A Sea of Transfers Hit the Portal

3 former 5 stars transferring

Author

Jayden Simmons
May 03, 2022

A Sea of Transfers Hit the Portal

By Jayden Simmons

Last week was a very interesting one in the college basketball realm, as the transfer portal has opened up. The biggest headlines featured a trio of former 5-star standouts looking for a fresh start elsewhere.

Bryan Antoine was a former high-school standout at Ranney School (Tinton Falls, NJ). Antoine was the 17th-ranked prospect in the Class of 2019 and committed to Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats.

N.J. native Bryan Antoine, former McDonald’s All-American, to transfer from Villanova

Bryan Antoine, who helped lead the Ranney School to a T of C championship in 2019 and was a McDonald's All-American, will transfer from Villanova.

https://www.nj.com/setonhall/2022/04/nj-native-bryan-antoine-former-mcdonalds-all-american-to-transfer-from-villanova.html

Antoine has seen an unlucky transition to college, battling knee and ankle injuries and seeing limited playing time under Wright's tough rotation. The Junior found himself barely cracking 10 minutes per game, and shooting a career-low 24% from the field this season.

Recently, the aforementioned coach had announced his retirement, and Antoine's announcement came days later. Many rumors say that Antoine may return to his home state as there's rumored interest from Rutgers.

Patrick Baldwin Jr. was the 8th-ranked prospect in the Class of 2021 and received a lot of interest from Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils before deciding to commit to UW-Milwaukee and play for his father. However, the Panthers fired Head Coach Pat Baldwin in March after a fifth losing season. This of course severed that connection with PBJ, and he announced his entry into the transfer portal this week.

College basketball transfer portal: Patrick Baldwin Jr. to enter, 'focused' on remaining in NBA Draft

...

https://247sports.com/Article/College-basketball-transfer-portal-Patrick-Baldwin-Jr-to-enter-focused-on-remaining-in-NBA-Draft-186879913/

Baldwin Jr. had a shockingly low-productive season, averaging 12.1 PPG 5.8 RPG and 1.5 APG on 34% from the field, and a 3-8 record in 11 games. Despite entering the portal, Baldwin Jr. has said he's "focused" on remaining in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Some rumored destinations for PBJ include Northwestern, Baylor, Marquette, and Kentucky.

One of the most touted NBA prospects of the last few seasons has been the Ypsilanti, MI product, Emoni Bates. The 2004-born prospect reclassified to be eligible for the NCAA this season and committed to Penny Hardaway and Memphis' program alongside Jalen Duren after de-committing to Michigan State and turning down the NBA G-League.

Memphis forward Emoni Bate announces plans to enter transfer portal - Sports Illustrated

The former five-star recruit has spent one season with the Tigers and played in 18 games.

https://www.si.com/college/2022/04/16/emoni-bates-transfer-memphis-tigers

Bates saw struggles at Memphis this season, averaging 9.7 PPG and 3.3 RPG on 39% from the field, but they made it to the Round of 32 in the National Tournament. Since Bates is still only 18 years old, he still isn't eligible for the NBA draft, he will play another year in school or go to the NBA G-League.

Bates has said multiple schools have reached out to him including Michigan, Georgetown, Oklahoma State, Oregon, and others.

Where do you see the studs landing?