Projections for College Basketball's Top Transfers in 2017-18

A major prize from the annual college basketball transfer season just went off the market Tuesday with the news that former California guard Charlie Moore will play for Kansas, per Scout.com's Evan Daniels.

He joins former Memphis standouts Dedric and K.J. Lawson as players the Jayhawks have picked up via the transfer wire, helping beef up their roster for the 2018-19 season after sitting out this upcoming term.

Transfer acquisitions have become almost as important as high school and junior college additions in college basketball, with more and more high-profile players opting to switch colleges midway through their careers for a better opportunity.

Most are required to sit out a year, per NCAA transfer rules, though players who complete their degrees are able to move without any penalty and can feature right away.

There are hundreds of players who made notable contributions for one team in 2016-17 but are in the process of finding a new squad for 2017-18, and we've picked out the best of the best of those who haven't finalized their decision.

Where will they end up? Check out our predictions for their next destination.

Casey Benson

Timothy J. Gonzalez/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 4.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.6 APG, 43.6% FG, 40.5% 3-pt FG, 77.1% FT

Anyone interested in a gently used point guard with national championship game experience who is available for immediate use? If so, Casey Benson is your guy.

While the NBA draft departures of Jordan Bell, Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey received the most attention, Benson's move away from Oregon after three seasons was just as significant because he would have been the lone senior in the Ducks' backcourt had he stuck around.

Instead, he's graduating and looking to find a place where he can average more than the 20.9 minutes per game as he did this past season, down from 28.7 as a sophomore.

The 6'3" Benson started the first four games of 2016-17 while Brooks was coming back from foot surgery before going to the bench. He has scored 10 or more points 13 times in 113 career games and averaged 5.0 points in the NCAA tourney.

Wisconsin is set to host Benson this week, per Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State Journal, and he's also set to check out Butler and Grand Canyon. The Badgers could greatly use his experience in the backcourt with Bronson Koenig's graduation and junior Jordan Hill opting to transfer.

Projected destination: Wisconsin

Carlton Bragg Jr.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

2016-17 stats: 5.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 0.5 APG, 50.8% FG, 64.3% FT

A look back at the top 50 prospects from the 2015 recruiting class shows that most of those recruits ended up living up to the hype, with several either already in the pros or set to get there this fall.

However, there are always a few prospects who don't meet expectations for various reasons, of which Carlton Bragg is an example.

Rated No. 35 overall and seventh best among power forwards in 2015, Bragg's two seasons at Kansas saw him spend nearly as much time in coach Bill Self's doghouse as he did on the court. The 6'9" Bragg averaged 11.1 minutes per game in two years, starting the first five games of 2016-17.

Bragg was scoreless in Kansas' last three NCAA tourney games, playing a combined 15 minutes against Michigan State and Purdue and failing to see action in the Elite Eight loss to Oregon.

While the Jayhawks never fully tapped into Bragg's skill set, other suitors figure to be more willing to—using the year he'd have to sit out to further that cause. ESPN's Jeff Goodman and CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein (via Steven Muma of SB Nation) reported he is considering Arizona State, Cincinnati, Illinois, NC State and Xavier.

Bragg is from Cleveland, making a move close to home very possible. That could give the edge to in-state schools Cincinnati or Xavier, but he might also choose to play for a coach who has seen up close what Bragg is capable of.

His last double-digit scoring performance was March 4 at Oklahoma State, which was led by current Illinois coach Brad Underwood.

Projected destination: Illinois

Elijah Brown

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2016-17 stats: 18.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 37.9% FG, 33.0% 3-pt FG, 82.7% FT

Elijah Brown is headed to his third school after playing for Butler and New Mexico, beginning at the former in 2013-14 and then spending the last two seasons in Albuquerque. He was the Lobos' leading scorer both years, averaging 21.7 points per game as a sophomore in 2015-16.

The 6'4" guard has 1,490 points and 187 made three-pointers for his career, topping the 30-point mark seven times. Those are numbers that would be much appreciated by whichever school lands the graduate transfer, a list that currently includes Gonzaga, Iowa State, Northwestern, Oregon and Saint Mary's, per Rothstein (via the Spokesman-Review's Jim Meehan).

With the volume of shooting Brown has had in his career—he averaged more than 14 shots per game at New Mexico—he's going to want to go somewhere that gives him a green light. Few schools have as many available shots as Iowa State, which is losing its top four scorers who were all guards.

Projected destination: Iowa State

James Daniel

Mel Evans/Associated Press

Stats (2015-16): 27.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.0 SPG, 38.8% FG, 33.2% 3-pt FG, 84.6% FT

We're using James Daniel's numbers from a different season because injuries limited him to just two games in 2016-17. That restricted action enabled him to count last year as a redshirt, and with degree in hand, he's decided a fifth season would be better spent somewhere other than MEAC school Howard.

With the Bison, he scored 1,933 points and was MEAC Player of the Year in 2015-16, when he also led the nation in scoring.

Generously listed at 5'10", Daniel is a shoot-first point guard who isn't afraid to take on contact. His 280 free throws and 331 attempts in 2015-16 were also tops in Division I, and that was on top of taking 582 field goals.

It looks like some Big Ten rivals will be battling for Howard's services, as Michigan and Ohio State are among a list reported by Goodman that also includes DePaul and Tennessee.

Michigan already has guards Charles Matthews (Kentucky) and Jaaron Simmons (Ohio) set to come on board for next season, while Ohio State could use a sidekick for JaQuan Lyle since junior Kam Williams has declared for the NBA draft.

Projected destination: Ohio State

Mark Donnal

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 3.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 61.7% FG, 50.0% 3-pt FG, 78.0% FT

When given the chance, Mark Donnal has rarely failed to come through. His per-40 numbers at Michigan the last three seasons produced 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds, which makes you wonder why coach John Beilein limited him to just 14.2 minutes per game, including only 12.2 in 2016-17 as a junior.

Expect the 6'9", 240-pound forward to get used much more wherever he ends up, the possibilities looking like Clemson, Creighton and Vanderbilt. He told MLive.com's Brendan F. Quinn he's looking for a team that "allows their five the freedom to step out and shoot."

Donnal only attempted 18 three-pointers last season, making nine; if given more of a chance to spread the floor, that could become a bigger part of his game to go with his 62.9 percent shooting on two-pointers for his career.

With this in mind, Vanderbilt looks like a strong contender to land Donnal. Commodores coach Bryce Drew saw 7-footer Luke Kornet take 162 threes this past season, and when he was at Valparaiso the year before he had one of the best stretch bigs in the country in Alec Peters.

Projected destination: Vanderbilt

Chase Jeter

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 2.6 PG, 2.7 RPG, 50.0% FG, 55.6% FT

The list of players who have transferred from Duke isn't a long one, but in recent years those who have decided to leave one of the nation's most successful programs have managed to thrive in their new locales. Michael Gbinije led Syracuse to the Final Four in 2015-16 and this past season Semi Ojeleye was the heart and soul of a 30-win SMU team.

Could Chase Jeter end up having the same impact for his next team? That remains to be seen, but what isn't hard to predict is that he'll do more at the next stop than he did in two years with the Blue Devils.

A top-15 prospect from the 2015 recruiting class, the 6'10" forward never managed to crack coach Mike Krzyzewski's rotation. After playing 32 games as a freshman, that number dropped to 16 as a sophomore, his last game coming in mid-January before getting shut down because of a herniated disc that required surgery.

Because he has to sit out the 2016-17 season Jeter will have plenty of time to heal, and maybe being closer to his Las Vegas roots will help. CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported he's visited California, and he is also considering San Diego State, Arizona, Gonzaga, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Utah, per Evan Daniels of Scout.com.

Cal is set to have Kentucky big man transfer Marcus Lee for this season, but that's it, and Jeter could do worse than get a season's worth of practice time against a fellow former blue-chip prospect in Lee.

Projected destination: California

Cameron Johnson

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

2016-17 stats: 11.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 44.9% FG, 41.7% 3-pt FG, 81.1% FT

What's better than a graduate transfer who is eligible to play next season? Answer: One who's capable of contributing right away but will also potentially be around a second year.

Cameron Johnson will have his degree from Pittsburgh by the time he picks his next school, having finished it in three years of which only two counted toward his eligibility. He played just eight games as a true freshman in 2014-15 before a shoulder injury cut that season short.

The 6'7" Johnson can play multiple positions along the perimeter as well as inside, having made 78 three-pointers last season while also shooting 51 percent from inside the arc. He would have been the Panthers' top returning scorer had he stuck around, but instead he's part of a mass exodus of five players transferring in addition to those whose eligibility was used up.

Some big names are in the mix for Johnson, with Kentucky set to host him this week while Arizona, Ohio State, Oregon, TCU and UCLA are hoping to also secure a visit.

Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader noted that Johnson is from the same hometown in Pennsylvania (Moon Township) as Kentucky coach John Calipari and Wildcats assistant Kenny Payne has been a family friend for 30 years.

Those kinds of connections also exist with Arizona and TCU, as Johnson's father played with Arizona coach Sean Miller at Pitt and TCU's Jamie Dixon recruited Johnson to Pitt before leaving after the 2015-16 season.

Projected destination: TCU

Ed Morrow Jr.

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

2016-17 stats: 9.4 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 51.4% FG, 61.2% FT

Nebraska was one of the most confounding teams in the country this past season, knocking off the likes of Dayton, Indiana, Maryland and Purdue yet finishing with 19 losses. It might have been different had Ed Morrow Jr. not missed seven games in January and February with a foot injury, the Cornhuskers going 1-6 in his absence.

Morrow wasn't willing to stick around and see what could be as a junior, the 6'7" forward choosing to sit out a year with a different school before resuming his career in 2017-18.

His final game with Nebraska saw him score eight points with 10 rebounds and two blocks in a Big Ten tourney loss to Penn State, the seventh time in 24 games last season in which he had 10 or more boards.

Per Jeff Goodman and Jeff Borzello of ESPN, Marquette recently hosted Morrow, and the player is also considering Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Xavier.

Iowa State and Pitt could desperately use him this coming season so having him taking up space on the bench might not be wise.

Projected destination: Xavier

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

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.