Could Grant Basile be this year's most productive portal addition? Four players who could outplay their portal rankings
With the non-stop fluidity of the college basketball transfer portal, Grant Basile’s commitment to Virginia Tech on Wednesday went largely unnoticed. However, with the day’s main focus elsewhere, could Basile be the next season’s most productive player out of the portal?
On the periphery, Basile was one of college basketball’s most productive players last season. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward averaged 18.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game. He shot 49.8-percent from the field and knocked down 39 threes.
Grant Basile is a two-time All-Horizon second-team member and the 2022 Horizon Tournament MVP, leading his team to a 22-14 record and an NCAA tournament berth.
However, if you look a little deeper at Basile’s season, he played his best against Wright State’s best competition. In five conference and NCAA tournament games, the redshirt junior averaged 19.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game. He shot 46.2-percent from the field and made 20 threes. Wright State won the Horizon League tournament and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament game.
In the three Power-Six games that Wright State played last season, Grant Basile averaged 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. He knocked down six threes in those three games, including a 23-point, 16-rebound road game against NC State.
Basile committing to Virginia Tech is a perfect storm of talent, system fit, and opportunity. The opportunity to play will be readily available for the Hokies. They lose All-ACC Tournament, starting big man Keve Aluma. Starting four-man Justyn Mutts’ return is up in the air, and backup sophomore big man David N’Guessan entered the transfer portal. Those three combined to play 74.2 of the 80 available minutes at the four and five positions last season.
In Mike Young’s read and react motion offense, a new age forward like Basile is a perfect fit. With the mixture of five-out actions, space and play, and quick-hitters, Basile could reach the ceiling of his potential as a focal point of this offense.
Other portal fits who could outplay their ranking.
6-8 SF Ali Ali (Butler)
Ali Ali transferred to Butler after three seasons at Akron. Ali was All-MAC second team and All-MAC Tournament last season. He averaged 13.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 40.7-percent from three.
Butler returns many of its minutes in the three backcourt positions; however, they lose both starters at the four and five. With Ali’s length and skill set, he could easily toggle between the three and the four to give opposing teams different looks. Thad Matta has shown he likes lengthy, skilled guys in his lineup. Butler shot 30.5-percent (322nd) from three as a team last season; if Ali can replicate his three-point shooting, there could be many opportunities for available minutes.
6-6 PF Noah Carter (Missouri)
Noah Carter transferred to Missouri after playing three seasons at Northern Illinois. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward was second-team All-AVC last season. He averaged 15.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists with 40 made threes and shooting 48.2-percent from the field.
After parting ways with head coach Cuonzo Martin, newly-appointed head coach Dennis Gates needed an entire roster rebuild. The Tigers return only three scholarship players from last year’s team, so playing time is available across the board. Carter is the type of player who is hard to take off the floor. He does so much for spacing while being able to guard and rebound. Gates likes positional versatility, and when you mix talent, opportunity, and positional fit, good things seem to happen.
6-3 SG Sean McNeil (Ohio State)
Sean McNeil transferred to Ohio State after playing three years at West Virginia. He played his first season of college ball at Clark State Community College. McNeil averaged 12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists last season after finishing six in the Big 12 in three-pointers made (57) and top-20 in scoring.
Ohio State is, most likely, set to lose six of its top eight minutes leaders from last season. Assuming freshman Malaki Branham keeps his name in the draft, his 30 minutes a night and 41.6-percent three-point shooting will need to be replaced. McNeil has made 155 career threes and shot at a 37.8-percent clip over the last two seasons. There is a swagger here, and the opportunity is present for a program that expects to win.