Simeon Wilcher transfer portal: Top 5 landing spots for St. John's guard ft. UNC
Simeon Wilcher has decided to head off from St. John's and find a new school in the transfer portal. This was a significant surprise to supporters of the Red Storm. Off an epic season, coach Rick Pitino will now have to dig even deeper to retool his roster. Wilcher seemed like a solid starter for next season, but now he's moving on.
In his second season at St. John's, Wilcher started 25 games and averaged 8.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Wilcher saw his 3-point shooting drop from 42% in his freshman season to just 30% in his sophomore year. Still, the 6-foot-4 Wilcher seemed poised to assume a bigger role for the Red Storm. Instead, here are five potential portal landing spots for Wilcher.
Top 5 transfer portal landing spots for Simeon Wilcher
5. Auburn
Both graduation and the transfer portal haven't been entirely kind to Bruce Pearl's Tigers. Auburn is sweating out Tahaad Pettiford's NBA Draft situation and hoping to retool a roster of solid players. While Auburn has four commitments, only one is from a true guard and that was a shooting guard. Wilcher's distribution and scoring ability could make him a solid grab for Auburn.
4. Baylor
Scott Drew is another coach having to make some massive roster re-structuring ahead of next season. The loss of Rob Wright to the portal was a big shift for Baylor. While the Bears have signed JJ White from Omaha, another power conference point guard like Wilcher would make a tremendous amount of sense for Baylor's squad next year.
3. Alabama
More of the same as Nate Oats is rebuilding on the fly. Mark Sears will be literally irreplaceable, but the Tide need some backcourt help. A player of Wilcher's experience and all-around game would be a solid addition. The loss of Labaron Philon to the NBA Draft makes veteran backcourt help even more important and Wilcher would be an easy addition to the Tide's deep roster.
2. Nebraska
Surprisingly, one of the schools that interested Wilcher most out of high school was Nebraska. Fred Hoiberg's team got Wilcher for one of his two official visits as a high school prospect. Two of Nebraska's top three guards were seniors and as Hoiberg battles to secure his job after missing the NCAA Tournament last season, Wilcher could be a significant part of the puzzle.
1. North Carolina
Wilcher was actually headed to North Carolina out of high school. He signed with the Tar Heels, but then decommitted to join Rick Piino at St. John's. With Elliot Cadeau moving on in Chapel Hill, Hubert Davis has a vacancy at point guard again and might be inclined to consider a second try with Wilcher. Point guard at UNC would be a tough opportunity to turn down.
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