Men's College Basketball

Former North Carolina guard Ian Jackson signed with St. John's in the transfer portal, he announced in an Instagram post Monday.

Jackson is a Bronx native and went to high school in New York.

He was listed as the No. 4 shooting guard and No. 8 prospect in the country as part of the 2024 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Jackson received an offer from St. John's as a prospect, but he never visited the school and ultimately committed to North Carolina.

In his lone season with the Tar Heels, he averaged 11.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Jackson shot 45.6 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three-point territory while connecting on 72.3 percent of his free throws.

Still, North Carolina suffered a disappointing first-round exit in the 2025 NCAA tournament before he chose to enter the portal on April 7.

There appeared to be momentum toward a move to St. John's prior to the announcement, with 247Sports' Travis Branham reporting on April 8 that the Red Storm were the "team to beat" for his services.

The Johnnies thrived under head coach Rick Pitino during the 2024-25 season, ending the year with a 31-5 record. They won the Big East regular-season title as well as the conference tournament.

Jackson will look to help make up for the absence of RJ Luis, who averaged a team-high 18.2 points per game for St. John's last season. Luis declared for the draft and entered the portal at the conclusion of the year.

As the Red Storm attempt to defend their Big East title, they made a big splash in the transfer portal on Monday.

Duke star Cooper Flagg confirmed the obvious and announced he's leaving the school after one season and declaring for the 2025 NBA draft.

Many assumed the 6'9" forward would be a one-and-done well before he ever debuted for the Blue Devils, and his performance in 2024-25 reinforced the fact he's ready to make the jump.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points on 48.1 percent shooting, including 38.5 percent on threes, along with 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He set an ACC freshman record when he scored 42 points in Duke's 86-78 win over Notre Dame on Jan. 11.

Not surprisingly, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Flagg to go first overall in his most recent mock draft.

"Despite a short stretch in the second half when he couldn't get some shots and finishes to fall, his expanding scoring versatility was on full display throughout the game," Wasserman wrote. "He drilled three threes, giving him 52 makes for the season. He drove and shook with his improved handle, and he showed off his physicality and skill from the post.

"Aside from exceeding expectations this year with his evolving creation and shotmaking, Flagg greatly impacted games with his passing and defensive playmaking as well. He wound up leading the nation in box plus-minus at 17-18 years old."

The summer of 2024 offered compelling evidence Flagg can hit the ground running in the NBA, too.

The 18-year-old was picked for Team USA's select team to train against the senior squad ahead of the Summer Olympics in Paris. While those practices weren't a full simulation of an NBA game, he was holding his own against the league's best.

"He's a special young man," said Orlando Magic and select team coach Jamahl Mosley, per NBA.com's Shaun Powell. "His talent level, his basketball IQ, his level of toughness, not afraid of those moments, protect the rim, make the right play, make the right read. He had all that."

Flagg isn't a perfect prospect. Being a sub-40 percent three-point shooter hints at how he could struggle there out of the gate. ESPN's Jeremy Woo also spoke with a scout who cited how "the late-clock stuff isn't necessarily his gift," a reflection of his occasional inability to find his own shot when the offense is breaking down.

Barring an unforeseen development, though, Flagg is all but guaranteed to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025, and you can expect massive celebrations from the fanbase of whichever team wins the draft lottery.

Nate Ament, a 5-star class of 2025 power forward, revealed that he has chosen to play college basketball at the University of Tennessee.

Ament made his decision official via an announcement on his Instagram page Sunday.

"After a lot of thought and prayer, I’m blessed to announce my commitment to the University of Tennessee!" Ament wrote.

"I’m incredibly grateful to all the coaches and programs who took the time to recruit me.

"Huge thanks to everyone who’s helped me get to this point — my family, coaches, teammates, and most importantly, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

The 6'9", 185-pound Ament ranks fourth overall on the latest 247Sports Composite list of class of 2025 players. Per 247Sports, Ament received 29 offers and had seven visits to Tennessee, Duke, Arkansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Louisville and Texas.

Ament now joins a team led by Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, who was at Texas before his time with the Vols. Barnes notably coached NBA superstar Kevin Durant when he was one-and-done with Texas during the 2006-07 season.

Ament notably told ESPN's Jonathan Givony that Barnes sees him as a similar one-and-done talent.

It's very possible that could be the case given how much scouts recognize his potential already. Ament is held in high regard, sitting fourth on the On3, ESPN and Rivals class of 2025 rankings.

NBA scouts apparently love his "upside and talent," per ESPN's Jonathan Givony,

As for Tennessee, this is a massive win for a program that just got its highest-ranked recruit ever, per GoVols247.

Tennessee now has six players in its class of 2025: 4-star shooting guard Amari Evans, 4-star center DeWayne Brown, 3-star point guard Troy Henderson, Vanderbilt transfer center Jaylen Carey and Maryland point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie.

Darius Adams, a 5-star combo guard from the high school class of 2025, has decommitted from UConn, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

The latest 247Sports Composite list has Adams as the No. 23 overall prospect in his class and No. 4 among combo guards.

Adams, listed as 6'5" and 165 pounds, attends La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. Per 247Sports, he received 20 offers and made visits to UConn, Michigan State, Tennessee and NC State before choosing the Huskies.

Adams was one of four players who had signed a letter of intent with UConn. The other three players are 5-star shooting guard Braylon Mullins, 4-star power forward Eric Reibe and 4-star small forward Jacob Furphy.

The team is also welcoming a pair of transfer guards, Malachi Smith of Dayton and Silas Demary Jr. of Georgia.

The class ranked second in the nation before Adams' decision. As far as why that was made, Aaron Torres of Fox Sports Radio offered some insight.

That may not be a problem at Michigan State, which could very well be a consideration for Adams after he re-opened his recruitment. Michigan State fan Andrew Cumbow provided good insight on the matter.

Regardless, a superstar recruit is now available, and teams should be lining up to inquire about him.

The son of retired NBA star Andre Iguodala committed to Baylor.

"The staff and the opportunity to develop and improve were big reasons why I committed," Andre Iguodala II said to On3's Joe Tipton. "They showed me a lot of support and love and looked like a true family on my official visit to campus."

Iguodala is a 3-star recruit and the No. 51 small forward in 247Sports' ranking for the 2025 class.

247Sports national basketball director Eric Bossi called him a "late-blooming prospect with significant upside" after evaluating his game in March.

"While he's still on the thin side and will need to focus on the weight room when he gets to college, Iguodala is an elite mover with well above average athleticism," Bossi said. "He runs extremely well in transition, he changes directions laterally and he has outstanding length to go along with this 6"7" and growing size. A bit of a tweener, he can play as a big wing or as a small ball four man. As a senior, he's developed significantly as a jump shooter and has turned into a dangerous spot up shooter with range beyond the three-point line."

In addition to getting scholarship offers from Baylor and Northern Arizona, Iguodala made a February visit to his father's alma mater, Arizona.

The Missouri native is only the second high school recruit head coach Scott Drew has secured during the 2025 cycle. Tounde Yessoufou, a 5-star small forward and the No. 14 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings, signed his letter of intent.

Iguodala and Yessoufou aside, Drew and his assistants have looked to the transfer portal to fill out the roster for 2025-26. Forward Michael Rataj and guard Obi Agbim headline the group.

Next year, the Bears will look to avoid the same outcome that has befallen them for four straight seasons. After winning a national title in 2021, they've lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament in each successive campaign.

Highly touted small forward recruit Shelton Henderson has reportedly decommitted from Duke and reopened his recruitment.

According to 247Sports' Travis Branham, Duke released Henderson from his national letter of Intent this week after he had previously committed to the school in November.

Henderson is rated as a 5-star recruit in the class of 2025, and 247Sports' composite rankings list him as the No. 21 overall player, No. 4 small forward and No. 2 player from the state of Texas in his class.

The 6'6", 220-pound wing had been part of what was the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, along with 5-star forward Cameron Boozer and 4-star recruits Nikolas Khamenia and Cayden Boozer.

Per Branham, Henderson's de-commitment may have been due to a combination of factors, including the depth of Duke's roster next season and beyond.

Also, the coach who was primarily responsible for recruiting Henderson to Duke is no longer at the school.

Former Duke assistant Jai Lucas is now the head coach at Miami, which suggests the Hurricanes could potentially be in the mix to land Henderson.

The Blue Devils are coming off a highly successful 2024-25 season, as they went 35-4 and reached the Final Four.

Their season ended in disappointment, though, as they fell 70-67 to Houston in the Final Four despite leading for the majority of the game.

Additionally, Duke is likely to lose several top players from the team, including the superstar freshman trio of Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, who are all projected lottery picks in the 2025 NBA draft.

That means there should be plenty of opportunities for incoming freshmen to make an impact, but with the Boozer brothers and Khamenia to contend with for playing time, Henderson will look to establish himself elsewhere.

Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina are part of the 10 men's college basketball teams spending at least $10 million on NIL contracts in 2025, according to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander.

Arkansas, BYU, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, St. John's and Texas Tech make up the other seven schools, per Norlander.

Each of these programs should have the flexibility to make multiple key additions in the transfer portal and outbid other teams.

Duke is looking to build upon its Final Four appearance in 2025 and navigate through the potential upcoming absence of Cooper Flagg due to the NBA draft. Flagg's NIL valuation of $4.8 million is the highest among all college basketball players, via On3.

On3's Pete Nakos previously reported that Kentucky has an NIL budget of roughly $10 million for its 2025-26 roster. The Wildcats will be attempting to take a step forward after finishing with a 24-12 record in Mark Pope's first year as head coach.

North Carolina will be hoping that its NIL payments can help the team bounce back from a disappointing 2024-25 campaign, nearly failing to qualify for March Madness before losing in the first round.

BYU is also on the list, as it landed AJ Dybantsa as a recruit. Dybantsa is listed as the No. 1 player in the 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

He received an NIL deal worth "close to" $7 million as part of his commitment to BYU, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com.

As teams start gearing up for the 2025-26 season, several schools are prepared to spend big.

Andrej Stojaković, the son of former NBA sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic, is entering the transfer portal after one season with Cal, per ESPN's Jonathan Givony.

Stojaković is entering his junior year after playing for Stanford as a freshman and the Golden Bears as a sophomore. The 6'7" guard averaged 17.9 points per game last season.

On3's Joe Tipton noted that Stojaković entered the portal with a "Do Not Contact" tag.

Stojaković was considered to be a 5-star prospect and the No. 25 player nationally out of the Class of 2023 by 247Sports Composite. He didn't quite live up to the hype as a freshman, putting up just 7.8 points per game mostly off the bench, but he made up for it with a breakout year at Cal last season.

His 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 42.7 shooting from the field and 31.8 percent from deep earned him an All-ACC Honorable Mention selection for the 2024-25 season.

According to Givony, Stojaković will not test the NBA draft waters. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman pegged Stojaković as a late second-round pick in his mock draft from January, but he was not on the board in the most recent mock draft.

Unlike his father, who was a career 40.1 percent shooter from deep, Stojaković found more success around the rim last year. While his attacking ability makes him a scoring threat against any competition, improving his three-point shot could turn him into a first-round draft pick next year.

Stojaković will almost certainly be one of the top transfer portal options this offseason, and there are already a handful of teams to watch for. Before landing with Cal last year, Stojaković was linked to a handful of top programs, including North Carolina and Kentucky, and those teams would seemingly be in the mix this time around as well.

After losing leading scorer Johni Broome to the NBA draft, Auburn's lineup took another hit on Thursday.

Tigers guard Chad Baker-Mazara, who ranked second on the team with 12.3 points per game, announced on social media that he will be entering the transfer portal this offseason.

Earlier this month, Baker-Mazara teased a return to Auburn when he tweeted "2025/26 War Eagle?" with the eyes emoji. It now appears that something changed to make him choose to spend his final college season elsewhere.

The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native spent the last two seasons with the Tigers. He emerged as a reliable No. 2 option behind Broome this past season as Auburn made a run to the Final Four before losing to eventual national champion Florida. In addition to ranking second on the team in scoring, he also added 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range.

Baker-Mazara began his collegiate career at Duquesne in 2020 before transferring to San Diego State following his freshman season. After one year with the Aztecs, he transferred to junior college Northwest Florida State for the 2022-23 campaign. The JUCO season afforded him an extra year of eligibility following his two seasons at Auburn.

At 25 years old, Baker-Mazara will be one of the most experienced players in college basketball next season. He's known for bringing vocal energy on the court, and Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl praised him for being a smart and reliable player.

"The thing I’ve told Chad is, 'Look, you can affect the game, and the outcome of the game is winning by rebounding, by defending, by using your length, by communicating,'" Pearl said before the Elite Eight, per Griffin McVeigh of On3.com. "Yeah, he can go through phases where he can get really hot. I trust Chad Baker-Mazara with the ball in his hands. I think he’s going to make the right read and the right play."

A travel agent involved in a Ponzi-style scheme against multiple clients that included the George Mason University men’s basketball team has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud following an FBI investigation.

According to Daniel Libit of Sportico, Atlanta-based travel agent Maurice Eugene Smith entered a plea agreement in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that will require him to "pay a $250,000 fine, provide full restitution to the George Mason University Foundation and his other victims, and forfeit any assets the court deems connected to the fraud."

Smith could have been imprisoned "for decades if he were found guilty at trial," but prosecutors will recommend a reduced sentence to the court as part of the plea agreement. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17.

The controversy arose last August when George Mason officials discovered just hours before a scheduled summer trip to the Bahamas that the travel had never been booked, despite a $160,000 payment made by the school’s foundation. The surprising discovery prompted the FBI investigation that eventually led to Smith's arrest in Atlanta on Dec. 12.

Citing a statement of facts filed with the plea, Libit noted that Smith "admitted to using client funds for personal expenses and to repay other victims, rather than fulfilling the travel services he was contracted to provide." Smith was the owner of the luxury travel company Eugene Toriko LLC, and his alleged fraud occurred between 2022 and 2024.

George Mason's men's basketball program became wrapped up in Smith's scheme after it began working with the VII Group in June 2023. VII Group CEO Chris Williams then subcontracted Eugene Toriko to coordinate the team's multi-day trip to the Bahamas. Williams had known Smith through a mutual contact, but the latter took advantage of the opportunity nefariously.

Libit reported that "instead of paying to secure those reservations, Smith would later admit to using portion of the money to pay for his own trips to Tulum, Mexico, and Panama City—as well as approximately $12,000 in ATM withdrawals—and another portion to reimburse victims of his previous frauds." Smith had written a letter to George Mason last September claiming that a "logistical error" caused the cancellation.

"Our values of integrity, accountability, and dedication to our clients’ needs are at the core of everything we do," Smith wrote, according to court records. "We are dedicated to making things right and ensuring that this remains an isolated incident."

A George Mason University spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment. The men's basketball team went on to finish 27-9 this past season an earn an Atlantic 10 regular-season title before ending the year with a loss to Bradley in the second round of the NIT.