This article is part of our College Basketball Waiver Wire series.
The transfer portal caused a lot of chaos in college basketball over the last few years, and there's been just about as much good as there has been bad because of it. The theme early in the 2023-24 campaign has been eligibility waiver requests being denied for two-time non-graduate transfers. The NCAA is really starting to crack down on these after a few years of just handing out waivers left and right. This has opened up some opportunities for other players who will need to step up with a few big-time transfers looking like they will have to sit out the season.
The first week is always critical for waiver pickups. There will be plenty of options out there who are going to take a much bigger part of their team's pie that originally thought. There will also likely be a handful of players drafted who were denied eligibility this season or who transferred and just aren't going to play that big of a role. The majority of the players in this column will be Power Conference players, but I'll also throw in a few players to add from other conferences for more expansive leagues.
The theme this week is a lot of guards who are in position to contribute quite a bit across multiple categories...
Power Conferences
Carlton Carrington, G, Pittsburgh
Well it's hard to start off your collegiate career better than posting a triple-double, and that's exactly what this stud freshman out of Baltimore did. There was
The transfer portal caused a lot of chaos in college basketball over the last few years, and there's been just about as much good as there has been bad because of it. The theme early in the 2023-24 campaign has been eligibility waiver requests being denied for two-time non-graduate transfers. The NCAA is really starting to crack down on these after a few years of just handing out waivers left and right. This has opened up some opportunities for other players who will need to step up with a few big-time transfers looking like they will have to sit out the season.
The first week is always critical for waiver pickups. There will be plenty of options out there who are going to take a much bigger part of their team's pie that originally thought. There will also likely be a handful of players drafted who were denied eligibility this season or who transferred and just aren't going to play that big of a role. The majority of the players in this column will be Power Conference players, but I'll also throw in a few players to add from other conferences for more expansive leagues.
The theme this week is a lot of guards who are in position to contribute quite a bit across multiple categories...
Power Conferences
Carlton Carrington, G, Pittsburgh
Well it's hard to start off your collegiate career better than posting a triple-double, and that's exactly what this stud freshman out of Baltimore did. There was a lot of hype around the Pittsburgh program around what Carrington could do, and it's clear that he will need to be owned in all formats. Ishmael Leggett was a big-time scorer at Rhode Island, but Carrington appears to be the playmaker that will have the ball in his hands most often in the Panther backcourt.
Cameron Hildreth, G, Wake Forest
Wake Forest brought in some talented transfers in the offseason, but it's the returning players in Hildreth and Andrew Carr who appear they will make the biggest impacts in 2023-24. Hildreth in particular torched Alabama in an exhibition game with 38 points then opened the regular season with a 33/6/5 line against Elon. The 6-4 junior could end up being one of the most improved players in the country and challenge for ACC Player of the Year if he keeps this up.
Carlos Stewart, G, LSU
Stewart's value took a massive leap when Tulane transfer Jalen Cook's eligibility waiver request was denied. That puts Stewart in position to be the lead guard for a pretty underrated roster. The 6-1 junior averaged 15.2 points, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 three-pointers per game last season at Santa Clara and could easily work his way into being the leading scorer on this LSU team.
Maxime Raynaud, F/C, Stanford
Raynaud put together a solid sophomore campaign last year when he averaged 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He looks like he could take the next step in 2023-24, however, opening the season with a massive 23/15/3/2/3 line. That's obviously unsustainable, but the opportunity is there, and he gets a nice stretch to open the season against some opponents he should be able to bully on the inside at 7-1.
Brooks Barnhizer, G/F, Northwestern
Barnhizer did not start a game in his first two years with Northwestern, but was expected to take on the role of starting small-ball power-forward this season around 7-footer Matt Nicholson. There was certainly nothing small about his performance in the opener as he posted an 18/13/2/4/2 line. There is a lot of production to replace with Chase Audige and Robbie Beran gone, and it looks like Barnhizer has taken it upon himself to absorb a solid chunk of it.
Spencer Johnson, G, BYU
Johnson looks like he is going to take the next step as a senior. After two seasons of being a role player off the bench, Johnson started 22-of-25 games last season and averaged 11.1 PPG. To start off the 2023-24 season he has notched at least 18 points and five assists in BYU's exhibition game and their regular season opener. Johnson is an elite shooter and should be able to rain in triples at a high-clip and his production in other categories will warrant a roster spot in most formats.
Allen Flanigan, G, Mississippi
It looked like Flanigan might be pushed to a sixth man role in 2023-24 with Ole Miss, something he handled quite well during a large part of last season at Auburn. That changed when Brandon Murray was unable to secure an eligibility waiver, which opened up that starting small forward spot. Flanigan posted a double-double in the opener and then dropped 29 points on Eastern Washington. The fifth-year senior also racked up three steals in each of the first two contests.
Jaylin Sellers, G, UCF
Sellers was a solid offseason addition for coach Johnny Dawkins after putting up 13.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 three-pointers as a sophomore at Ball State. Sellers has had an immediate impact with UCF out of the gate going for 23 points, six rebounds and three steals against FIU and then 22 points, 11 boards and two steals against Miami. Sellers hasn't event shot the three-ball well, though it stands to improve, as he is a career 44-percent shooter from deep.
Other Conferences
Hysier Miller, G, Temple
With Khalif Battle and Damian Dunn departing the Temple backcourt, this is now Miller's team. Those departures leave over 33 PPG on the table, and Miller appears to be the prime candidate to absorb a lot of it. Combine that with his solid ball distributing, defense and rebounding for his size, and it's not hard to see why this junior out of Philly is going to hold a lot of value this season.
Javian Davis, F/C, UAB
Davis in no stranger to competition, having started his career at Alabama before two years with Mississippi State. He is now in his second year with UAB. Davis was the primary backup last season to Trey Jemison, but now has the Blazer frontcourt to himself. Davis went for 20 points and 15 rebounds in the opener and should be called on a lot this season on the offensive end with Jordan Walker also gone.
Kolby King, G, Tulane
Tulane was one of the fastest teams in the country last season, and that is expected to continue in 2023-24. With Jalen Cook now gone, the keys have been turned over to King to play the point. Jaylen Forbes has been battling a hamstring injury and should be back to 100 percent soon, but this team proved it can support multiple scorers as Cook, Forbes and Kevin Cross combined to average nearly 55 PPG last season. Expect King to be able to handle a solid chunk of Cook's 19.9 PPG and 4.9 APG from last year.
Zeb Jackson, G, VCU
It's a new era at VCU with Mike Rhoades out and Ryan Odom in. There are a lot of unknown pieces, but the veterans of Jackson and Utah State transfer Max Shulga will be asked to handle a lot of the load. Shulga looks like he will be the leading scorer, but Jackson is going to handle the ball a lot after posting eight assists in the opener along with seven boards. There's hope for his scoring as well after 17 FG attempts in the opener, 12 of which were from deep.
