Man in the middle

Ryan Kalkbrenner announced his return for Creighton, but he wasn't the only one. Johni Broome and Lamont Butler will also head back to school for likely Top 25 teams. Plus, transfer trends and more

Author

Mike Miller
May 30, 2023

Hope you had a pleasant weekend and (if you were able) kicked back a little bit yesterday and relaxed. Most of us at The Field of 68 certainly did. Made for a nice Memorial Day. Almost as nice as the news Creighton got Monday night.

Let's get to it.

1. Kalkbrenner cements Creighton’s rosy outlook

Ryan Kalkbrenner is an efficient basketball player. He maximizes his excellent defensive positioning and rarely wastes shots on offense. No muss, no fuss.

That also extends to Twitter.

It wasn’t an unexpected move. But it certainly prompted an emphatic response from his coach. The 7-foot Kalkbrenner has flourished at Creighton, improving his all-around game and serving as the key element in the Blue Jays’ run to the Elite Eight.

Kalkbrenner averaged 15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game this past season, and ranked third in the country in field-goal percentage (69.5). Per KenPom, his offensive rating (133.4) placed him sixth overall nationally, led by his 72.5 true-shooting percentage.

He will enter his senior season as the favorite for National DPOY and he’ll be on the shortlist of preseason All-America candidates and Big East POY contenders. Just as important? He’ll anchor Creighton’s 2023-24 roster. Kalkbrenner’s presence ensures Creighton’s floor raised a few levels — and if another teammate returns, the ceiling is awfully high.

Now Creighton’s waiting on guard Trey Alexander (a borderline first-round pick) to decide if he’ll withdraw ahead of the May 31 draft deadline.

Wing Baylor Scheierman is already back in Omaha for another season. Those two, along with incoming Utah State point guard Steven Ashworth, give the Blue Jays a formidable trio. Alexander would make them a Top 10 team.

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2. Broome, Butler headline other NBA draft withdraws

Kalkbrenner wasn’t the only big man to bolster his team’s 2023-24 outlook with some Monday night news.

All-SEC center Johni Broome says he’ll return to Auburn for his senior season after going through the G League Elite Camp and the NBA Combine. That decision probably took a little longer than coach Bruce Pearl would’ve liked, but that’s because Broome played well enough to warrant further evaluation by the league, which should be a promising sign for a guy who will be one of the SEC’s best players next season.

The 6-10 Broome led Auburn in scoring (14.2 ppg), rebounds (8.4) and blocks (2.4). He’ll need to improve his offensive repertoire for his pro career, but he’ll continue to thrive at Auburn even if he remains a player who relies on his overwhelming physical strength.

Also back for 2023-24? San Diego State’s Final Four hero.

Butler, a 6-2 guard whose game-winner vs. FAU was probably the moment of the 2023 tourney, gives the Aztecs three core players back from their 32-7 squad, along with Darrion Trammell and Micah Parrish. (Jaedon LeDee could make it four. Meanwhile, Matt Bradley, Nathan Mensah and Aguek Arop exhausted their eligibility, while Keshad Johnson will transfer to Arizona.)

Butler’s return makes SDSU a likely preseason Top 25 team given his experience and scoring punch (expect him to average double-digits for the first time in his career.)

Broome, Butler and Kalkbrenner are just the starts of what should be a host of players making announcements over the next two days, such as Zach Edey, Oscar Tshiebwe, Reece Beekman, Terrence Shannon, Coleman Hawkins, Andre Jackson, Tristen Newton, Cliff Omoruyi, Chase Audige, Jaden Akins, Damion Baugh, Kobe Brown, Arthur Kaluma, DaRon Holmes and Johnell Davis, among others. (Full list of early entry candidates is here.)

Other notable decisions from the last few days:

3. The transfer market and potential stars

The transfer portal already dominates the news every spring.

Next season? It’ll officially be worth the hype.

Evan Miya writes — this is at his Substack, not his website — that next season points scored from incoming transfers are expected to surpass 50 percent for the first time. It’ll also mark the first time transfers are expected to outproduce incoming freshmen.

Image credit: Evan Miya

This is a trend that’s been coming and noted for a while. Coaches have spoken quite a bit about how they’ve had to adjust their recruiting strategies because the transfer impact usually outweighs any freshman impact.

It’s the reason some programs can have such a quick turnaround under new coaches (Mizzou, K-State.) And, as Evan writes, it doesn’t just apply to the major conference schools.

Connor Vanover (from Arkansas) helped Oral Roberts back to the NCAA Tournament. Jalen Gaffney (from UConn) was a crucial cog in FAU’s breakout season. Ryan Larson enjoyed massive success at College of Charleston (from Wofford). All of whom checked in as “hidden gems” in Evan’s rankings.

So who does he project as the transfer breakout stars for this year? That’s where I point you to his site. Enjoy!

Smooth transition

Ausar Thompson is a “natural wing” who can “flourish in the open court,” says his Overtime Elite coach Dave Leitao. Will that make his move to the NBA easier than his brother, Amen, who’ll be trying to run the point? That could be the case.

Links as you start combing through emails.

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