Transfer portal settles

The men’s college basketball transfer portal stopped taking new entrants Tuesday night, slowing the spring roster scramble across Division I. (ncaa.org; cbssports.com) The National Collegiate Athletic Association changed men’s basketball to a 15-day window that opened the day after the national championship game, and players had until April 21 to enter this year. Players who were already in the portal by that deadline can still choose new schools afterward. (ncaa.org; on3.com) Indiana reached the deadline with the No. 1 transfer class in On3’s rankings under coach Darian DeVries. On3 said the Hoosiers landed six transfers, including Alabama forward Aiden Sherrell, Notre Dame guard Markus Burton, Southern Methodist center Samet Yiğitoğlu and Georgia Tech guard Jaeden Mustaf. (on3.com) Indiana’s early work mattered because the program added four commitments in the portal’s first week, then finished the class before the deadline rush. Sherrell averaged 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks last season, while Burton averaged 18.5 points in 10 games after an ankle injury shortened his year. (on3.com) The closing date does not end movement; it only ends new entries, except in cases tied to a head coaching change. The National Collegiate Athletic Association also created a separate 15-day window that opens five days after a new basketball coach is hired or publicly announced. (ncaa.org) That is why late-April headlines still featured departures. Florida State forward Thomas Bassong entered the portal less than two weeks after announcing he would return, after what 247Sports described as a verbal agreement that never became a written contract. (247sports.com) Bassong played in all 33 games as a freshman for Florida State, made 17 starts and averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 19.3 minutes. 247Sports said the 6-foot-8 forward from Paris had been a top offseason retention target for first-year coach Luke Loucks. (247sports.com) Michigan State guard Divine Ugochukwu also entered before the window shut. On3 reported Wednesday that the former Miami guard played 22 games for the Spartans last season and averaged 5.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 50.6% from the field. (on3.com) As the portal settled, outlet-by-outlet rankings pointed to the same shape of the offseason: Indiana near the top, with national contenders such as Duke and Florida also drawing strong reviews for their spring hauls. The next phase is smaller and slower, with available players picking from a shrinking number of roster spots. (on3.com; cbssports.com; 247sports.com)