Everyone knows by now that transfers can change the trajectory of a team. The top three scorers on last year’s national champion Florida team all started their careers at mid-majors before making the jump to a major conference. College basketball coaches now have to allocate as much time to recruiting transfers as recruiting high schoolers, and ACC coaches in particular have been busy. Here are the top incoming ACC transfers according to 24/7 Sports.
Darrion Williams (Texas Tech to NC State)
Without a doubt, one of the best players in the country who didn’t turn pro, Darrion Williams is onto his third school after stints at Nevada and Texas Tech. He was the second-best player (only to conference player of the year, JT Toppin) on a Texas Tech team that won 15 games in the Big 12 and had eventual national champions, Florida, against the ropes in the Elite 8.
At 6-foot-6, Williams is slightly undersized for a conventional power forward, but is such a physical rebounder that it doesn’t really matter. Although he shot just 34 percent on 3-pointers last year, he’s been an incredibly capable floor spacer in the past, shooting 45.8 percent from 3 on fewer attempts during his first year at Texas Tech. He is the top ranked transfer for NC State’s incoming coach, Will Wade, a trend that will become very clear as this list goes on.
Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State to Louisville)
Both Adrian Wooley and Louisville surprised a lot of people last season. Wooley’s Kennesaw State team made headlines last year when they defeated a then-ranked Rutgers team that had top-five picks in the NBA Draft, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, and Louisville made the NCAA Tournament a year after going 8-24.
Second-year coach Pat Kelsey looks to build on an 18-2 ACC record and a first round NCAA tournament exit with the 28th best recruiting class and third-best class of transfers in the country per 24/7 Sports. Wooley, a 6-foot-5 combo guard, averaged 18.8 points per game with remarkable efficiency, shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from 3.
Ryan Conwell (Xavier to Louisville)
Ryan Conwell is the other ACC newcomer in Louisville’s transfer class. He’s another big guard at 6-foot-4, who shoots it well from 3 at 41.2 percent. Louisville is his fourth school in four years, with previous stints at South Florida, Indiana State, and most recently, Xavier. He’s already made the jump from a mid-major to high major program while maintaining his production and his experience will definitely be welcomed on a Louisville team with lots of new faces.
Henri Veesaar (Arizona to North Carolina)
His last game was a Sweet 16 loss to Duke, and it left such a bad taste in his mouth that he transferred to their most bitter rival. Veesaar comes from the University of Arizona by way of Estonia. He was at Real Madrid’s youth academy before coming to Arizona where the 7-footer averaged just 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds. He red-shirted the following year, and in his sophomore season last year, he improved to 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
He’s still just started five games in his collegiate career, but he now has a great opportunity to become a dominant big as he joins a guard-heavy roster. In North Carolina’s first season since Armando Bacot’s departure, they fell from 12th in team rebound rate to 77th. And doesn’t North Carolina just feel more like themselves when they have a good big man? Tyler Hansborough, Brice Johnson, Armondo Bacot, and now … Henri Veesaar? Maybe. Just, maybe.
Nick Davidson (Nevada to Clemson)
After an unceremonious, frankly embarrassing, blowout loss to McNeese State in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament (which is fine, because I didn’t have them going to the national championship game or anything), Clemson needed to reload. They were an old team full of seniors, some of them fifth and sixth years, whose lack of eligibility didn’t stop them from at least trying to continue to play college basketball. And one of those players was poached by the football team.
Clemson now reloads with a transfer class of six players headlined by Davidson, a 6-foot-10 center who has played for Nevada the past three seasons, starting every game in each of the last two. He averaged more than a block per game this past season and has a well-rounded offensive game, able to stretch the floor, with more than 35 percent of his field goal attempts coming from beyond the arc.
Malik Reneau (Indiana to Miami)
Mike Woodson’s departure from Indiana predictably resulted in a mass exodus of players, with eight transferring. According to 24/7, none are higher rated than Malik Reneau, who is returning to his hometown of Miami, FL to join the Hurricanes under new coach, Jai Lucas. Reneau is very much a traditional big, doing most of his damage at the basket. But just because he isn’t a shooter doesn’t mean he isn’t skilled. He often beats defenders by catching the ball with his back to the basket and backend them down, or by taking theme off the dribble and finishing through contact.
Jaron Pierre Jr. (Jacksonville State to SMU)
Jaron Pierre Jr. has everything you could want in a guard. He’s 6-foot-5, athletic, has a handle, and shot 38.2 percent on 3-pointers last year. SMU will be his fourth school in five college seasons, starting his career at Southern Mississippi before playing one year at Wichita State and Jacksonville State, respectively. He was the leading scorer in C-USA, averaging 21.6 points per game, including a 30-point game against now-conference-opponents, Georgia Tech.
Malik Thomas (San Francisco to Virginia)
Fifth-year guard, Malik Thomas, began his career at USC, but was unable to carve out any consistent playing time in two seasons. So he transferred to San Francisco, where he became the WCC’s leading scorer this past season with 19.9 points per game. Thomas is able to create shots for himself with the ball in his hands, but is incredibly active when off the ball, cutting to the basket and coming off of screens for catch-and-shoot opportunities.
Tre Donaldson (Michigan to Miami)
Tre Donaldson was Michigan’s third-leading scorer last season, behind Vladislav Goldin and first round pick, Danny Wolf. Donaldson is transferring to Miami, his third school and third high major, having played his first two college seasons at Auburn. He’s a good shooter, but is much more of a traditional point guard than anyone mentioned on this list so far, looking to get others involved or finish off the glass. He’ll undoubtedly throw plenty of lobs to fellow Big 10 to ACC transfer, Malik Reneau.
Kyan Evans (Colorado State to North Carolina)
Going off of 24/7’s ratings, there is a 10-way tie for the tenth-best player transferring into the ACC. That means it’s dealer’s choice, and I want to talk about Kyan Evans. Evans shared a backcourt with first round pick, Nique Clifford, at Colorado State on their run to the round of 32 of March Madness. Evans is an elite 3-point shooter, shooting 44.6 percent last season, and it’s just intriguing that he’s now being coached by Hubert Davis, who has the second-best career 3-point shooting percentage in NBA history.