Feature photo by Sidelines archive
Story by Jacob Burgess
Middle Tennessee men’s basketball is set for another season of hoops, this time built on a base of transfers.
Using the transfer portal to transform rosters is the new norm for college basketball. Head coach Nick McDevitt’s 15-player roster has six new transfers this year and 12 of the players have transferred at some point in their respective careers.
In today’s game teams would rather give a roster spot to a transfer who has demonstrated flashes at the college level than to a freshman that has never played in college, McDevitt said.
“The portal allows you to bring experience to your roster, and you hope you’re adding a more known quantity,” McDevitt said. “You are adding players that already have college experience and a little more easily predict what they can do for your program based on where they have been before.”
For the level that Middle Tennessee plays at, relying on transfers fits for a middle tier team on the national level. The top tier teams in the country like UConn or Kansas will recruit the one and done type of players while teams in smaller conferences have different recruiting styles.
When teams like Middle Tennessee go to the portal, they look for players trying to play at a higher level or those needing a change of scenery. Regardless of where the player comes from, teams like MTSU look for players with skills that have succeeded at the college level.
Alec Oglesby is one of the transfers for MTSU that has had success in college. Oglesby shot 40% from the three-point line last season at Stetson which is why the Blue Raiders looked towards him once he entered the portal, McDevitt said.
McDevitt likes to have three centers on his team every year and after last season he was left with only one. Chris Loofe, a sophomore stayed after his first season but the other two centers from 2023-2024 season both entered the transfer portal. McDevitt brought in Essam Mostafa and Christian Fussell to booster the front court.
Mostafa comes to MTSU after stops at Tand Coastal Carolina. At Coastal Carolina, Mostafa earned a lot of minutes and averaged double digits in points and rebounds. At TCU, Mostafa saw his playing time slip and decided to transfer once again for his final year of eligibility.
The play style here fits well and MTSU will be able a good resource for one last season Mostafa said.
The transfer portal has brought a large amount of talent this year into the program, but the returners will have to get the train running early. Camryn Weston is a returner coming off a full season injury in 2023-2024.
“Last summer I thought was the hardest he had worked on the court preparing for the season,” McDevitt said. “Then he got hurt and he has rehabbed over the last 10, 11 months just as hard to get back out there.”
The difference is visible when Cam isn’t out there, it was visible last year and you can see it in practice this year, McDevitt said.
Relying on the transfer portal raises questions for the long-term development for Blue Raider basketball. The roster has 12 players who are juniors or higher, raising questions on whether this model is a viable long-term option to build a college basketball team year after year. Building team chemistry when players are coming and going every year is a challenge.
The guys have been hanging out together in and out of practice, and as coaches we have heard some of what they have done outside of practice together, but the chemistry building has been going well, McDevitt said.
With a revamped roster full of transfers, Middle Tennessee tips off its 2024 season on Nov 4. against Oglethorpe University.
Jacob Burgess is the lead sports reporter for MTSU Sidelines
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