Spokane special

Within the past 10 years, the phrase "year-round sport" has become an apt descriptor of the NBA. LeBron's decision in 2010 kicked off an era that saw player movement, one-year deals and trade requests become the norm. Just look at the free agency hysteria that ensues weeks after the playoffs end.

College basketball isn't too different. With the one-time transfer rule, we, too, get to enjoy a "year-round sport." It's a good thing we took our siesta when we did. Now, you blink and you miss a new commitment, an official visit or a new entrant. (Not to mention Sunday was the deadline for college players to enter the NBA Draft. We'll have more on that in Tuesday's Daily.)

Let's get to the news.

1. Zags bag two studs

Everything came up Gonzaga over the weekend — and it wasn't just Rui Hachimura continuing his torrid playoff shooting.

Zags fans woke up to two new commitments Friday morning, as Ryan Nembhard (Creighton) and Graham Ike (Wyoming) announced their decisions around 7 am Pacific Time. 

For Nembhard, his family ties to Gonzaga run deep. His brother Andrew played for the Zags from 2020-22, made the national title game in 2021, and became a top-35 draft pick after transferring from Florida. 

The younger Nembhard will hope for similar results. 

His addition signifies that Mark Few wants more consistency from his backcourt. Before last season, Gonzaga benefited from steady point guard play for half a decade. But in 2022-23, the Zags lacked a reliable floor leader, which doomed them in the Elite Eight. (Nolan Hickman, Rasir Bolton, Malachi Smith and Hunter Sallis combined to shoot 6-for-21 in the loss to UConn.)

That shouldn't be a problem with Nembhard in the fold. The junior gives Gonzaga an elite pick-and-roll operator who upped his 3-point percentage from 31.1 as a freshman to 35.6 as a sophomore.

Ike, on the other hand, profiles as the Drew Timme successor. The 6-9, 255-pound big man missed all of last season with a foot injury, but he was a force as a sophomore the year prior. 

In 2022, he ranked third in the Mountain West in offensive rebounding rate, second in defensive rebounding rate, and fourth in free throw rate, all while averaging 19.5 points per contest. The southpaw plays primarily with his back to the basket, and while he won't wow anybody with athleticism, his physical style wears down opponents.

The two newcomers make Gonzaga — yet again — the clear favorite in the WCC (Sorry, Saint Mary's.) They also provide the core for a potential Top 10 team.

2. Knechting the dots

For three straight seasons, Tennessee has deployed a top-five defense. But the results haven't come as easily on the other side of the ball. During that stretch, its offense finished with an average ranking of 61st nationally on KenPom.com.

Rick Barnes took one massive step toward amending that issue by landing Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht over the weekend. One of the most offensively gifted players in the portal, the 6-6 wing gives the Vols an injection of scoring.

The former JUCO standout can do a little bit of everything — he plays out of ball screens (80th percentile as a ball screen handler, per Synergy), creates off the bounce and is a deadeye shooter. Knecht also boasts the athleticism needed to translate to the SEC (his 26 dunks last season would've ranked second on the Vols, behind only Olivier Nkamhoua.)

His only question mark, oddly enough, is defense. That was a team-wide problem for Northern Colorado, as the Bears ranked among D-I's worst defensive teams during Knecht's two seasons in Greeley. However, his new situation is tailor-made to get the most out of him on that end.

With the return of Santiago Vescovi and a healthy Zakai Zeigler, Knecht will round out one of the top perimeter trios in the SEC. While he almost certainly won't post the same eye-popping numbers he did in the Big Sky, he could emerge as the Vols' second option.

3. Heels hook Harrison

Tennessee wasn't the only team to address its weaknesses. North Carolina did the same by adding Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram.

Ingram, a 2021 McDonald's All-American, didn't quite live up to the hype in Palo Alto, averaging 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in two seasons. However, his stats don't tell the full story. Hampered by a lackluster supporting cast, the powerfully built wing led the Cardinal in usage and shouldered the offensive load. But in Chapel Hill, he'll slot into a supporting role alongside RJ Davis and Armando Bacot — one better suited to his skill.

Oh, and about UNC's weakness he'll help fix: Last season, the Tar Heels struggled to keep the ball moving. They assisted on just 45.8 percent of their field goals — 310th in the country and by far their lowest number of the KenPom era.

Ingram, meanwhile, ranked second in the Pac-12 in assist rate during conference play and could blossom as a secondary playmaker. 

Although he's not the same athlete, Ingram could play a similar role to Theo Pinson in 2018. In Pinson's senior season, Roy Williams unleashed him as a point forward, a move that allowed him to lead Heels in assists as he set up Joel Berry, Cam Johnson and Luke Maye.

Now, Ingram will still yield primary ballhandling duties to Davis (and perhaps reclass candidate Elliot Cadeau.) But a Pinson-adjacent formula could net strong results — especially if Carolina can add one more big-time shooting wing.

4. Best of the rest

Aside from the biggest names, a whirlwind of transfer commitments occurred over the weekend. Here are the most notable:

Aaron Estrada picks Bama: Ah, Nate Oats and deep backcourts, a combination that goes together like peanut butter and jelly, pizza and wings, and Dillon Brooks and regret. 

And Oats' latest addition, two-time CAA Player of the Year Aaron Estrada, might be his most potent scoring threat. The lefty plays on and off-ball and converts just as efficiently at the rim as he does from beyond the arc. He'll form a ferocious guard duo with Mark Sears. (The Tide also grabbed Cal State Fullerton's Latrell Whitesell.)

Villanova has Hart: Go ahead and pencil Kyle Neptune among the offseason winners. First, he coaxed Justin Moore back for a fifth season. Then, he landed hyper-skilled combo guard TJ Bamba (Washington State.) And finally, he got a commitment from Maryland transfer Hakim Hart. Hart isn't elite at any skill, but he's the ultimate "connector" type of player. The 6-8 wing can man either forward spot, makes smart passes, hits corner 3s and runs the floor in transition.

Texas' new rim protector: Kadin Shedrick, a metrics darling, seemingly fell out of favor last season at Virginia. But that didn't deter Rodney Terry from beefing up the Texas frontcourt. His fit next to Dylan Disu may take some ironing out, but few players in the portal offer a better combination of interior defense and lob gravity.

Ruffin' up the SWAC: Who needs Coach Prime, anyway? Jackson State fans can now look to the hardwood for excitement as new point guard Daeshun Ruffin (Ole Miss) will deliver the goods. A former McDonald's All-American, Ruffin is all about getting to the rim and throwing lobs to teammates (his 40.1 percent assist rate would've comfortably led the SEC had he played enough games to qualify.) Throughout his coaching tenure, Mo Williams has preferred an up-tempo style of play, and Ruffin fits that to a T.

Quick hitters:

• Daniel Batcho (Texas Tech) to Louisiana Tech

• Avery Anderson (Oklahoma State) to TCU

• Yohan Traore (Auburn) to UC Santa Barbara

• Devan Cambridge (Auburn) to Oregon

• Mustafa Amzil (Dayton) to New Mexico

• Max Shulga and Sean Bairstow (Utah State) to VCU

• Ryan Langborg (Princeton) to Northwestern

• Kario Oquendo (Georgia) to Oregon

• Brett Thompson (Tennessee Tech) to Youngstown State

• Jalen Deloach (VCU) to Georgia

Into the portal:

• Damion Collins (Kentucky)

• CJ Fredrick (Kentucky)

• Dušan Mahorčič (NC State)

5. All EYBLz on Me

We'll take a break from the transfer portal and close today by looking at the high school ranks. The Nike, Adidas and Under Armour AAU circuits started this weekend, with the former commanding most of the headlines. 

Cooper Flagg (2025) showed why NBA scouts regard him so highly. On Day 1 of the EYBL circuit, he dropped a 50-burger.

But he wasn't the only 2025 prospect making waves. No. 1 prospect Cameron Boozer, the son of Carlos Boozer, predictably drew rave reviews, while forward Caleb Wilson validated his top-15 ranking.

Nevertheless, some of the most intriguing storylines emerge from how coaching staffs prioritize their time. On3 provided a live blog that tracked who coaches watched and when. If you've got a question about which recruits your team values the most, that's your go-to resource.

Of particular interest:

• Bill Self, Bruce Pearl, Jon Scheyer and Steve Pikiell watched Dylan Harper, a top-2 recruit in the class of 2024.

• Self also closely watched sharpshooting combo guard Boogie Fland, alongside Nate Oats and John Calipari.

• Rodney Terry, Scott Drew, Eric Musselman, Norm Roberts and Calipari tuned into Tre Johnson, Harper's cohort among the top of 2024.

• Liam McNeeley, a 5-star wing at Montverde, drew a huge crowd, consisting of staff members from Duke, Iowa, Michigan and Texas.

• One of the biggest names out of the DMV, Donnie Freeman, caught the interest of Red Autry and Nate Oats.

• Staying in that region, Isaiah Abraham, an athletic and energetic wing for Team Takeover, commanded attention from Kim English, Mike Young, Shaka Smart and Jerome Tang.

What in store for Red's Orange?

Replacing a coaching legend is never an easy task. And when that legend was at your school for half a century? Well, maybe there's more pressure than ever before. But Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster think there's a good chance new coach Red Autry will ensure Syracuse doesn't miss a beat.

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Links to click as you rethink that skiing trip:

• Dylan Disu will return to Texas for a fifth season.

• Creighton's Arthur Kaluma and Trey Alexander, Missouri's Kobe Brown and Baylor's Jalen Bridges declared for the draft.

• Wisconsin and Tennessee will engage in a "multi-year series" starting in the Kohl Center this fall. (If you like games in the 50s, this is the showcase you've been waiting for.)

• 2024 guard Labaron Philon decommitted from Auburn.

• Lathan Sommerville, a top 150 recruit in the class of 2024, is headed to Rutgers.

• Queens (NC) landed JUCO transfer Jacobi Sebock, an athlete with a rare condition that affects his sweat glands and body temperature. The university published a cool press release that's worth a read.

Thanks for reading The Field of 68 Daily! If you have a news tip or feedback, email us at [email protected].