal more than anything — no more waivers.
And athletes have former West Virginia guard RaeQuan Battle, in part, to thank for that.
Battle was part of a suit brought by the attorneys general of West Virginia and Ohio late last year challenging the NCAA’s new waiver rules. They won the suit, first with a temporary restraining order and then when the NCAA suspended its own new rules while they re-evaluate them. The NCAA knew they were beaten. Again.
So, this time around, no one needs a waiver to transfer. First time, second time, third time, etc… You wanna go? You can go. And it’s gonna be nuts.
The Early Winners
There are two clear winners early in the transfer portal season.
First is Kansas, which has already pulled two quality players since its season ended.
The Jayhawks landed former Florida forward Riley Kugel over the weekend. He averaged nearly 10 points per game with the Gators. Then, on Tuesday, Kansas reportedly got a commitment from guard Zeke Mayo from South Dakota State, where he averaged 18 points per game last season. He’s a Lawrence, Kan., kid, so he’s coming home.
The other clear winner is Iowa State. The Cyclones got a commitment from Charlotte center Dishon Jackson before they were even done with the NCAA Tournament. Then, on Tuesday, the Cyclones got a commitment from guard Nate Heise, who was formerly at Northern Iowa. That will help offset some of the Cyclones’ early losses, including the centerpiece of their 2023 recruiting class, forward Omaha Biliew.
She’s Back
Sometimes, it’s just as important to hear that one of the conference’s stars is returning than to hear if they’re going to transfer.
Late last week, under the radar, one of the top scorers in Big 12 women’s basketball announced she was returning to UCF for another year.
That’s a huge boost for the Knights, who are hoping to take a big step in the Big 12 next season.
And Then There’s Yves
On Tuesday, Yves Missi dropped this on social media.
These days, you have to be a detective to figure stuff out.
In case you’re wondering, the deadline to declare early for the NBA Draft is April 27.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
