McDonald's Nuggets: Coaches hit road again, top transfer, more
In this week’s edition of McDonald’s Nuggets, Dan McDonald discusses college coaches finally being able to get back on the road after the extended dead period. He also names his Transfer of the Week and his 2022 Commit of the Week.
*****
MORE: McDonald's takeaways from camp in Atlanta | Five biggest June visits
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
*****
WHAT’S ON MY MIND: College coaches are on the road again
Last Friday marked the first time in 15 months that college basketball coaches were able to hit the road to evaluate prospects in person. They will be back on the road this weekend as well for the second of two evaluation periods the NCAA granted for high school associations to put on team camps.
When the NCAA first put in the two weekends at the end of June for team camps two years ago, it felt like offers were flying out from coaches left and right to prospects in every high school class at that time. This, however, was back in 2019 before the NCAA granted all student athletes the option to transfer once without sitting out one season.
This past weekend, it didn’t seem like college coaches were as anxious to offer prospects as they were two years ago. The consensus from coaches I spoke with during the weekend - and since the weekend - is that the ability to grab a transfer next spring makes it harder to put a scholarship out to anyone that doesn’t stand out at a really high level. Prospects are now being compared to student athletes in college right now, so if a coach is 50-50 about making an offer, they are more likely not to pull the trigger on the same prospect they likely would have offered two years ago.
The transfer portal has not just changed what level of prospect a coach offers. It also has led to more coaches doing a deeper dive on a prospect. I’ve heard from several coaches that are nervous about going after prospects who transferred high school multiple times and bounce around travel teams every weekend. The recruiting has certainly changed in a big way.
*****
TRANSFER OF THE WEEK: Tre Mitchell to Texas
Chris Beard has always used the transfer portal to his advantage, going back to his highly successful tenures at both Arkansas-Little Rock and Texas Tech. He’s continued to make it a priority in the last couple months since accepting the Texas job and recently received probably the biggest news yet with the addition of UMass transfer Tre Mitchell.
Mitchell is the fifth transfer to head to Austin under Beard, joining Devin Askew, Dylan Disu, Timmy Allen and Christian Bishop. Before choosing Texas, Mitchell also considered Bryant, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois and LSU. The newest Longhorn is coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged 18.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and shot just under 52% from the field.
*****
2022 COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Dior Johnson to Oregon
Oregon made a big move in the 2022 class earlier this week by securing a commitment from five-star point guard Dior Johnson. Currently No. 7 in the Rivals150, Johnson was previously committed to Syracuse before opening up his recruitment again earlier this year. Alabama, Kentucky and Washington were also involved with Johnson, and Washington recently received an official visit.
The other option for Johnson was the professional route in Australia, where he reportedly could have earned up to $1.2 million. Johnson is one of the more explosive guards in the class and an elite playmaker. He’s best attacking the rim off the bounce and finishing inside or with a mid-range jumper. He’s also a very gifted passer and has improved his three-point stroke.