There is no offseason

Summer? Nah. Not with waiver news, more commitments, and teams wrapping up foreign basketball tours.

Author

Tristan Freeman
August 11, 2023

The college basketball offseason can be broken into different groups. We have the coaching carousel, the transfer portal, and now, the waiver decisions by the NCAA. We got a taste Thursday of what’s potentially to come for the next couple of months for a select group of players.

Let's get to the news.

1. Omar Silverio denied waiver to play for WVU

With less than three months before the start of the 2023-24 season, it’s crunch time for pending waiver requests for multi-time transfers (who aren’t graduate transfers). Omar Silverio learned Thursday that his request didn’t go in his favor.

Silverio last played at Hofstra during the 2021-22 season, averaging 10.9 ppg. He transferred to Manhattan after that but never played there. He went to West Virginia (along with Jose Perez) after Manhattan fired coach Steve Masiello just before the start of the 2022-23 season.

Silverio is one of the dozens of college hoop players reportedly trying to get a waiver from the NCAA. However, the NCAA made waves earlier this week by denying a pair of football players a waiver. (There have been plenty of critics of that decision, but considering there are plenty of critics of the current state of the portal, there probably isn’t an ideal path.)

But one thing is clear, the NCAA was serious when it said they were clamping down on two-time transfers obtaining waivers. Silverio didn’t get his and now his college career might be over. West Virginia is still awaiting news on Montana State transfer ReaQuan Battle’s waiver decision unless he finds a way to graduate this summer.

2. Notre Dame lands Garrett Sundra

New Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry might not have a ton to work with for the 2023-24 season — buy The Almanac and you’ll know for sure — but after that? He’s starting to build a potent roster, including Notre Dame’s latest addition.

Garrett Sundra is a 6-10 power forward from Virginia, ranked in the top 100 overall, according to 247sportsComposite. He’s a skilled frontcourt player, capable of stretching defenses with his shooting ability. The Irish beat out Butler, Miami, Virginia Tech and Providence from his final list of options.

Sundra stands out in Notre Dame’s future roster thanks to his floor spacing. The current frontcourt players (Kebba Njie, Tae Davis, Matt Zona, and Carey Booth) aren’t real shooters, and Shrewsberry is coming off coaching the best 3-point shooting team in the country at Penn State last season. Time will tell if Sundra can develop to that level of play. Good thing he’s not just 1841% committed.

3. Notable foreign tour performances of the week

Here’s the requisite disclaimer that you shouldn’t read too much into results from teams on foreign tours. Still, there have been some nice performances from players that could be the start of some big upcoming campaigns.

Here’s a quick rundown:

Miami (2-0 in France)

The Hurricanes won its two games by 41 points combined over Parisian Select and AC Golfe Juan Vallauris.

FSU transfer Matthew Cleveland has turned in some good games but the standout is Wooga Popular, who went for 25 points and nine rebounds in the last game. With ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong gone, look for Poplar to be the next man up.

Purdue (2-0 in Germany)

National Player of the Year big man Zach Edey isn’t playing, which means the supporting case gets some time to shine.

Guard Braden Smith has 23 total assists in two games and forward Trey Kaufmann-Penn has been the recipient of most of those, averaging 15.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg so far. The former top-60 prospect could be someone looking at more minutes next season, whether at the 4 or 5-spot.

USC (1-0 in Greece)

The Trojans came back to beat BC Mega MIS, 76-73. The guard duo of Boogie Ellis (25 points) and five-star freshman guard Isaiah Collier (20 points) led the way in the backcourt.

USC has two more exhibition games (11th and 13th), both of which will also be televised on NBATV.

Creighton (3-0 in the Bahamas)

The offensive firepower was on display for all three easy victories.

Trey Alexander had a 31-point effort in a win over Zalgiris, while Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth was steadily running the offense. All three power forwards (Mason Miller, Isaac Traudt, and Jason Green) started different games but at least statistically, it was Miller that stood out.

Maryland (3-0 in Italy)

All eyes were on the talented freshmen duo of Jaime Kaiser and Deshawn Harris-Smith in the past week and neither disappointed.

Kaiser averaged 15.7 ppg in the three games and shot the ball well from three-point range, while Harris-Smith was the all-around playmaker, averaging nearly a double-double while also passing the ball well. There’s a good chance both of them start alongside the returning veteran trio of Donta Scott, Julian Reese, and Jahmir Young.

Shrewd move

We’ll wrap up our Off the Carousel series — if you missed any of them, watch ‘em all here — with Micah Shrewsberry, who takes over a Notre Dame program that has had one coach this century. What’s that transition look like, and what’s going to be his approach? He talks about it with Rob Dauster.

Links as you prepare for transfer announcements at midnight.

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