The key to a March Madness run in college basketball’s modern era can often be discovered during the April avalanche. It was during this disorienting month of transfer portal movement last year that Tennessee landed a commitment from Dalton Knecht, Purdue landed a pledge from Lance Jones and DJ Horne announced he was heading to NC State.
Those are just a few of the big-name players who chose their 2023-24 schools in the days and weeks after the 2023 NCAA Tournament ended. The era of plotting out future rosters years in advance through large high school recruiting classes is largely over. But for programs with some NIL money to spend, a willingness to adjust on the fly and a keen eye for fit, there are rewards to reap in what has essentially become free agency.
While much of the flurry transpires in April, it doesn’t stop then. During the 2023 transfer cycle, seismic activity continued well into May with the commitments of Hunter Dickinson to Kansas and Caleb Love to Arizona. June even saw some high-level pop, when Cam Spencer’s committed to UConn. Given how prominent transfers have become over the past five years in college basketball and how focused the sport’s attention is on the portal in April, we debuted the CBS Sports Transfer Player of the Year and All-Transfer team this time last year.
Now, it’s time for the second edition of those honors as we reflect one final time on the 2023-24 season by recognizing the country’s top transfers from the past season. The selections were determined by David Cobb and Matt Norlander and limited to players who were in their first season with their new school.
Knecht’s arrival from Northern Colorado sparked a revitalization of Tennessee’s offense and set the stage for the program’s second-ever Elite Eight run. The Volunteers won the SEC regular season title with Knecht averaging 25.5 points per game on 42.4% 3-point shooting against conference opposition. That gaudy production for a winning team made him an easy pick for SEC Player of the Year, and Knecht didn’t stop there as he took home consensus first-team All-American honors. Though he couldn’t will the Volunteers to their first-ever Final Four, Knecht went toe-to-toe with National Player of the Year Zach Edey of Purdue in an Elite Eight showdown by setting a program record for most points in an NCAA Tournament game with 37.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard surpassed 30 points eight times and hit three or more 3-pointers in 17 games. What made Knecht so difficult for opponents to handle was the versatility in his game. While his ability to rise up over defenders and drill long-range jumpers stood out, Knecht showed a deft touch with mid-range shooting and proved to be a relentless attacker capable of getting to the rim and finishing once he got there. Knecht established himself as a potential lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft while capping an unlikely journey from unheralded junior college prospect to top transfer in college basketball.
