LMU and SCU seem to be the early favorites to take the 3rd spot in the new BYU-free conference. Plenty of variables still in play, but the rest of the teams seem to be quite a bit behind at this point.
6 Likes
3 Likes
Hope the best for him. I just donāt see him playing more than a couple minutes a night at KU if that.
2 Likes
His older brother played there and is in the NBA, so perhaps Parker feels like he has a better shot at playing high-pro level if he finishes as a Jayhawk
Christian is actually his younger brother. Parker is already 23.
2 Likes
Both the Bediako and Braun transfers are weird moves to me. Both presumably left, in part, because they were likely going to lose their starting positions and some minutes. Or at least the competition would be much fiercer. But both were certain to play high backup minutes at worst.
Then both go to programs where they are likely to play even less. Thereās familiarity at KU and the chance to be on a championship-caliber team, so I understand the Parker move better. And maybe KU NIL money is better even for a deep bench guy. Bediako is more of a mystery.
I wish them both the best. And itās kind of cool that SCUās likely backup players (albeit multi-year starters) can find landing spots on Big East and Big 12 teams.
10 Likes
Itās also ironic that both their younger brothers are better and had big success at big programsā¦ maybe some sibling jealousy?
2 Likes
Adding to the irony: the pundits would have our own Jalen Williams as the lesser of the two Williams brothers. So even with an NBA guy who looks to be a future All Star, Santa Clara is the place for less talented older brothers. 
4 Likes
I think Braun and Bediako are good uses of the portal. They both were solid teammates and got their degree, but were not going to see an increase in playing time next year at Santa Clara. Braun and Bediako get to move on to a new experience and the Broncos get more minutes for the talented young guys and a few intriguing portal additions.
Kyle Smith, Head Coach at Washington State, had a great interview discussing NIL. He said a top 60 team is probably going to cost about 1 to 1.5 million a year in NIL. 'You're just not going to have the same players year over year': Washington State coach Kyle Smith faces challenges of NIL, transfer portal | The Spokesman-Review
A couple of other thoughts, considerations on Braun and Bediako:
Kansas currently only has two other veteran forwards/center on their roster. Lack of depth alone presents a playing time opportunity for Parker. And one of those other players is Michigan transfer, Hunter Dickinson, a 7-1, 260 lb true center. Dickinson certainly isnāt going to play 30+ minutes consistently and Parker provides a completely different skill set than Dickinson (speed, mobility, etc.). Kansas does have an incoming frosh who makes their 4th frontcourt playerā¦but still not a ton of frontcourt depth for Parker to compete with.
And beyond the PT consideration, Parker may be motivated by the opportunity to play for a blue blood program with a 95% chance to make the NCAA tourney and maybe ~50% chance of a Sweet Sixteenā¦SCU canāt compete with those variables if they matter to Parker.
And for Bediako, the PT opportunity may in fact be better at Seton Hall than at SCU. Seton Hall has one returning center and one incoming true freshman forward. Thatās it so far in the frontcourt. I assume they are still pursuing other frontcourt transfers but as of now the PT competition for Bediako is limited.
3 Likes
Koroma is a solid get for Portland, we were interested but of course are now tapped out on scholarships. I suspect Koroma will start for them.
Portland has some rebuilding to do with all the guys they lost.
They also landed this transfer from Miami. Was a walk-on and didnāt play much but apparently had multiple D1 offers out of high school.
Appears to be a good one for USF. Listed at 6-8, darn tall for a point guard, will be interesting to see if he actually plays the point full time.
USF was and is still thin in the backcourt. Sharavjamts plus USC transfer Malik Thomas, return 6th man Marcus Williams and one incoming freshman point guardā¦thatās it for backcourt guys. They have at least one, maybe two scholarship spots open; Iām sure they are still in pursuit of another guard.
And kind of cool that the diversity of the City helped them land Sharavjamts. A stark difference between Memphis, Lincoln, NE and San Francisco.
2 Likes
A good get for GU but a strange oneā¦more of decommit than a transfer.
Heās a 2023 recruit, apparently arrived at KU last month for summer workouts and subsequently decommitted. KU released him from his NLI so doesnāt count as his āfreeā transfer.
6-7 wing, maybe a Strawther replacement.
And still only 11 scholarships players on GUās roster and theyāre thin in the backcourt where they have returner Nolan Hickman, one of the top transfers in the country in PG Ryan Nembhard and incoming frosh Dusty Stromer. They have some solid wings including one who can theoretically play the ā2ā but seems GU could still use at least one more true guard.
He apparently was already enrolled at KU so he needs to use his transfer waiver.
So be it.
An early version of this article in the Spokesman-Review (Spokaneās prime newspaper with reporters who follow the Zags closely) initially stated he would not be considered a transfer since he was released from his NLI. The article has since been updated to include his interview and quotes from another article stating he would have to use his one-time transfer.
Kansas transfer, former four-star recruit Marcus Adams Jr. commits to Gonzaga | The Spokesman-Review
Mute point as far as weāre concernedā¦heāll be able to play next season against us either way.
Didnāt want to start a new thread, but hereās a good Chron article about NIL at the Bay Area schools:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/nil-basketball-bay-area-recruiting-18472265.php