Ranking the Top Junior College Transfers to Watch in the 2016-17 CBB Season

The junior college ranks don't produce nearly as many instant-impact players for basketball as they do for college football, but schools mine a few gems from that scene each year.

Where would Oregon have been in 2015-16 had it not picked up Chris Boucher, who ended up setting a school record and ranking second in the nation in blocked shots?

We can only hope the latest crop of junior college transfers can produce some players who are able to contribute in a meaningful manner, but for now it's a big question mark.

Junior college players are mostly made up of those who didn't qualify academically for a four-year school or weren't ready to compete at the Division I level. Others began in D-I but needed a change, and instead of transferring directly to another program and sitting out a year they opted to drop down to a JUCO and work on their game.

We've got a few of each of those on our list of the 20 best JUCO prospects to keep an eye on for the 2016-17 season.

20. Tyler Rawson, Utah

247Sports

Position: Forward

Rank: 12th

Utah lost a big piece of its 2015-16 team in more ways than one when 7-footer Jakob Poeltl turned pro after his sophomore season. Poeltl's dominance on both ends of the court may be too much for one player to replace, but the Utes have options.

There's an incoming freshman (Jayce Johnson), a midseason transfer from Utah State (David Collette) and junior college transfer Tyler Rawson. All three are 6'8” or taller, with Rawson coming in at 6'10” and 225 pounds.

Rawson spent the last two years at Salt Lake Community College, not far from Utah's campus.

19. Branden Jenkins, LSU

247Sports

Position: Guard

Rank: 20th

There were many things about LSU's 2015-16 team that contributed to its failure to make the NCAA tournament despite having eventual No. 1 draft pick Ben Simmons on the roster.

Much of the Tigers' troubles stemmed from too many players either standing around watching Simmons do it all or trying to match his versatility and coming up woefully short.

Oh, and defense—or a complete lack thereof. LSU was 292nd nationally in scoring defense—last in the SEC—and 229th in defensive rating. Take Simmons off the court, and it was even worse.

A strong defensive reputation comes with Branden Jenkins' transfer to LSU, following a season at Lee College in Texas where he had 50 steals in 29 games. The 6'4” guard also averaged 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists, but he knows how he's going to earn playing time.

"I can go and help LSU ultimately become a great team, starting on defense,” Jenkins told Tiger Rag's Cody Worsham. "I believe defense starts and creates offense. If I can get myself going on the defensive end, I know I’m able to go right and left, I’m able to shoot pull-ups, I’m able to get to the basket, but ultimately it starts on defense."

18. Keondre Dew, Oregon State

247Sports

Position: Forward

Rank: 18th

Oregon State reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1990 thanks to the exploits of a stellar junior college transfer, Gary Payton II. The son of the former Beaver great was the team's leading rebounder despite being only 6'3”.

As great an achievement as that was for Payton, it wasn't a good look for OSU. It needed more consistency in the frontcourt, something that Keondre Dew could provide.

The 6'8”, 220-pounder played last season at City College of San Francisco, starting 14 games. The year before he was at Tulsa but only logged 5.5 minutes per game, so he's ready to contribute if given a chance.

17. Nuni Omot, Baylor

247Sports

Position: Forward

Rank: 14th

Nuni Omot is a late bloomer in basketball, having not made the varsity team at his high school in Minnesota until he was a senior. His college options were minimal, and he only played in one of the two seasons he spent at Division II Concordia University in St. Paul before spending 2015-16 at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.

But Baylor coach Scott Drew saw something in Omot and signed him last November, noting the work Omot has put in to improve while also learning how to deal with a still-growing body.

"He was 6'1" his junior year of high school, he's grown to 6'9" now, and he continues to get better each and every day," Drew said, per Baylor's official site.

16. Freddie McSwain, Indiana

247Sports

Position: Forward

Rank: 24th

Freddie McSwain didn't earn a scholarship offer from Indiana until late March, just after the Hoosiers were knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the Sweet 16. Less than a month later he committed, though he has still yet to arrive in Bloomington because he had to wrap up some classes back at Neosho Community College in Kansas.

The arrival date is Aug. 17, according to 247Sports' Alex McCarthy, and once he gets there coach Tom Crean will work to get him up to speed in order to help out with the team's rebounding. Freshman signee De'Ron Davis is also expected to help with the rebounding, but Davis hasn't shown up yet, either.

15. Shadell Millinghaus, Texas Tech

Position: Guard

Rank: 28th

Chris Beard's formula for instant success in his one season at Arkansas-Little Rock involved overhauling the roster and bringing in a wave of new players.

He doesn't have to be as drastic with Texas Tech, since Tubby Smith left him a pretty good core of returning talent, but since taking the job in April (after brief employment at UNLV) he's been hard at work adding extra pieces.

The big name of the additions is Anthony Livingston, a graduate transfer from Arkansas State, but just as important to the Red Raiders' drive for their first back-to-back NCAA tourneys since 2004-05 is guard Shadell Millinghaus.

The 6'2” product of Northwest Florida State College averaged 16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals last season. He could end up replacing either Toddrick Gotcher or Devaugntah Williams, guards who combined for 21.7 points per game in 2015-16.

14. Jimario Rivers, Memphis

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

Position: Guard/Forward

Rank: 17th

Tubby Smith's latest stop on his quest to take every Division I team in the country to the NCAA tournament might not be as much of an uphill battle as his previous stop at Texas Tech, but it still won't be easy. The Tigers went 19-15 a year ago, graduated three of their top four scorers and lost numerous other players to transfer.

That most recently includes 6'11” forward Nick Marshall, who the school announced earlier this month was not coming back for his sophomore year. According to L. Jason Smith of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, that means Jimario Rivers is in line to start in the frontcourt.

That probably wasn't what the 6'8” Rivers thought when he signed with Memphis back in November, though that was also when Josh Pastner was still coaching. Rivers spent last season at Southwest Tennessee Junior College, where he averaged 10.3 points and 7.2 rebounds.

13. Crisshawn Clark, Pittsburgh

247Sports

Position: Guard

Rank: 15th

Crisshawn Clark originally committed to Pittsburgh last October, but after coach Jamie Dixon left to take over the TCU program in March, he had second thoughts about whether he wanted to play with the Panthers. He was one of three signees who went through this uncertainty even after new coach Kevin Stallings was hired, but eventually each chose to stick with Pitt.

"My conversations with each of them and their families have been really positive, and I am looking forward to getting to know them even better as we move forward," Stallings said in April, per the team's official site.

For the 6'4” Clark, sticking with the Panthers meant staying loyal to a program that offered him a scholarship despite his suffering a knee injury that kept him from playing at Canada College in California. As a freshman he averaged 15 points per game, topping the 20-point mark eight times.

12. Jonathan Mulmore, Georgetown

Position: Guard

Rank: N/A

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera played more than 35 minutes per game last season for Georgetown as its point guard and floor leader who rarely got a break. With his graduation, there's a gaping hole in the Hoyas' starting lineup that could end up going to a junior college transfer who didn't warrant a ranking from 247Sports.

Jonathan Mulmore led NJCAA's Division I in scoring at more than 26 points per game for Allegany College in Maryland, per SB Nation. At 6'4” and 185 pounds, he's a little taller and a bit leaner than Smith-Rivera, but with some time in the weight room he should have the strength to handle the Division I game.

Besides Mulmore, Georgetown's only other point guard is junior Tre Campbell, who averaged 4.1 points and 1.7 assists in 20.9 minutes per game last season.

11. Ar'Mond Davis, Alabama

247Sports

Position: Guard

Rank: 8th

It's not just high school athletes that sometimes have second thoughts after making a big decision. Ar'Mond Davis experienced this prior to his second year of basketball at College of Southern Idaho, backing out of a commitment to Memphis only a few days afterward. Two weeks later the 6'6” Davis had made up his mind, this time picking Alabama, and then he went on to have a strong sophomore season at the junior college level.

Davis averaged 16.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 2015-16, and those rebounding numbers will fit in well on a Crimson Tide team that last in the SEC on the boards and was outrebounded in 18 of 33 games.

10. Arlando Cook, Arkansas

247Sports

Position: Guard

Rank: 6th

One of three junior college signees for the Razorbacks in 2016-17, Arlando Cook stands out from the other additions because of his size. At 6'8” and 215 pounds but with room to grow, Cook could end up being a perfect pairing in the frontcourt with 6'10” senior Moses Kingsley.

Cook spent the last two years at Connors State College in Oklahoma, where he averaged a double-double as a sophomore. Originally from St. Louis, Cook was also offered by Iowa State, Missouri and Nebraska. He previously committed to Nevada but backed off that pledge in October. A week later, he'd flipped to Arkansas.

9. Daishon Smith, Wichita State

Position: Guard

Rank: 29th

Four years of superb guard play from Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet left Wichita State fans spoiled. It's not always as easy as that duo made it seem while raising the Shockers to national prominence.

Reality may set in during the 2016-17 season, with Baker and VanVleet having graduated, but Daishon Smith could keep the run going.

A 6'1” guard from Tallahassee Community College in Florida, Smith averaged 16.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists last season. He also took 229 free throws in 33 games, which could be helpful since three of Wichita's most frequent free-throw shooters have graduated.

"Daishon is the type of point guard who has been successful in our system," Wichita coach Gregg Marshall said on the team's website.

8. Jo Acuil, Baylor

Position: Center

Rank: N/A

Jo Acuil was part of Baylor's 2015 recruiting class, but not to the point that he was listed by 247Sports or many other recruiting sites, as a heart issue caused him to redshirt this past season.

Had he been available, he might not have seen many minutes with Rico Gathers and Johnathan Motley holding down the post, so in the long run his time off should benefit the Bears for 2016-17.

A 7-footer from Australia, Acuil spent two seasons at Neosho Community College in Kansas, where he averaged 20.1 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks as a sophomore. He blocked 232 shots in those two seasons, 142 in 2015-16, which was seven more than Baylor had as a team.

While his offensive game may be limited in moving to Division I, his work on defense will be essential to what the Bears want to do in the Big 12.

7. Darral Willis Jr., Wichita State

247Sports

Position: Forward

Rank: 11th

Wichita State's rise from strong mid-major to national power under head coach Gregg Marshall has been possible without the program ever having much substance in the frontcourt. Last year, no Shockers player averaged more than five rebounds per game, with guard Ron Baker the leader at 4.8.

Darral Willis could be the answer to what Wichita has been missing. He's a 6'9” product of Pearl River Community College in Mississippi who had 15 double-doubles in 2015-16. To compare, last year's Shockers team had one double-double from the entire roster, that one involving assists from guard Fred VanVleet.

But Willis won't be strictly an interior player; that's just now how it works with Wichita. He'll be asked to score from all over, and on the team's recent trip to Canada he showed that versatility.

"From 17 feet on in he can really score," assistant coach Greg Heiar said, per Paul Suellentrop of Kansas.com. "He really puts pressure on the defense."

6. Daryl Macon, Arkansas

247Sports

Position: Guard

Rank: 5th

Daryl Macon grew up in Little Rock watching Arkansas basketball, but the situation didn't work out for him to join the Razorbacks out of high school. He wasn't fazed by the delay, though, committing to the Hogs in June 2015 despite still having another season to go at Holmes Community College in Mississippi.

He was a part-time starter in junior college yet still managed to average at least 23 points per game in both seasons. The 6'3” Macon has the shooting touch to wiggle his way into the starting lineup but at the very least will be part of the rotation, since Arkansas had nine players average 15 minutes per game in 2015-16, and several have moved on.

5. Kavell Bigby-Williams, Oregon

247Sports

Position: Forward

Rank: 3rd

Oregon is putting a new spin on the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" by hoping, “If it worked before, it will again.”

A year after bringing in arguably the most impactful junior college player in the country in center Chris Boucher, the Ducks have again signed a promising JUCO big man in Kavell Bigby-Williams.

The 6'10” Bigby-Williams is originally from London but spent two seasons at Gillette College in Wyoming, where in 2015-16 he averaged 16.8 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 blocks per game. Those numbers were good enough to earn him NJCAA National Player of the Year honors, the same award Boucher won in 2014-15.

While Oregon's standouts from the Pac-12 champion/Elite Eight team are almost all back, Bigby-Williams still fills a need because of his rebounding ability. Teamed with the 6'10” Boucher and 6'7” Jordan Bell, who plays like a 6'9” guy, Oregon may have one of the most imposing frontcourts in the nation.

4. Deshawn Freeman, Rutgers

Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports

Position: Forward

Rank: 16th (2015)

Rutgers had big plans this past season for Deshawn Freeman, a 6'7” wing who nearly averaged a double-double in junior college and was primed to be the player the Scarlet Knights built their team around. And that was looking to be the case early, as he averaged 13.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in Rutgers' first seven games, highlighted by a 23-point, eight-rebound effort against Central Arkansas.

But a knee injury suffered in late November caused him to miss the rest of the season, which Rutgers is treating like a redshirt at this point. We're going with that label, too, allowing us to include Freeman on our list of impact junior college transfers.

After Freeman went down, his team had to scramble to find the right rotation, with coach Eddie Jordan trying out 13 different lineups en route to a dismal 7-25 season that was followed by Jordan's termination.

New coach Steve Pikiell has far less uncertainty about his lineup, knowing that Freeman needs to be a part of it for Rutgers to succeed.

"He's got to become our first double-double guy," Pikiell told Scout.com's Sam Hellman. "He's got to grab 10 rebounds and score 12 or 13 points for us."

3. Duop Reath, LSU

247Sports

Position: Forward

Rank: 10th

He's no Ben Simmons, but then again LSU isn't expecting nearly as much from Duop Reath as it did from its superstar freshman, who went on to be the No. 1 draft pick after leading the Tigers in pretty much every statistical category.

They'll be fine if the 6'10” Reath is their top rebounder and adept at blocking shots, and if he can add some punch on offense, it will be a bonus.

Originally from South Sudan but having grown up in Australia, Reath played last year at Lee College in Texas alongside fellow LSU signee Branden Jenkins. He averaged 14.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 60.7 percent, but with the Tigers his role will likely be more as a defender and offensive rebounder.

Reap and Craig Victor, a transfer from Arizona who became eligible last December, could end up being LSU's frontcourt for 2016-17.

2. Jaylen Barford, Arkansas

247Sports

Position: Guard

Rank: 1st

The best of the three junior college players Arkansas signed for 2016-17, Jaylen Barford seems to have a spot in the starting lineup already locked up. The 6'3” shooter from Motlow State Community College in Tennessee led the nation in scoring at 26.2 points per game last season while shooting 58.8 percent from the field.

Those numbers will fit in well with the Razorbacks' uptempo attack, which last year averaged more than 78 points per game and led the SEC in three-point shooting. Guard Dusty Hannahs is back to launch up more bombs, but top outside shooter Anthlon Bell has graduated, as has point guard Jabril Durham, giving Barford options for where to play.

Barford is currently with Arkansas as it plays an exhibition tour in Spain, where through two games he averaged nine points per game on 8-of-15 shooting with seven total assists.

1. Bashir Ahmed, St. John's

247Sports

Position: Guard

Rank: 2nd

St. John's coach Chris Mullin had to put together a roster with whatever players he could find for his first season, and the results were naturally dismal. The Red Storm went 8-24 and were 1-17 in the Big East.

Mullin had a little more time to assemble his second team, which enabled him to work on Bashir Ahmed and convince him to be a part of the rebuilding process. Ahmed committed in December, even with St. John's struggling mightily, and signed in April.

A 6'7” guard who played at Hutchinson JC in Kansas in 2015-16, Ahmed "adds a new dimension" to the Red Storm because of his scoring ability, as Mullin told the school's official site. Ahmed scored 742 points for a team that went 32-5 and made the NJCAA national tournament.

St. John's had just two players average double figures last season, with only sophomore point guard Federico Mussini returning.

All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information from 247Sports, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.