Where new Notre Dame guard Marcus Hammond stands in 2022 transfer portal rankings
The transfer portal is ubiquitous across college basketball these days. It can be as big a resource for roster building as recruiting high school players. It can help a team plug unexpected holes. There have been no shortage of impact players to enter it this offseason. All told, more than 1,600 players (including walk-ons) have put their names in the portal this cycle.
So many, in fact, that it’s worth ranking them like high school prospects. Several outlets have done so this offseason.
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Notre Dame has pulled one player from the portal this year: Niagara grad transfer guard Marcus Hammond, who chose the Irish over Kansas State and Georgetown in late April. He averaged 18.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Purple Eagles in 2021-22. He averaged 12.6 points across his four seasons at Niagara, shooting 41.8 percent overall and 38.9 percent on three-pointers. He entered the portal March 22 and has one season of eligibility left.
Hammond (6-3, 173 pounds) played point guard and two-guard in his Niagara career and will likely do the same at Notre Dame. The Irish needed another capable ball-handler and facilitator after assist leader Prentiss Hubb chose not to return for a fifth season. Notre Dame also lost freshman guard and leading scorer Blake Wesley, who declared for the NBA Draft.
Notre Dame has three other fifth-year seniors in the backcourt along with Hammond: Cormac Ryan, Trey Wertz and Dane Goodwin. Incoming freshman J.J. Starling, a five-star recruit, is an expected contributor too, if not a likely starter.
Hammond’s commitment marks the fourth straight year Notre Dame has landed at least one transfer. The Irish added Yale forward Paul Atkinson Jr. for 2021-22, Wertz in the 2020-21 offseason and Ryan before 2019-20.
What kind of addition was Hammond in the overall portal picture? Here’s where he stands in a few outlets’ transfer portal rankings.
On3
Hammond is the No. 125 player in On3’s Transfer Portal Top 150, released Tuesday. He is rated a three-star transfer with an 88 grade.
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• Notre Dame post-spring position outlook: Quarterback
Stadium
Hammond is the No. 97 transfer in Stadium national writer Jeff Goodman’s rankings, which consists of 107 players.
“Small, but can really score,” an anonymous evaluator told Goodman. “Can shoot it from deep, and is able to get into the lane and make things happen. The question is whether he can do that at a bigger league.”
ESPN
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello ranks Hammond as the No. 88 transfer this offseason.
“First-team All-MAAC selection averaged 18.1 points and 4.7 rebounds this past season, shot 37.0% from 3-point range,” Borzello wrote. “Had 25 points and six rebounds in a narrow loss to Xavier back in November.”
