Ole Miss basketball recruiting: Here’s your transfer portal tracker

The emergence of the transfer portal has changed the game tremendously. Two Rebels have entered the transfer portal and there could potentially be more roster attrition before the 2020-2021 season that the Ole Miss staff will have to navigate before starting year three of the Kermit Davis Era.

Carlos Curry and Franco Miller have exited and Breein Tyree has exhausted all his eligibility, leaving three spots open on the team’s roster. Tyree’s spot will be taken by transfer guard Jarkel Joiner next year so that leaves two vacant seats on the bench.

It has been no secret that Ole Miss is actively pursuing instant impact transfer talents for next year as Kermit and his staff try to bounce back from a disappointing 15-16 season that saw the Rebels really struggle down the stretch and consistently get out-manned without a second scorer there to help shoulder the load Tyree was bearing all on his own.

With all that said, since Ole Miss is reaching out to a ton of different names on the transfer portal recruiting trail, we here at Red Cup figured it would be helpful to you the reader to have a TPHQ if you will.

Here are the names to know that Ole Miss is interested in:

* = eligible immediately in 2020-2021

Guard

DJ Carton, Ohio State (signed with Marquette)

Position: PG
Height: 6’2
Weight: 190-pounds

The former top-40 player from Iowa averaged 10.4 points himself for the Buckeyes and will now try to find a new home to get buckets. He is another scoring-driven guard who can create his own shot and is the aggressive type of ball-dominant guard Davis likes.

Malik Zachery, Chipola College* (signed with Buffalo)

Position: PG
Height: 6’2
Weight: 175-pounds

The Syracuse, N.Y. native announced that he was down to a final three of the Rebels, Golden Bears, and Bulls and that he would be announcing his final decision soon.

Zachery missed most of the sophomore campaign at the Florida junior college due to a knee injury but after several months of rehab and training, he now feels back at full speed. He had a strong freshman season, averaging 8.5 points, 3.9 rebounds for a 27-5 team.

He will have three years to play once he arrives in Oxford.

Darius Perry, Louisville* (signed with UCF)

Position: PG
Height: 6’2
Weight: 195-pounds

The ACC transfer and Georgia native isn’t going to fill it up like the aforementioned names, but he has Power 5 experience and is a former top-100 player. Despite only scoring five points per game, he shot 40 percent from the field and has plenty of Power 5 suitors vying for his services.

Kyle Sturdivant, Southern Cal (signed with Georgia Tech)

Position: PG
Height: 6’3
Weight: 200-pounds

In an unfortunate turn of events, Sturdivant’s time in Los Angeles came to a close after just one year due to his father passing away. The Norcross, Ga. native was recruited by Ole Miss out of high school as the Rebels made his top eight before he joined the Trojans. The uber-talented guard fits the bill literally and figuratively and would be an outstanding addition.

Drew Lowder, Holy Cross

Position: PG
Height: 6’0
Weight: 170-pounds

The Michigan native averaged 14.1 points and 3.3 assists and shot 42 percent from deep through 12 games last season for the Crusaders and is now on the market. He dropped 24 on top-10 Maryland in his college debut and is a bucket-getter for sure that could help shoulder the load that Breein Tyree carried last year.

Justin Kier, George Mason

Position: PG
Height: 6’4
Weight: 197-pounds

The Virginia native only played in nine games in the 2019-2020 season due to a stress fracture, but he averaged double figures in his sophomore and junior years for the Patriots. Kier played in every game his first three years and was a career 34 percent shooter from deep.

Forward

Dimencio Vaughn, Rider* (signed with Ole Miss)

Position: SF
Height: 6’5
Weight: 220-pounds

The Rebels make the cut for the former Callaway Charger and honestly should be the favorite. The former Magnolia State product tore up the MAAC for the last three seasons and would be immediately eligible at Ole Miss for next season. Vaughn shot 48 percent from the field and was deadly from three-point range as well (40 percent).

Robert Allen, Samford (signed with Ole Miss)

Position: PF
Height: 6’8
Weight: 200-pounds

The Orlando, Fla. native just finished his sophomore year at Samford where he was a skilled wing for the Bulldogs. He would have to sit out a year, but would be a nice addition at the forward position to go along with KJ Buffen and Blake Hinson.

Landers Nolley II, Virginia Tech (signed with Memphis)

Position: SF
Height: 6’7
Weight: 230-pounds

The ultra-talented two-guard/small forward hybrid is on the market and has narrowed his list to three schools, Ole Miss included. The freshman from Fairburn, Ga. had a fantastic first season in Blacksburg, averaging 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting a commendable 37 percent from the field.

Georgia seems like the team to beat here, but sources feel like the Rebels are quietly confident here.

DeAndre Williams, Evansville

Position: SF
Height: 6’9
Weight: 190-pounds

The lean and mean forward from Houston, Tex. is leaving the Purple Aces program and is already a hot name in the portal, hearing from Arkansas, Arizona State, Baylor, Creighton, Georgetown, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Memphis, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, San Diego State and USF per Rivals’ Corey Evans.

The sophomore not only entered his name in the NBA Draft to get some feedback from scouts, but he will also seek immediate eligibility from the NCAA for the 2020-2021 season. Despite a back injury that hampered him all season and eventually led to him missing games, Williams averaged 15.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and a block per game. He scored a career-high 37 against Miami Ohio last year and eclipsed 20 points or more in seven of the 18 games he played in.

Marcus Santos-Silva, VCU

Position: PF
Height: 6’7
Weight: 250-pounds

The former Rams power forward has a ton of suitors out there after announcing his intention to leave VCU. The Taunton, Mass. native averaged 10 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 59 percent from the field as a sophomore. Santos-Silva scored 15 or more six times in 2018-2019.

As a junior, he scored 12.8 points and added 8.9 rebounds per game. Santos-Silva eclipsed the 15-point mark nine times a year ago, including an impressive double-double against the LSU Tigers, dropping 17 and 11 in an 84-82 win.

The big fella is a scrappy rebounder and a clever scorer around the rack, utilizing his broad shoulders and array of post moves to get the better of bigger defenders.

Center

Matt Haarms, Purdue* (signed with BYU)

Position: C
Height: 7’3
Weight: 250-pounds

The Amsterdam native and former Sunrise Christian prep star has announced that he will be leaving West Lafayette. The junior is fourth all-time at Purdue in blocked shots (210) and just wrapped up a junior campaign for the Boilermakers, averaging 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and two blocks per game.

This is going to be a tough one here as you can see from the list. Anyone and everyone will want to add Haarms to their front court and Ole Miss will have to fend off the blue bloods here.