Missouri Valley’s Top Five Impact Transfers

Leading a Wave of Talented Newcomers

(St. Louis, MO) – One of the greatest collections of talented and impact transfers in Missouri Valley Conference history will compete this season. Never in the league’s 112 year history has there been such a wave of high level first-year veterans.

The Valley’s top five impact transfers will play a huge role in determining which team wins the thirtieth edition of Arch Madness. For a league that has been a bit slower to recruit transferring players, this is a significant change of recruiting strategy.

There are some very highly rated freshmen arriving this season, but the veteran newcomers will have a significant impact.

West and the Glut of Missouri State Talent

Picking just one Missouri State newcomer is practically impossible. Junior College transfer Gaige Prim is rated as the SECOND BEST juco transfer in the country. The 6’8 forward should pay immediate dividends. Middle Tennessee point guard Tyriq Dixon is a proven distributor. Josh Hall was a key contributor for Nevada’s Sweet Sixteen team of 2018.

However, we believe West Virginia grad-transfer Lamont West is the newcomer that will make the biggest impact. The 6’8 West was rated as ESPN’s eighth best Division 1 transfer. He averaged 11 points and four rebounds for his Big 12 Conference team. West’s arrival takes some of the front-court pressure off forward Tulio Da Silva. While playing out of position last season, Da Silva still was an all-conference performer.  West’s arrival gives MSU the Valley’s most talented forward tandem. Prim will likely find himself in the post, giving in the Bears arguably the league’s best and deepest frontcourt.

Fisher III Leads Illinois State Trio

San Jose State teammates Jaycee Hillsman and Keith Fisher III and Eastern Kentucky’s Dedric Boyd join Illinois State as part of that wave of talented newcomers. All three averaged around ten points per game for their previous teams.

Hillsman and Fisher III fit that Redbird profile of being long, athletic and versatile. Boyd is a scorer!

Fisher is the pick here because of his leadership abilities. He was selected as a team captain last season while he was sitting out. During his transfer waiting period, head coach Dan Muller and his teammates recognized his maturity and understanding of the game.

The 6’8 215 forward will slip nicely into Milik Yarbrough’s scoring forward role. The former three-star recruit attacks the glass and will be a physical presence. For Illinois State to return to the upper portions of the Valley race, Fisher III will have to be one of the five impact transfers.

Which Loyola Guard?

Porter Moser has two highly touted junior college transfer guards. Jalon Pipkins and Keith Clemons are both ranked among America’s top 75 junior college transfers. Pipkins is a 6’4 combo/scoring guard and Clemons is a 6’1 ‘pass-first’ point guard. So which Rambler transfer will have the most impact?

It is a difficult choice. However, Loyola has had the most success when they have exceptional point guard play. These players have the kind of credentials to make us believe they can be the next Clayton Custer and Ben Richardson type players. When you combine them with 3.5-star freshman recruit Marquise Kennedy, you can see the Rambler backcourt will be solid.

Clemons is the kind of player Moser likes to build around. The Georgia native won a state title in high school and last year was a 15-point, 5.1-assist per game member of the Vincennes University squad that won the Junior College national championship. Moser recruits winners.

Realizing that getting the ball to all-league center Cameron Krutwig and freeing up Lucas Williamson to slash and shoot (see ‘Four Returners Will Shape the Valley Season’), Clemons is our pick here. We believe Pipkins and Kennedy will play vital roles, but if Loyola is to win their third straight Missouri Valley title, they need an outstanding distributor. Pipkins might actually garner more headlines, but Clemons has to be an impact player.

SIU’s Man in the Middle

‘You can’t teach size’ and Southern Illinois has acquired some size! In building his first roster, Bryan Mullins had to replace six seniors, so transfers and prep players were both important to find. In landing Northwestern grad transfer Barret Benson, Mullins found a critical piece to his 2019-20 puzzle.

The 6’10 Northwestern transfer immediately gives the rest of the talented Saluki perimeter-oriented roster some balance. Holdovers Aaron Cook and Eric McGill will be joined on the wings by former Bradley guard Ronnie Suggs and former Nebraska wing Karrington Davis.

Benson was a three-star player coming out of the Chicago suburb of Willowbrook, Illinois and was a two-time Academic All-Big 10 performer. While not in the Wildcat main rotation, Benson shot better than 50% from the field during his Big 10 career and finished his prep career as Hinsdale South’s all-time leader in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.

Benson is one of our top five impact transfers because his presence in the middle frees those Saluki perimeter players the to gamble on defense and to attack the lane on offense. He makes the rest of the roster more effective.

Valpo’s ‘Favorite Son’

Practically every Valley team has multiple players that could land on this list and Valparaiso qualifies for that description. Nick Robinson (St. Joseph’s) and Eron Gordon (Seton Hall) both sat out last season after transferring from higher level programs.

Robinson is two inches taller (6’5) and has had the more productive career of the two, but there is something about those blood-lines that makes us select Gordon. The younger brother and son of outstanding collegiate players, Eron knows how to play the game. The Indianapolis native is coming back to his home state where he was a finalist for the ‘Mr. Basketball’ award.

Oldest brother Eric was a 2008 NBA draft pick and has played over a decade in ‘the Association’. His father (also named Eric) was a stand out at Liberty and brother Evan scored over 1,300 collegiate points while playing for three different programs.

The prolific scoring Eron was ranked sixth among 2016 Indiana seniors. Gordon will be sharing backcourt playing time with returners Javon Freeman-Liberty and Daniel Sackey. Robinson could get some playing time at forward, but Gordon has the explosive kind of ability that could make him a force in the Missouri Valley.

Other Impact Transfers Nominees

Beyond our five and their teammates listed above, there are a host of talented transfers. Evansville’s Sam Cunliffe and Artur Labinowicz are going to make some noise in Walter McCarty’s lineup. SIU recently signed another transfer center in Utah State’s Stevan Jeremic. He averaged 7.5 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Aggies. Bradley’s Danya Kingsby was ranked as 2018’s 26^th  best available junior college transfer.

This wave of talented transfer talent is unparalleled in Valley history and these impact transfers will greatly shape the MVC race.

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