HawgBeat - Hoops: Transfer portal team rankings for 2023 released
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman and the Razorbacks took home the 2023 team transfer portal recruiting crown.
arkansas.rivals.com
From @Russ Wood
With the return of college basketball tonight, the NCAA transfer portal player movement in the 2023 cycle has officially ended. This year the final wave of portal activity happened late in the summer with multiple players entering the portal after their school’s final summer school session ended.
Arkansas finishes the 2023 transfer cycle as the No. 1 team for portal recruiting, while West Virginia and St. John's landed at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
There is a solid chance that transfers will score more than half of all points scored in Division I men’s basketball this season, as recruiting the transfer portal has become a vital part of building a program.
Here is a look at the 10 best transfer portal classes in the nation.
MORE HOOPS TRANSFER PORTAL: Rivals150 transfer portal rankings | FAQ on team rankings point system
*****
FOOTBALL FINAL 2023 TEAM RANKINGS: Comprehensive (overall) ranking | High school/JUCO ranking | Transfer portal ranking
HOOPS 2024 HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS: Rivals150 | Team | Position
MORE TRANSFER PORTAL COVERAGE: Latest news | Portal player ranking/transfer tracker (hoops) | Portal player ranking/transfer tracker (football) | Football team ranking | Message Board | Follow transfer news on Twitter
*****
1. 
(4,151 points)
Arkansas transfers:
Khalif Battle (No. 16)
Tramon Mark (No. 23)
Keyon Menifield (No. 50)
El Ellis (No. 61)
Jeremiah Davenport (No. 107)
Chandler Lawson (three-stars)
The top recruiting class belongs to Arkansas and Battle is the headliner. An aggressive scoring guard who gets threes off the bounce, running in transition and off screens, Battle has deep range on his jumper.
Mark was an integral part of Houston’s Final Four team in the 2020-21 season. A shoulder injury shut down his sophomore season in December after seven games. He started all 37 games for a team that began the season ranked No. 3, never fell out of the top five and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Do not sleep on Ellis, who earned honorable mention All-ACC honors despite Louisville going 4-28 last season.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH
FANS AT HAWGBEAT.COM*****
2. WEST VIRGINIA (4,009 points)
West Virginia transfers:
Kerr Kriisa (No. 4)
Jesse Edwards (No. 13)
Raequan Battle (No. 65)
Jose Perez (No. 134)
Akok Akok (No. 145)
Kriisa was the top point guard in the portal and is an all-conference type player. The Arizona transfer was the first Pac-12 player to lead the conference in assists in back-to-back seasons in more than 20-years. Kriisa will miss nine games this season due to an eligibility issue.
Edwards is a rim protector with offense. He averaged a double-double last season for Syracuse and was named to the All-ACC Third Team and All-ACC Defensive Team. Battle was All-Big Sky Conference First Team last season for Montana State. A two-time transfer, he will need the NCAA to approve his waiver request in order to play this season. Perez left West Virginia for Arizona State in October.
Bob Huggins landed a terrific portal recruiting class then a DUI charge in June ended his tenure at West Virginia and Josh Eilert will coach the Mountaineers this season.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH WEST VIRGINIA FANS AT WVSPORTS.COM
*****
3. ST. JOHN’S (3,556 points)
St. John's transfers:
Jordan Dingle (No. 5)
RJ Luis (No. 52)
Chris Ledlum (No. 59)
Daniss Jenkins (No. 63)
Zuby Ejiofor (No. 100)
Nahiem Alleyne (three-stars)
Sadiku Ayo (three-stars)
Glenn Taylor Jr. (three-stars)
Cruz Davis (three-stars)
Rick Pitino brought his luggage with him in the form of four transfers from Iona. Pitino’s most impactful transfer will likely be Dingle. The Penn transfer led the NCAA in scoring last season at 23.4 points per game.
Ledlum was a great late pick-up for the Red Storm. His scoring and rebounding will take pressure off the Red Storm’s returning center, Joel Soriano. Jenkins followed Pitino from Iona and will likely be St. John’s starting point guard in its season opener on Tuesday.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ST. JOHN'S FANS AT REDSTORMREPORT.COM
*****
4. KANSAS (3,177 points)
Kansas transfers:
Hunter Dickinson (No. 1)
Nicolas Timberlake (32)
Arterio Morris (55)
Parker Braun (three-stars)
The best basketball conference in the country cleaned up this transfer portal cycle with four teams in our Top 10 portal classes, and Dickinson is one of the most accomplished players to enter the transfer portal – ever. A three-time All-Big Ten selection at Michigan, Dickinson should thrive in the Jayhawks' offense because the space it creates reduces double-teams. We expect him to be in the Big 12 POY conversation at the end of the season.
Timberlake gives Kansas a three-point specialist who can make them in bunches.
Bill Self took a chance on Morris, whom Self recruited out of high school, but Morris was dismissed from the team stemming from an arrest on allegations of rape. He played in exhibition games during KU's trip to Puerto Rico, and counts as part of the transfer class, although he will not be playing for the Jayhawks moving forward.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH KANSAS FANS AT JAYHAWKSLANT.COM
*****
5. MISSISSIPPI (3,125 points)
Ole Miss transfers:
Brandon Murray (No. 11)
Allen Flanigan (No. 81)
Jamarion Sharp (No. 83)
Moussa Cisse (99)
Austin Nunez (149)
To say expectations in the Ole Miss fan base rose when the Rebels hired Chris Beard in March would be an understatement. Beard added impact talent to his roster but, for two of those players, it remains to be seen when the impact will occur.
Murray (LSU and Georgetown) and Cisse (Memphis/Oklahoma State) are both two-time transfers and need an NCAA waiver to play for the Rebels this season. Flanigan is a lefty wing who really goes to the glass for rebounds and is a physical and athletic driver.
Sharp, a 7-foot-3 center, was Conference USA's defensive player of the year the last two seasons at WKU. Nunez is somewhat overlooked but he could get the start at point guard.
