Analysis: Which ACC basketball programs did the best job in the transfer portal?

Seeing the news that Naheem McLeod, a 7’4” center who averaged 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in two seasons at Florida State, is headed to Syracuse from the transfer portal got me thinking about said transfer portal.

One, I like McLeod at Syracuse in terms of fit. Jim Boeheim is gone, but his long-time assistant, Adrian Autry, has signaled that he intends to continue using Boeheim’s 2-3 zone, which, why wouldn’t he, and McLeod is the prototypical five in that 2-3 – a big guy with a wide wingspan who will block shots on the back end.

Where does McLeod rank among the top pick-ups from the portal among the ACC’s 15 teams?

Good question.

Another good question: how did ACC programs rank against each other in terms of plugging holes from the portal?

How ACC programs did

Let’s go with the second question first.

247Sports gives Syracuse the nod. The haul for Autry includes McLeod, Notre Dame guard JJ Starling, a four-star prep recruit who averaged 11.2 points per game as a freshman last season, and Chance Westry, a four-star prep recruit who only saw action in 11 games before taking a medical redshirt in his freshman year at Auburn.

To me, the race for the top spot should be between Clemson, Virginia and North Carolina.

First, to Clemson: coach Brad Brownell landed himself a new backcourt in Syracuse transfer Joseph Girard III (16.4 ppg, 3.0 assists/g, 40.3% FG, 38.1% 3FG in 2022-2023) and Air Force shooting guard Jake Heidbreder (15.1 ppg, 48.8% FG, 39.9% 3FG).

Brownell also added frontcourt depth in NC State transfer Jack Clark (9.0 ppg, 6.9 rebs/g, 43.6% FG, 28.9% 3FG) and UNCG power forward Bas Leyte (7.6 ppg, 4.3 rebs/g, 48.5% FG).

Virginia coach Tony Bennett found three guys who will likely start for his team next fall: Georgetown point guard Dante Harris (11.9 ppg, 4.1 assists/g, 37.5% FG, 27.5% 3FG in 2021-2022), St. Mary’s combo guard Andrew Rohde (17.1 ppg, 3.6 assists/g, 44.8% FG, 32.0% 3FG in 2022-2023), and Merrimack power forward Jordan Minor (17.4 ppg, 9.4 rebs/g, 51.5% FG), along with adding frontcourt depth in 6’9” swingman Jake Groves from Oklahoma (6.8 ppg, 43.8% FG, 38.1% 3FG).

North Carolina, notably, lost leading scorer Caleb Love (16.7 ppg, 37.8% FG, 29.9% 3FG) to Michigan, but coach Hubert Davis found a treasure trove on the portal in the form of Brown shooting guard Paxson Wojcik (14.9 ppg, 7.2 rebs/g, 3.2 assists/g, 46.1% FG, 38.0% 3FG), Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan (12.3 ppg, 4.0 rebs/g, 2.5 assists/g, 40.9% FG, 34.4% 3FG), Stanford small forward Harrison Ingram (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rebs/g, 3.7 assists/g, 40.8% FG, 31.9% 3FG), and Louisville power forward Jae’lyn Withers (8.9 ppg, 5.3 rebs/g, 43.3% FG, 41.7% 3FG).

I’ll throw a fourth program in for discussion, NC State, whose head coach, Kevin Keatts, landed a trio of top guards – Butler transfer Jayden Taylor (12.9 ppg, 3.8 rebs/g, 40.8% FG, 32.6% 3FG), Arizona State guard DJ Horne (12.5 ppg, 3.4 rebs/g, 2.4 assists/g, 36.9% FG, 35.5% 3FG) and MJ Rice, a five-star prep recruit who didn’t get much floor time in his one season at Kansas.

Ranking the players

247Sports and On3 each ranked four incoming ACC transfers among their Top 30s nationally – UNC’s Harrison Ingram (On3: 4, 247Sports: 21), Syracuse’s JJ Starling (247Sports: 5, On3: 7), Miami’s Matthew Cleveland (247Sports: 22, On3: 23) and Louisville’s Tre White (247Sports: 25, On3: 28).

I’m going to go with a counting numbers-heavy ranking, because I couldn’t afford to hire a kid to do an algorithm for me.

(Maybe next year.)

1. PG Kevin Miller (Wake Forest: 18.3 ppg, 5.3 assists/g, 51.9% FG, 37.5% 3FG at Central Michigan in 2022-2023)
2. PF Jordan Minor (17.4 ppg, 9.4 rebs/g, 51.5% FG at Merrimack in 2022-2023)
3. SG Claudell Harris (Boston College: 17.4 ppg, 3.9 rebs/g, 2.3 assists/g, 46.0% FG, 33.3% 3FG at Charleston Southern in 2022-2023)
4. CG Andrew Rohde (Virginia: 17.1 ppg, 3.6 assists/g, 44.8% FG, 32.0% 3FG in 2022-2023)
5. PG Joseph Girard III (Clemson: 16.4 ppg, 3.0 assists/g, 40.3% FG, 38.1% 3FG at Syracuse in 2022-2023)
6. PG Primo Spears (Florida State: 16.0 ppg, 5.3 assists/g, 40.8% FG, 30.0% 3FG at Georgetown in 2022-2023)
7. PF Tyzhaun Claude (Georgia Tech: 15.4 ppg, 8.6 rebounds/g, 52.3% FG at Western Carolina in 2022-2023)
8. SG Jake Heidbreder (Clemson: 15.1 ppg, 48.8% FG, 39.9% 3FG at Air Force in 2022-2023)
9. CG Paxson Wojcik (North Carolina: 14.9 ppg, 7.2 rebs/g, 3.2 assists/g, 46.1% FG, 38.0% 3FG at Brown in 2022-2023)
10. SF Zack Austin (Pitt: 14.1 ppg, 5.4 rebs/g, 43.7% FG, 33.3% 3FG at High Point in 2022-2023)
11. SF Matthew Cleveland (Miami: 13.8 ppg, 7.4 rebs/g, 44.5% FG, 35.0% 3FG at Florida State in 2022-2023)
12. CG Jayden Taylor (NC State: 12.9 ppg, 3.8 rebs/g, 40.8% FG, 32.6% 3FG at Butler in 2022-2023),
13. G DJ Horne (NC State: 12.5 ppg, 3.4 rebs/g, 2.4 assists/g, 36.9% FG, 35.5% 3FG at Arizona State in 2022-2023)
14. SG Cormac Ryan (North Carolina: 12.3 ppg, 4.0 rebs/g, 2.5 assists/g, 40.9% FG, 34.4% 3FG at Notre Dame in 2022-2023)
15. PG Dante Harris (Virginia: 11.9 ppg, 4.1 assists/g, 37.5% FG, 27.5% 3FG at Georgetown in 2021-2022)
16. CG JJ Starling (Syracuse: 11.2 ppg, 42.1% FG, 29.9% 3FG at Notre Dame in 2022-2023)
17. SG Josh Nickleberry (Florida State: 10.9 ppg, 40.7% FG, 40.1% 3FG at La Salle in 2022-2023)
18. SF Mekhi Long (Virginia Tech: 10.7 ppg, 8.7 rebs/g, 43.8% FG, 35.9% 3FG at Old Dominion in 2022-2023)
19. CG Jalen Forrest (Georgia Tech: 10.6 ppg, 37.0% FG, 31.6% 3FG at Presbyterian in 2022-2023)
20. SF Harrison Ingram (North Carolina: 10.5 ppg, 5.8 rebs/g, 3.7 assists/g, 40.8% FG, 31.9% 3FG at Stanford in 2022-2023)