The transfer portal has become just as important in college basketball recruiting as coaches going to AAU tournaments. The Summit is no exception. Over the next 2 days, I am going to post the Reaching the Summit 1st and 2nd team All-Transfer teams and the next day the 1st team all Freshmen team. Frankly, there are enough high-quality transfers that high-level contributors will be left off. Here we go.
G KJ Hunt, Denver
Hunt transfers to Denver from Morehead State and is loaded with Division 1 experience. The coaching staff gushes about Hunt’s ability as a lead guard and team leader. Hunt may be a player who doesn’t put in eye-popping numbers, but whose impact can’t be measured by just numbers. Probably the biggest thing Hunt brings to this young and inexperienced Denver team is experience. Hunt has started 46 games at the Division 1 level and looks to be starting day 1 for the Pioneers.
G Issac McBride, Oral Roberts
Loaded with talent and potential, McBride enters the season for Oral Roberts with a battle for minutes in a solid Oral Roberts backcourt. A 4* recruit out of high school, McBride originally signed with Kansas and ended up at Vanderbilt for one season. Did McBride finally find his place at Oral Roberts or were his short stints at Kansas and Vanderbilt indicative of something? The discussion coming out of Tulsa is that the Golden Eagles got an elite defender and shooter. At only 6’1 if Coach Paul Mills decides to play Max Abmas and McBride together, we could see big things by McBride.
G Trenton Massner, Western Illinois
Signs are pointing to Massner stepping into the Western Illinois starting lineup on day one. In fact in the Leathernecks 1st exhibition, that is exactly where Massner was. Massner did a little bit of everything in his two seasons at Northwestern State, and gives the Leathernecks and needed scorer, backcourt rebounder, and distributor. Massner shot nearly 42% from 3 his freshmen year and averaged 13.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists last year.
F Courtney Brown, St. Thomas
Brown enters the season as basically the only player on the Tommies opening day roster with extensive Division 1 experience. Brown made 30 starts in 2 seasons with UW-Milwaukee and returns home to St. Paul. Not only does Brown have extensive Division 1 experience, but he also adds much-needed size to the St. Thomas roster. Brown who averaged 5.4 points, and 4 rebounds a game for Milwaukee last season may be more in line for double-digit scoring and the Tommies need him to excel on the glass this season.
F Akol Arop, Omaha
Like Brown, Arop returns home this season to play in Omaha. Arop a transfer from Nebraska comes in with a reputation as an elite athlete but missed last season after knee surgery. So it’s been a bit since anyone has seen Arop on a basketball court. Arop did play in 21 games his freshmen year at Nebraska and enters a great situation with available frontcourt minutes for the Mavericks. Undersized at 6’5 to be a true post but may make up for that with his athleticism to be a good rebounder, shot-blocker, and slasher for Omaha. One thing I know is Maverick fans are expecting big things from Arop.