College Basketball Players Whose Stock Has Risen the Most in 2015 Offseason

As the sporting goods commercials tell us about life in general, there's no offseason in college basketball.

It's about training, constantly striving for improvement.

And if that's too abstract, there's the stone-cold headlines.

Players continue to seek transfers well past the end of last season, and still three months before practices start for 2015-16. Others are going through surgery and rehab. And if you think college coaches must sleep easier about veteran players this time of year—think again, as evidenced at Michigan State.

But there are good things in place, too: Summertime ball still gives visibility to the sport. There are teams traveling the world, some even representing the U.S. or other nations.

We get to examine the flow. Whose stock has shot up in the past few months?

Here's a look, noting that anyone is eligible besides incoming freshmen, who get plenty of hype and often have inflated stock prices.

There are plenty who have found crunch time outside of March and who will be even more on our radar heading into the season.

Austin Nichols, Memphis

Karen Pulfer Focht/Associated Press

It's said in the summertime that food just tastes better when it comes off a grill. Well, the college basketball equivalent might be that a transfer is never sweeter than when it's unconditional.

Nichols had his wish granted July 14 and became another player to leave Memphis.

Memphis initially denied the request. Josh Pastner and the school played some hardball, though they quickly downgraded their denial to a conditional one. That would've meant not being able to join in-conference teams (AAC) or ones on the Tigers' upcoming schedule.

Nichols hired a lawyer, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, and the mess was sorted out in a few hours.

ESPN reported that the Memphis angst was due to the timing and its viewpoint that there were limited players of similar talent left on the market.

"The school isn't going to release him,'' Pastner told ESPN's Andy Katz on July 7. "We spoke with Austin in mid-June and everything was fine. We named him captain after the season. We don't know what has changed.''

And talk about a hot stock now.

The 6'9'' Nichols averaged 13.3 points and 6.1 rebounds last year. He is the third Memphis player to transfer since the end of the season. He'll have a fair share of top-shelf suitors in the upcoming days.

Wayne Selden Jr., Kansas

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

What to make of Selden?

In the past, he's been known for being a streaky shooter, and just about everything else—good or bad—has come in doses.

Sometimes he'll make the sparkling-dime pass. Other times he'll drive to the rim and make Jayhawk followers wonder what exactly he had in mind (or figure Selden didn't quite know, either).

A talented game which hasn't really come together in his first two years in Lawrence seemed to blossom during the World University Games in South Korea.

Once upon a time, the 6'5'' Selden was figured to not last long in the college game. He seemed to wear some of that burden last year as a sophomore. At least this summer, he has appeared to let the game come to him more naturally.

He had 22 points to pace the Kansas-fueled USA team to a double-overtime win against Germany to clinch a gold medal.

There aren't many times a guy will be honored for making just 6-of-28 shots in a game. But Selden, like the rest of the Jayhawks, was gassed (eight games in 10 days) yet didn't let it get the best of him.

His late three-pointer sealed the win, fitting for a player who paced his team by averaging 19 points and seven rebounds in the tournament.

Frank Mason III, Kansas

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Let's start with a mea culpa of sorts, which leads us right to Mason III.

This pundit predicted Kansas had arguably more to lose than gain by heading to South Korea to represent the USA in the World University Games.

But team KUSA (or KU+2, if you prefer) won the gold, and Mason was a huge reason why.

He only needed 13 shots from the field to score 18 points in the double-overtime title game against Germany on July 13. A team that played eight games in 10 days—Tom Keegan of the Lawrence Journal-World pointed out that it wasn't always Big 12-level competition—thrived on approach, focus and veteran development, which all proved to be quite noticeable (as we'll examine in a few other slides).

The Jayhawks seemed to be most at risk by riding Mason so hard. It's what happened last season, because freshman Devonte' Graham went down with a foot injury. Mason looked burned out toward the latter stages of last year.

Graham was hurt again right before heading to South Korea, meaning Mason was due to carry another load.

Because of hip surgery to Brannen Greene, along with Ukrainian sophomore Svi Mykhailiuk's and Mali-born Cheick Diallo's ineligibility because they weren't born in the U.S., KU coach Bill Self added SMU's Nic Moore and Florida Gulf Coast's Julian DeBose.

But it was Mason who still meant just about everything to his team. He also had nine rebounds and six assists in the final game.

He averaged 19.3 points and 6.5 rebounds through the tournament.

And talk about clutch: a pair of free throws to force the first OT against the Germans. Then a layup at the end of the first extra period to force another five minutes.

The rules and dynamics of KU's team will certainly be different this winter. But watch for Self to really trust Mason to make individual plays in the latter stages of games. Mason earned it.

Nic Moore, SMU

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

Timing can be everything, and Moore had it.

The unavailable players on Kansas' roster left two openings heading to the World University Games.

Moore punched his ticket to South Korea because the Jayhawks needed another point guard, after Devonte' Graham was hurt. And KU coach Bill Self found Moore through an obvious connection: Former Jayhawk coach Larry Brown, now at SMU, is a mentor.

Moore wasn't exactly stellar in the gold medal game: He missed eight of his 10 shots and committed four turnovers.

But the 5'9'' senior, the reigning AAC Player of the Year, could use the experience in his toolbox to further improve for next season. Brown and Self still run similar styles, under mirror philosophies, so Moore's addition was valuable for both sides.

SMU is coming off a 27-7 season in which it reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993.

Of great value, Brown figured, was Moore's seeing how other teams go about business.

The well-traveled coach told reporters that Moore "got the same message (from Self, as from Brown) so now he doesn’t think I’m the only devil out there. Then playing in such a high level of competition has to help. That’s always a great experience. The things that Bill values I hope that we value here, and I’m glad Nic saw that.”

Moore isn't likely to pop up on draft boards. But perhaps his Team USA experience will open up some international doors. He showed up in Lawrence for training with the perfect mindset.

“I want to bring hard work and leadership, really,” Moore said in June via Gary Bedore of the Lawrence Journal-World. “I just want to get along with the guys, see how they play, be able to have fun out here with them. I know I’m new. They don’t really know me, but I want to be a leader out on the floor, talk to them, any possible way I can help this team."

The KU contingency defeated Germany in double overtime. Moore still had a steal and a couple of free throws to help seal the U.S. team's first gold at the WUG since 2005.

Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

It was a performance in Europe that didn't require ESPN's Fran Fraschilla to translate.

Lithuania handled Ukraine in pool play of the U20 European championships, and by the morning of July 15 word was streaking across social media in America: Gonzaga standout Sabonis had 28 rebounds.

Twenty-eight.

Throw in 18 points, six assists and four steals for good measure.

The 6'10'' sophomore helped the Zags reach the Elite Eight, and he'll have an even bigger role this year after averaging 9.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in nearly 25 minutes per game.

Sabonis is figured by several mock drafts to be a first-round selection in the NBA draft next summer. We probably won't stop associating him with the number 28 all year.

Melo Trimble, Maryland

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

So much will be expected of Trimble come winter.

But that time frame was sped up July 12 when the Maryland sophomore was selected as the youngest member of the upcoming United States team that will be part of the Pan American Games later this month in Toronto.

The Baltimore Sun pointed out Trimble scooted past Wichita State's Fred VanVleet, among other more experienced collegians and pros vying to be part of the 12-player team, which will be coached by Gonzaga's Mark Few.

It should be a fantastic opportunity for Trimble, who paced a team that had lost five transfers from last year and seemed bound for another down year, helping them to rally to win 11 more games than the 2013-14 campaign.

Trimble can augment his own game against some very solid competition (Maryland alum Greivis Vasquez is part of the Venezuela team the U.S. will face) and then return to campus, where he'll be joined by Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon.

Hunter Mickelson, Kansas

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Rising stock doesn't necessarily guarantee a big role, or even playing time. But perhaps no Jayhawk did more for his net worth in South Korea than Mickelson, who is showing signs of being the next Jeff Withey.

Withey became a standout on the 2012 Jayhawk team that stunned most observers by advancing to the national championship game. He was a shot-blocker first who worked in unison with fellow post player Thomas Robinson and became a formidable last line of defense for KU guards on the way to the rim.

Mickelson still has players ahead of him. The Jayhawks are especially deep this year with interior players, including freshmen Carlton Bragg and Cheick Diallo. But coach Bill Self certainly noticed the improvement in South Korea.

“This has been the Hunter Mickelson coming-out party over here,” Self told reporters after advancing to the WUG quarterfinals July 8. “Wayne (Selden) has obviously been our best player, but Hunter has been our most pleasant surprise. I’ve said all along, he probably needed this as much as our freshmen did because he hadn’t had a chance to play in two years. God, he’s playing great.”

Mickelson, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes that particular game, looks ready to build upon a junior year in which he only saw the court in 19 games—some later in the season when Perry Ellis went down with a knee injury.

Ellis, Jamari Traylor and Landen Lucas will also be in the mix, and each has distinctive strengths and weaknesses. But with what the Jayhawks have back, it wouldn't be surprising to see the former Arkansas Razorback garner affection, as his game resembles that of the popular Withey—who, once upon a time, was an unused transfer from Arizona.

Maodo Lo, Columbia

Fred Beckham/Associated Press

Let's give the Ivy League some love.

The best player in it is probably Lo, a Columbia senior who just shined for his native Germany at the World University Games.

The 6'3'' Lo is no stranger to representing his country, as Eli Schultz of the Columbia student newspaper pointed out a couple of years ago.

Lo helped get the Germans to the championship game, where it fell to the U.S. in double-overtime. He played 41 minutes and scored a team-high 16 points (6-of-14 shooting).

Lo was Columbia’s leading scorer last season at 18.4 points per game and will enter next season gunning for the record books. He is 16th in Lions history in scoring, nine threes from becoming its best arc shooter and seventh in career steals (104).

Now, can he somehow get himself and the school on the NCAA tournament map? That hasn't happened since 1968.

Stefan Moody, Ole Miss

Rick Wilson/Associated Press

Moody is one of the most exciting players in the SEC, and he (along with the rest of Ole Miss) will get some extra attention—at least in the early stages of next season—after the comical local preseason ad built around coach Andy Kennedy.

The season-tickets commercial is a cousin of the DirecTV spots starring Rob Lowe, when he was himself and also had a loser alter-ego.

Kennedy's bad side was "Randy Kennedy."

Andy, meanwhile, has Moody back for his senior year—after he averaged 16.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and nearly three assists and was selected first-team All-SEC by the Associated Press and coaches.

Some hype is deserved after the team advanced to the NCAA tournament, stunning BYU with a second-half rally in a First Four game and having Moody (who finished with 26 points against the Cougars) back to set up life in a new arena.

Ole Miss hasn't made back-to-back tournament appearances since 2001-02.

Shawn Long, Louisiana at Lafayette

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

This certainly isn't the most up-to-date photo of Long, who has to be a lot more excited these days on the court.

The 6'9'' senior recently made the Pan American team to represent the United States, one of 12 players to make the final cut for a group coached by Gonzaga's Mark Few.

Luke Johnson of the Advocate pointed out that Long opted to forgo the NBA draft, where he was projected as a late-second-round pick, to return to school.

Long averaged 16.4 points and 10.2 rebounds for the Cajuns last winter and also shot 54 percent from the field. He scored in double figures in every league game as well.

He'll certainly be around strong competition the rest of the month. Collegians on the team include Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon, Baylor’s Taurean Prince, Arizona’s Kaleb Tarczewski, Maryland’s Melo Trimble and Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine.

Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin

Andy Manis/Associated Press

This is a bit of a sentimental pick, because the Badgers will be on even higher alert than usual this year.

It's likely Bo Ryan's last year as head coach, as he announced this summer.

There was speculation, including from ESPN's Jeff Goodman on Twitter, that Ryan didn't announce his retirement after reaching the NCAA championship game out of loyalty to his two returning stars.

Both will be juniors.

And there will definitely be a repeat of the story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jeff Potrykus, who mentioned in October of 2014 that Hayes and Koenig were viewed as major keys to the season.

So a lot of eyes will be on the duo after the graduation of Frank Kaminsky and early departure of Sam Dekker. We'll call this stock rising out of necessity, though certainly prices could fluctuate because UW will have a very interesting, emotional year ahead of itself.

Jakob Poeltl, Utah

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Poeltl's stock has certainly gone up considerably since the end of last season, when he and the Utes gave Duke a game in the Sweet 16.

The 7-foot sophomore is the first player mentioned on Sports Illustrated's recent list of top prospects for the 2016 NBA draft who isn't an incoming freshman or likely coming straight from outside the United States.

A lot of attention will be paid to him after his teammate, point guard Delon Wright, graduated and was a first-round draft pick.

Others who are highly considered by mock drafts include Oklahoma sharpshooting senior Buddy Hield and Providence point guard Kris Dunn, who may have been considered a bit of a surprise to return to school because of his likely high draft spot and injury history.

But Poeltl will get a major rematch with Duke early in the season at Madison Square Garden (Dec. 19), so it's definitely his time to keep himself and Utah relevant.