Current List of Transfer Targets

[Melancer46]

I'll try to keep this updated as we get mentioned with more schools, but I had originally posted this in the general transfer portal thread and thought it might make sense to be its own thread/resource instead.

I think the list of names that is confirmed on X/confirmed by people here are (with On3 industry rankings and ESPN DXV ratings where possible):

Guards:

• Kezza Giffa
• Derrian Ford - was a 4 star, top 100 recruit
• Malachi Smith - #88 on On3
• Del Jones
• Silas Demary - #13 on On3, 76 rating on DXV
• Jacari White - #85 on On3
• Dedan Thomas - #8 on On3, 76 rating on DXV, committed to LSU
• Treysen Eaglestaff - #38 on On3, commited to South Carolina
• Nick Boyd - #20 on On3

Wings:

• Nate Kingz
• Kobe Magee, #37 on On3, committed to Florida State
• Keonte Jones
• Amarion Dickerson (though he plays more like a big than a wing)

Bigs:

• William Kyle - unranked, 73 rating on DXV, committed to Syracuse
• Quincy Ballard - #70 on On3
• Dishon Jackson - #60 on On3, 77 rating on DXV

Unconfirmed Dot Connecting:

• Desmond Claude, guard - was a 4 star, top 100 recruit and would likely be one of the higher ranked targets available if he enters the portal
• Jalil Bethea, guard - #25 on On3
• Jahmir Watkins, wing - would instantly be one of the top targets available if he gets eligibility/enters the portal

Overall, sort of a mixed bag of guys that are rated fairly high or have been productive college players that can offer things that we desperately need (Giffa - ball-handling, quickness, drawing fouls, Kingz - shooting, Jones/Dickerson - playing way above their weight class. Del Jones (and maybe Derrian Ford) is the only one that doesn't neatly fit into these categories, so I have to assume someone on our staff liked him in high school.

 

[Cstate]

Let’s see how we stack up against the big boys with this one…..

 

[SimonSays]

give me nijel pack and pop isaccs

 

[Sherman20]

I'll try to keep this updated as we get mentioned with more schools, but I had originally posted this in the general transfer portal thread and thought it might make sense to be its own thread/resource instead.

I think the list of names that is confirmed on X/confirmed by people here are (with On3 industry rankings and ESPN DXV ratings where possible):

Guards:

• Kezza Giffa
• Derrian Ford - was a 4 star, top 100 recruit
• Malachi Smith - #88 on On3
• Del Jones
• Silas Demary - #13 on On3, 76 rating on DXV
• Jacari White - #85 on On3
• Dedan Thomas - #8 on On3, 76 rating on DXV, committed to LSU
• Treysen Eaglestaff - #38 on On3, commited to South Carolina
• Nick Boyd - #20 on On3

Wings:

• Nate Kingz
• Kobe Magee, #37 on On3, committed to Florida State
• Keonte Jones
• Amarion Dickerson (though he plays more like a big than a wing)

Bigs:

• William Kyle - unranked, 73 rating on DXV, committed to Syracuse
• Quincy Ballard - #70 on On3
• Dishon Jackson - #60 on On3, 77 rating on DXV

Unconfirmed Dot Connecting:

• Desmond Claude, guard - was a 4 star, top 100 recruit and would likely be one of the higher ranked targets available if he enters the portal
• Jalil Bethea, guard - #25 on On3
• Jahmir Watkins, wing - would instantly be one of the top targets available if he gets eligibility/enters the portal

Overall, sort of a mixed bag of guys that are rated fairly high or have been productive college players that can offer things that we desperately need (Giffa - ball-handling, quickness, drawing fouls, Kingz (shooting), Jones/Dickerson (playing way above their weight class). Del Jones (and maybe Derrian Ford) is the only one that doesn't neatly fit into these categories, so I have to assume someone on our staff liked him in high school.

Thanks for this.

 

[Sdot]

give me nijel pack and pop isaccs

Pop is crystal balled to ole miss.

 

[cusefan88]

Pop is crystal balled to ole miss.

Until Chris Beard bails for TAMU.

 

[Biaxtar]

this better not be our starting C.

 

[orangefog]

this better not be our starting C.

He has two first names, it checks out.

 

[RF2044]

this better not be our starting C.

He was a big time recruit. Great athlete, shot blocker. No offense.

 

[sutomcat]

He has two first names, it checks out.

He is a 7’0 center. 230. Defensive MVP of the 2023 Peach Jam. Only played in 8 or 9 games for Arizona as a frosh. I assume he was hurt. Looks like it was his frosh year so he might still have 4 years of eligibility left

From Nigeria. Looks like a defensive minded guy.

 

[hoopsupstate]

No thank you on Pack. He’s never available. He’s always hurt.

 

[hoopsupstate]

He is a 7’0 center. 230. Defensive MVP of the 2023 Peach Jam. Only played in 8 or 9 games for Arizona as a frosh. I assume he was hurt. Looks like it was his frosh year so he might still have 4 years of eligibility left

From Nigeria. Looks like a defensive minded guy.

Arizona wanted him to redshirt, but he insisted on playing. They had several bigs playing ahead of him.

 

[kingtidge]

He has two first names, it checks out.

He's no Federico Federico.

I guess the real question is do we have enough NIL?

What's our kitty? I've heard the $9mil # bandied about... Is that accurate?

We've got 6 players (2 returnees and 4 frosh).

We need what, another 6-7 players minimum?

One of our top guard targets just went to dumpsterfire LSU for a reported $3 mil.

Not sure $9 mil is really going too go far in this year's market given all the holes we need to fill. Hope we have more than that.

 

[Sherman20]

He's no Federico Federico.

I guess the real question is do we have enough NIL?

What's our kitty? I've heard the $9mil # bandied about... Is that accurate?

We've got 6 players (2 returnees and 4 frosh).

We need what, another 6-7 players minimum?

One of our top guard targets just went to dumpsterfire LSU for a reported $3 mil.

Not sure $9 mil is really going too go far in this year's market given all the holes we need to fill. Hope we have more than that.

If we have at least 10 million, with Melo possibly contributing more as needed, why not pay $2 million for a top flight PG?

 

[PoppyHart]

He was a big time recruit. Great athlete, shot blocker. No offense.

None taken.

 

[PoppyHart]

I'll try to keep this updated as we get mentioned with more schools, but I had originally posted this in the general transfer portal thread and thought it might make sense to be its own thread/resource instead.

I think the list of names that is confirmed on X/confirmed by people here are (with On3 industry rankings and ESPN DXV ratings where possible):

Guards:

• Kezza Giffa
• Derrian Ford - was a 4 star, top 100 recruit
• Malachi Smith - #88 on On3
• Del Jones
• Silas Demary - #13 on On3, 76 rating on DXV
• Jacari White - #85 on On3
• Dedan Thomas - #8 on On3, 76 rating on DXV, committed to LSU
• Treysen Eaglestaff - #38 on On3, commited to South Carolina
• Nick Boyd - #20 on On3

Wings:

• Nate Kingz
• Kobe Magee, #37 on On3, committed to Florida State
• Keonte Jones
• Amarion Dickerson (though he plays more like a big than a wing)

Bigs:

• William Kyle - unranked, 73 rating on DXV, committed to Syracuse
• Quincy Ballard - #70 on On3
• Dishon Jackson - #60 on On3, 77 rating on DXV

Unconfirmed Dot Connecting:

• Desmond Claude, guard - was a 4 star, top 100 recruit and would likely be one of the higher ranked targets available if he enters the portal
• Jalil Bethea, guard - #25 on On3
• Jahmir Watkins, wing - would instantly be one of the top targets available if he gets eligibility/enters the portal

Overall, sort of a mixed bag of guys that are rated fairly high or have been productive college players that can offer things that we desperately need (Giffa - ball-handling, quickness, drawing fouls, Kingz - shooting, Jones/Dickerson - playing way above their weight class. Del Jones (and maybe Derrian Ford) is the only one that doesn't neatly fit into these categories, so I have to assume someone on our staff liked him in high school.

Thanks for this. Any chance you could include the school they are portaling from?

 

[hoopsupstate]

If we have at least 10 million, with Melo possibly contributing more as needed, why not pay $2 million for a top flight PG?

Most of the top flight point guards are off the table. We would have had the UNLV guard if it was only $2 million.

 

[J-Rock 3838]

Most of the top flight point guards are off the table. We would have had the UNLV guard if it was only $2 million.

Its mind boggling that Syracuse University hasn't had a top flight PG in over 10 years since Tyler Ennis.

 

[Melancer46]

Thanks for this. Any chance you could include the school they are portaling from?

On it now. Actually...have we lost the ability to edit posts after a certain amount of time? I guess I can just continue to update it with new replies.

 

[Melancer46]

I'll try to keep this updated as we get mentioned with more schools, but I had originally posted this in the general transfer portal thread and thought it might make sense to be its own thread/resource instead.

I think the list of names that is confirmed on X/confirmed by people here are (with On3 industry rankings and ESPN DXV ratings where possible):

Guards:

• Kezza Giffa
• Derrian Ford - was a 4 star, top 100 recruit
• Malachi Smith - #88 on On3
• Del Jones
• Silas Demary - #13 on On3, 76 rating on DXV
• Jacari White - #85 on On3
• Dedan Thomas - #8 on On3, 76 rating on DXV, committed to LSU
• Treysen Eaglestaff - #38 on On3, commited to South Carolina
• Nick Boyd - #20 on On3

Wings:

• Nate Kingz
• Kobe Magee, #37 on On3, committed to Florida State
• Keonte Jones
• Amarion Dickerson (though he plays more like a big than a wing)

Bigs:

• William Kyle - unranked, 73 rating on DXV, committed to Syracuse
• Quincy Ballard - #70 on On3
• Dishon Jackson - #60 on On3, 77 rating on DXV

Unconfirmed Dot Connecting:

• Desmond Claude, guard - was a 4 star, top 100 recruit and would likely be one of the higher ranked targets available if he enters the portal
• Jalil Bethea, guard - #25 on On3
• Jahmir Watkins, wing - would instantly be one of the top targets available if he gets eligibility/enters the portal

Overall, sort of a mixed bag of guys that are rated fairly high or have been productive college players that can offer things that we desperately need (Giffa - ball-handling, quickness, drawing fouls, Kingz - shooting, Jones/Dickerson - playing way above their weight class. Del Jones (and maybe Derrian Ford) is the only one that doesn't neatly fit into these categories, so I have to assume someone on our staff liked him in high school.

Update as of 4/2/25:

Player	Position	Previous School	Committed	Notes
Kezza Giffa	Guard	High Point		Originally UTEP
Derrian Ford	Guard	Arkansas State		Originally Arkansas, was a 4 star recruit
Malachi Smith	Guard	Dayton		#88 on On3
Del Jones	Guard	Clemson
Silas Demary	Guard	Georgia		#13 on On3, 76 rating on DXV
Jacari White	Guard	ND State		#85 on On3
Dedan Thomas	Guard	UNLV	LSU	#8 on On3, 76 rating on DXV
Treysen Eaglestaff	Guard	North Dakota	South Carolina	#38 on On3
Nick Boyd	Guard	San Diego State		Originally FAU, #20 on On3
Melvin Council	Guard	St. Bonaventure
Desmond Claude	Guard	USC		Not officially linked to him, but message board buzz
Jalil Bethea	Guard	Miami		#25 on On3, not officially linked to him, but speculation that we reached out
Nate Kingz	Wing	Oregon State
Kobe Magee	Wing	Drexel	Florida State	#37 on On3
Keonte Jones	Wing	CSUN
Amarion Dickerson	Wing	Robert Morris
KJ Lewis	Wing	Arizona		78 rating on DXV
Jahmir Watkins	Wing	Florida State		Not officially linked to him, but message board buzz
William Kyle	Big	UCLA	Syracuse	Originally South Dakota State, 73 rating on DXV
Quincy Ballard	Big	Wichita State		#70 on On3
Dishon Jackson	Big	Iowa State		#60 on On3, 77 rating on DXV
Emmanuel Stephen	Big	Arizona		Was a 4 star recruit

 

[kingtidge]

Most of the top flight point guards are off the table. We would have had the UNLV guard if it was only $2 million.

"We thought we had enough NIL based on the 2024 portal business. In reality, prices went up significantly in 2025 and we found ourselves short."

Hopefully we have the NIL to get the players we need.

I hope we won't be hearing something like above when everything is done and dusted, but being a step or 2 behind seems to be institutional at this point.

 

[Niastri]

On it now. Actually...have we lost the ability to edit posts after a certain amount of time? I guess I can just continue to update it with new replies.

I hate when an old post gets a like, and I detect a typo… It’s like that typo is immortalized after enough time.

 

[Red2003]

Its mind boggling that Syracuse University hasn't had a top flight PG in over 10 years since Tyler Ennis.

He was great for us. Prob got a little help to take pressure off as a freshman. A front court with Grant and CJ Fair was ok I guess ha

 

[Red2003]

Most of the top flight point guards are off the table. We would have had the UNLV guard if it was only $2 million.

From what I can see only 2 of the top 10 PGs are off the table. Where are you looking?

 

[Red2003]

Update as of 4/2/25:

Player	Position	Previous School	Committed	Notes
Kezza Giffa	Guard	High Point		Originally UTEP
Derrian Ford	Guard	Arkansas State		Originally Arkansas, was a 4 star recruit
Malachi Smith	Guard	Dayton		#88 on On3
Del Jones	Guard	Clemson
Silas Demary	Guard	Georgia		#13 on On3, 76 rating on DXV
Jacari White	Guard	ND State		#85 on On3
Dedan Thomas	Guard	UNLV	LSU	#8 on On3, 76 rating on DXV
Treysen Eaglestaff	Guard	North Dakota	South Carolina	#38 on On3
Nick Boyd	Guard	San Diego State		Originally FAU, #20 on On3
Nate Kingz	Wing	Oregon State
Kobe Magee	Wing	Drexel	Florida State	#37 on On3
Keonte Jones	Wing	CSUN
Amarion Dickerson	Wing	Robert Morris
KJ Lewis	Wing	Arizona		78 rating on DXV
William Kyle	Big	UCLA	Syracuse	Originally South Dakota State, 73 rating on DXV
Quincy Ballard	Big	Wichita State		#70 on On3
Dishon Jackson	Big	Iowa State		#60 on On3, 77 rating on DXV
Emmanuel Stephen	Big	Arizona		Was a 4 star recruit

One of my biggest pet peeves is that these rankings sites do overall. More important thing is what their positional rank is imo.

Quincy is the 9th best Center on the board now I think so what's #70 overall matter.

If Sadiq is the 5th best PF coming in do I care that much if he is 30 overall.