A look at the 9 conference players of the year in the transfer portal
Creighton picked up a key player from the transfer portal Tuesday when Baylor Scheierman announced he would become a Bluejay.
Scheierman was the star player on a South Dakota State team that went 21-0 in the Summit League (including three wins in the conference tournament) and fell to Providence in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He is a legit combo guard and a high-level shooter from long range, a glaring issue for Creighton last season.
Scheierman also was one of nine low- or mid-major conference players of the year to enter the transfer portal. That’s fully one-third of the league players of the year in the conferences outside the Big Six in college basketball (the same five as in college football plus the Big East). And while there may be some high-major programs in the leagues outside the Big Six (Gonzaga, Houston and Memphis, for instance), the 26 other leagues themselves are mid- or low-majors. And losing star players definitely hurts.
He is just the third of the nine to choose a new school. Here’s a breakdown of the nine leagues that lost their player of the year and the player’s current status.
American Athletic Conference
G Kendric Davis, SMU
New school: Memphis
The skinny: Davis was one of the most highly coveted players in the portal when he chose Memphis. That was a doubly big blow for SMU: Not only did he leave the Mustangs, he left for a conference rival. Davis, a Houston native, began his career at TCU before moving on to SMU after his freshman season in 2018-19. He will be a fifth-year senior next season, and is a top-flight a distributor (5.9 assists per game in 75 games at SMU) and scorer (he averaged 19 points-plus in each of the past two seasons with the Mustangs).
Big South Conference
F D.J. Burns, Winthrop
New school: Undecided
The skinny: Burns, a 6-foot-9, 275-pounder who went to high school a few miles from Winthrop’s campus, began his career at Tennessee before transferring home after his freshman season with the Vols. Burns was a part-time starter in his first season with the Eagles, then a fulltime starter the past two seasons. Burns has limited athleticism and isn’t a great rebounder (4.0 per game over his career), but is an effective low-post scorer (15.0 points per game on 62 percent shooting last season).
Horizon League
G Antoine Davis, Detroit
New school: Undecided
The skinny: Davis, the league’s co-player of the year, is the son of Detroit coach Mike Davis, the former Indiana, UAB and Texas Southern head man. Antoine was a four-year starter and a high-volume scorer for the Titans; he is 22nd all-time in scoring in Division I history with 2,734 points. He was third in the nation in scoring this past season at 23.9 points per game. Davis had higher averages in each of the previous three seasons (26.1 as a freshman in 2018-19, 24.3 as a sophomore and 24.0 as a junior). He is considering Kansas State, Georgetown, Maryland and BYU, and also could return to Detroit. Davis is 266 points away from becoming the 11th player in college basketball history to score 3,000. In each of the three full seasons he has played (2020-21 was truncated by COVID), Davis has scored an average of 736 points per season. Another season with 736 points would give him 3,470 for his career, which would be second all-time, behind only Pete Maravich (3,667 in just three seasons). Among the players he could pass next season: J.J. Redick, Larry Bird, Tyler Hansbrough, Elvin Hayes, Danny Manning, Oscar Robertson, Hersey Hawkins, Doug McDermott and Lionel Simmons.
Missouri Valley Conference
G A.J. Green, Northern Iowa
New school: Undecided
The skinny: Green was a two-time league player of the year. He helped Northern Iowa win the MVC regular-season title in 2021-22 by averaging 18.8 points, the fourth season in a row he has averaged at least 15. He also shot 38.8 percent from 3-point range and 91.5 percent from the line this past season. UNI is a few miles from where he went to high school, so it is not a given that he leaves; he also could turn pro.
Ohio Valley Conference
F K.J. Williams, Murray State
New school: Undecided
The skinny: The transfer of C Johni Broome from OVC rival Morehead State to Auburn grabbed a ton of attention, but Williams actually had the better season. Williams, a native of Cleveland, Miss., averaged 18.0 points and 8.4 rebounds for the Racers, who went 31-3 this past season. A three-year starter, Williams was a career 56.8 percent shooter from the field in his four seasons at Murray State.
Southern Conference
G Malachi Smith, Chattanooga
New school: Undecided
The skinny: Chattanooga won the Southern Conference regular-season title, doubled up with the SoCon tourney title, then almost upset Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Alas, coach Lamont Paris left for South Carolina in late March, then Smith followed Paris out the door. Smith, a native of Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis, began his career at Wright State before moving on to the Mocs. South Carolina has been mentioned as a transfer possibility because of Paris’ hiring there. Smith was a stat-sheet stuffer with the Mocs, averaging 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals; he also shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range.
Summit League
G Baylor Scheierman, South Dakota State
New school: Creighton
The skinny: Scheierman might be a half-step slow, but he has good range, is an excellent shooter and a solid ballhandler. He is from Aurora, Neb., about 120 miles from Creighton’s campus in Omaha. Scheierman should thrive in the Bluejays’ offense. He led the Jackrabbits by averaging 16.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists this past season; he also shot 46.9 percent from 3-point range and 80.2 percent from the line.
Sun Belt Conference
F Norchad Omier, Arkansas State
New school: Miami
The skinny: Lost in all the hoopla surrounding Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack and the brouhaha surrounding holdover G Isaiah Wong was that UM picked up Omier. He is a native of Nicaragua who played high school ball in Miami. Omier was the Sun Belt freshman of the year in 2020-21, then averaged 17.9 points and 12.2 rebounds in earning overall conference player of the year honors this past season. He had 20 double-doubles for the Red Wolves as a sophomore after having 15 as a freshman.
Western Athletic Conference
G Teddy Allen, New Mexico State
New school: Undecided
The skinny: Maybe Allen’s decision to enter the transfer portal (or, rather, re-enter) shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Because of the extra year of eligibility granted everyone by the NCAA for the COVID-ravaged 2020-21 season, Allen now has the chance to attend six schools in six years. (Man, think of the NIL opportunities for Allen, who had a 37-point performance in a first-round NCAA tourney upset of UConn, with a moving company.) He signed with West Virginia out of Boys Town High in Omaha, Neb., as part of the 2017 recruiting class, then left WVU for Wichita State after that season. Allen sat out at Wichita State in 2018-19, then left for Western Nebraska CC in time for the 2019-20 season. He starred at Nebraska in 2020-21, then played at New Mexico State last season. Now he’s on the move again.