College basketball transfer pickups outside — or near — top 50 portal players I like most

It's been almost a month since the transfer portal opened in college basketball , and most — if not all — of the big names in the pool of available players have been locked up by new teams. Several Power Five conference programs — like Louisville , Indiana , Texas and Tennessee — pushed all their chips and resources into the transfer portals to address notable glaring needs on their roster with the hope that their finds — perhaps ones that are seen as "under the radar" — are the missing pieces to go on a deep run in March Madness next season. That doesn't mean teams are done looking to fill holes in their roster, nor does it mean the pool of talent is all dried up.

Teams are still very much active. RANKINGS: College basketball transfer portal 10 best players remaining, latest intel But with the dust starting to settle and teams starting to prepare for summer practices, it's gotten to the point of the transfer portal cycle where the review of teams' transfer classes picks up to see how well they did (or are doing), and where some of the best player fits are. Here's a look at some of the best transfer pickups who ranked near or just outside of the top 50 rankings by Power Five conference programs: Conferences trackers : ACC | SEC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Big East Five best Power Five conference transfer pickups Nolan Minessale, Marquette Shaka Smart , coming off his first losing season at Marquette , needed to turn to the transfer portal to patch several notable roster gaps after years of relying solely on high‑school player development.

The Golden Eagles coach — perhaps to some surprise — used the portal rather effectively, with one of his pickups being St. Thomas guard and Summit League Player of the Year Nolan Minessale . Minessale hails from nearby Brookfield, Wisconsin and was a standout player at Marquette High School in Milwaukee.

He provides depth in the backcourt for the Golden Eagles, who are bringing back building blocks Nigel James Jr. , the Big East Freshman of the Year, and Adrian Stevens as well. Granted he'll be facing better competition in the Big East than the Summit League, his shooting ability should be a nice welcome to the Golden Eagles, as he shot 56.