Farewell, fab freshmen

Good morning! Hope you’ve fully settled into transfer portal and NBA Draft season, but it’s fully upon us.

Let's get to the news.

1. It’s one-and-done for Demin, Richardson, Johnson

NIL still can’t compete with the NBA Draft lottery. Three of college hoops’ prized freshman, Egor Demin. Tre Johnson and Jase Richardson, announced Monday that they’ll go pro.

Demin, a 6-9 point guard from Russia, averaged 10.6 ppg and 5.5 apg this season for BYU. He had hinted at a potential return after losing to Alabama in the Sweet 16, but he’s a potential lottery pick and almost certainly a first-round lock. It’s tough to ignore that kind of payday.

Few players delivered eye-popping highlights like Demin, who’s capable of absurd passes and shot creation. He helped the Cougars (26-10) reach their first Sweet 16 since 2011. There’s some thought that first-year coach Kevin Young could have an even more dangerous team next season with incoming freshman A.J. Dybantsa, but without Demin, they’ll need a new point guard.

We’ll see if a prediction of Baylor guard Rob Wright comes true.

Wright averaged 11.3 ppg and 4.2 apg as a Baylor freshman, meaning he’s already a proven Big 12 player. That would lock BYU as a preseason top 10 team.

Jase Richardson’s entry into the NBA Draft also is not a surprise. He was Michigan State’s top-option en route to an Elite Eight. His production (12.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.9 apg) doesn’t jump out, but his skill set and shot creation should make him a likely lottery pick like his father, Jason.

"My dad had the blueprint laid out for me for how I was going to get to my goals," Jase Richardson told ESPN. "It's really special to have someone like him next to me that has been through the process. I am always asking him for feedback and advice. We're totally different players, so I don't feel any pressure if people expect me to do what he did. I need to go out and show myself on my own."

Michigan State has a tougher road to replace Richardson than BYU has with Demin. Their top three scorers are gone (Jaden Akins exhausted his eligibility, while Tre Holloman hit the portal). The Spartans don’t have a single transfer committed yet, but do have a pair of top-75 high schools guards in Cam Ward and Jordan Scott.

Tom Izzo only added two transfers in last year’s portal, so it’ll be interesting if they’re at that number again.

The other one-and-done freshman from Tuesday was another expected move in Texas guard Tre Johnson. He’s a lock for the NBA Draft lottery, and also has a new coach coming in, so this also was a foregone conclusion.

The SEC freshman of the year averaged 19.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 2.8 apg.

2. Kentucky, Houston add impact transfers + more moves

The transfer portal never sleeps.

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