NCAA transfer portal: Top 5 college basketball stars awaiting a new home for the 2023 season
Most top players entering the transfer portal are usually snapped up quickly by teams seeking to bolster depleted rosters. Teams lose players to the draft, graduation or the transfer portal, necessitating the domino effect of transfers.
While the top prospects who entered this year's portal, including Hunter Dickinson and Caleb Love have committed, there are a few top players still without a program.
They include Joe Toussaint, James Okonkwo, Noah Williams, Paul Mulcahy and Jahvon Quinerly.
North Carolina A&T transfer Marcus Watson decommitted from Seton Hall and is back in the transfer portal. twitter.com/BigTime_MW/sta…
The five most highly ranked prospects still remaining in the transfer portal include the following.
#5, Noah Williams
Noah Williams, a 6-foot-5 guard with the Washington Huskies, entered the transfer portal in early April but hasn't found a program yet. He has one year of eligibility remaining and has been linked to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
He averaged 8.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game last season, but he was injured for more than half of the season, only playing in 14 games.
#4, James Okonkwo
Okonkwo is one of the casualties of Bob Huggins' sudden resignation at West Virginia. The NCAA gave the players a special 30-day dispensation to enter the transfer portal, and Okonkwo immediately entered his name.
He's a forward who averaged 11.0 minutes last season. He also averaged 2.5 ppg and 3.2 rpg. The North Carolina Tar Heels have shown an interest in him, and he's expected to be a depth addition for whichever program he chooses.
#3, Jahvon Quinerly
Quinerly was the 2023 Southeastern Conference Co-Sixth Man of the Year, and his entrance into the portal was unexpected. He averaged 8.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg and 3.6 apg last season for the Crimson Tide.
He has been linked to the West Virginia Mountaineers, who are still filling their roster under new coach Josh Eilert.
#2, Paul Mulcahy
The former Rutgers guard has been in the portal for four weeks now and has been linked to Xavier, Washington and Notre Dame. He visited all three programs but hasn't made a final decision.
Mulcahy averaged 8.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 4.9 apg last season.
#1. Joe Toussaint
Toussaint is probably the highest-rated player remaining in the portal. He played under Huggins for the Mountaineers for a single season after transferring from Iowa.
He averaged 9.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 2.6 apg and has had interest from programs including Gonzaga, Kansas and Texas Tech. He is an intriguing prospect due to his extensive experience at the Power Five level.
The NCAA transfer portal controversy
Entering the transfer portal for student-athletes has never been an issue as they try to find the best possible programs to help their careers.
The 2021 NIL ruling has changed all of that as fans are complaining that the portal and the emergence of NIL could ruin the smaller programs.
Kansas transfer Hunter Dickinson already went on record saying that he left Michigan because he wasn't earning enough according to his NIL valuation.
Could more prospects enter the portal for the same reason, thereby putting smaller programs at a disadvantage?