Here are the major transfer portal players in college basketball’s Final Four
Here at the lead up to the Final Four, Florida basketball coach Todd Golden was asked Friday if he would choose NIL or the transfer portal as the biggest driving force in college basketball.
“One-hundred percent transfer portal, the transfer rules,” Golden said. “If you just took NIL out of the equation, I really believe we would still be having these conversations. These young men and women have the ability to really just take a look at their situation after every season as opposed to in the past where it was a one-time transfer exception, then you had to make that one decision and live with it.
“When these men and women are able to move every offseason, coaches have more opportunities to get it right, so to speak, in terms of who they recruit, who they add to their program.”
With that in mind, and with Mark Pope and Kentucky currently in the market to add players from this year’s portal, here’s a look at the most prominent players from the transfer portal on this year’s Final Four teams, with the number of years the player has been in the current program in parentheses:
Florida
Walter Clayton (2), from Iona: Todd Golden convinced Clayton to return to his home state of Florida instead of following Iona coach Rick Pitino to St. John’s. The result? Clayton was a consensus first-team All-American selection this season. He’s averaging 18.1 points, including a 30-point performance in Florida’s West Regional championship win against Texas Tech.
Alijah Martin (1), from Florida Atlantic: The 6-2 guard from Summit, Mississippi, played four seasons for FAU, including the 2022-23 season when the Owls reached the Final Four. At Florida, he averaged 14.5 points this season.
Will Richard (2), from Belmont: Golden said Thursday that a key moment after taking over as the Florida coach came when Richard committed to the Gators. The 6-foot-4 senior from Fairburn, Georgia, has averaged double digits in scoring each of his three years in Gainesville, including 13.3 points this season.
Rueben Chinyelu (1), from Washington State: The 6-10 sophomore from Nigeria has added needed muscle to the Gators since arriving from Washington State. He averaged 4.7 points and 5.0 rebounds for the Cougars last season. This season, Chinyelu has started all 38 games and averaged 6.1 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Micah Handlogten (2), from Marshall: The 7-1 center from Lake Norman, North Carolina, spent one season at Marshall, where he averaged 7.6 points and 9.8 rebounds. He started 32 of 33 games last season at Florida before breaking his left leg in the SEC Tournament championship game. Handlogten returned to play in 14 games this season, where he has averaged 2.9 points.
Auburn
Johni Broome (3), from Morehead State: The 6-10 forward from Plant City, Florida, began his college career by playing two seasons for Preston Spradlin at Morehead State. He averaged 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds his first season as an Eagle and 16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds his second. Since coming to Auburn, Broome has blossomed into a national player of the year candidate. He averaged 18.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 blocked shots this season.
Chad Baker-Mazara (2), from San Diego State: After starting his college career at Northwest Florida State, Baker-Mazara played at one season at San Diego State, where he was a teammate of Kentucky’s Lamont Butler. After being named the Mountain West Conference’s sixth man of the year, Baker-Mazara transferred to Auburn. He averaged 10.0 points last season and 12.2 this year.
Miles Kelly (1), from Georgia Tech: The 6-6 guard from Stone Mountain, Georgia, played three seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to Auburn. He averaged 14.4 and 13.9 points per game his last two seasons in Atlanta. He’s averaging 11.4 points and shooting 38.1% from 3-point range this year for Bruce Pearl’s club.
Denver Jones (2), from FIU: The 6-4 guard from New Market, Alabama, played two seasons at Florida International before transferring to Auburn. He’s started 69 of 71 games as a Tiger and is averaging 10.9 points and 2.6 assists this season.
Chaney Johnson (2), from Alabama-Huntsville: The 6-7 forward from Alabaster, Alabama, started his career at Division II Alabama-Huntsville before transferring to Auburn. Johnson is averaging 23.4 minutes this year for the Tigers with 9.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Houston
L.J. Cryer (2), from Baylor: The 6-1 guard from Katy, Texas, was a spot player for Baylor’s 2021 national title winner. By the 2022-23 season, Cryer averaged 15.0 points for Scott Drew’s Bears. Since coming to Houston, Cryer averaged 15.5 points last season and 15.4 this year. He’s shooting 41.9% from 3-point range.
Milos Uzan (1), from Oklahoma: The 6-4 guard from Las Vegas was a teammate of Kentucky’s Otega Oweh his two seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Houston. After averaging 9.0 points and shooting 29.6% from 3-point range last season with the Sooners, Uzan is averaging 11.6 points and shooting 44.5% from 3 for Kelvin Sampson’s club.
Mylik Wilson (2), from Texas Tech/Louisiana: The 6-3 senior from Rayville, Louisiana, began his college career by playing two seasons at the University of Louisiana. He then spent one season at Texas Tech, where he averaged just 2.5 points per game. He has been a role player off the bench at Houston, where he’s averaged 5.6 points and 1.2 steals in 17.6 minutes per game this season.
Duke
Sion James (1), from Tulane: The 6-6 forward from Sugar Hill, Georgia, spent four seasons at Tulane before moving to Durham. James averaged 14 points and 5.4 rebounds his final season in New Orleans. He’s started 31 of 38 games for the Blue Devils and averaged 8.7 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Mason Gillis (1), from Purdue: The 6-6 senior from New Castle, Indiana, played four years for Matt Painter at Purdue before becoming a Blue Devil. Gillis started 63 of 132 games for the Boilermakers. He’s come off the bench for Duke and averages 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 15 minutes per game.
Maliq Brown (1), from Syracuse: The 6-9 forward from Culpepper, Virginia, spent two seasons at Syracuse, where he started 25 of 61 games. After averaging 9.5 points and 7.2 rebounds last season for the Orange, Brown has come off the bench in 25 games for Duke. He’s averaged 2.4 points and 3.7 rebounds.
