As any dedicated college basketball fan knows by now, the sport's offseason has become quite the chaotic spectacle of speed-dating free agency. Middle Tennessee was no exception, using all six of their open scholarship spots from the 2024-2025 roster on players in the transfer portal.

First, a quick recap of who on the roster from this past season will depart and who is expected to return:

Outgoing:
Jared Coleman-Jones (transferred to San Diego State)
O'zhell Jackson (transferred to Clark Atlanta)
Josh Ogundele (transferred to Tennessee State)
Elias King (graduated)
Ty Mosley (graduated)
Jalen Jordan (graduated)

Returning:
Camryn Weston
Jestin Porter
Justin Bufford
Jacob Johnson
Chris Loofe
Tre Green
Torey Alston


Now let's get to the fun part. Here is a breakdown of the six players Middle Tennessee acquired out of the portal.

Jarred Hall- 6'8 Tulsa forward (rising sophomore)
Hall was the first portal entry to commit to the Blue Raiders this offseason. A true product of the middle Tennessee area, Hall was a high school star at Lebanon High School, winning Mr. Basketball at the Tennessee 4A level averaging 27 points and 9 rebounds his senior season, and was ranked as the 3rd best prospect in the state in the class of 2023 by ESPN Recruiting. Hall had a quiet lone season at Tulsa but fits the script as the type of wing Nick McDevitt likes to use: long, active, and versatile. Hall has a wide range of outcomes given his lack of time on a college-level court, but the hope is he will thrive closer to home in a system more suited for his profile.

Alec Oglesby- 6'5 Stetson wing (rising COVID senior; eligible to apply for a 6th year)
Oglesby has been a journeyman through college basketball, playing his first three seasons at three schools (Cleveland State, UNC Wilmington, & Stetson) before a breakout season with the Atlantic Sun champion Hatters in 2024. Oglesby averaged just under 11 points and shot 40% from 3 on 186 attempts (only one of two players to hit these marks in the A-SUN). While he isn't the dynamic scorer Josh Jefferson was (he averaged half of the 2PAs and FTAs last season compared to Jefferson's final season at UWGB), Oglesby has the size of a true wing and is a sharp decision-maker. His shooting prowess should help the Blue Raiders bounce back from their worst 3p% season of the Nick McDevitt era. His experience with a conference champion and NCAA tournament team will also be useful.

Jlynn Counter- 6'3 IUPUI guard (rising senior)
Counter is a combo guard with quite a polarizing resume. The last two seasons have been very productive as he averaged 14 ppg, 4 rpg, and 3 apg, albeit for IUPUI who went 11-53 during his tenure. Last season Counter was the only Horizon player under 6'6 to shoot 68% at the rim with at least 70 attempts. Perimeter shooting numbers are a little concerning but the 3p% jumped from 27% to 32% from sophomore to junior season, and the free throw percentage averaged 78% between both seasons, both encouraging signs that the jumper will be good enough.

While Counter's general numbers are exciting, there are also some question marks. The former Jaguar amassed 220 turnovers over the past two seasons, second to only Tommy Bruner. To Counter's defense, this isn't the worst company as Bruner was one of the best scorers in the nation last season. Still, it is worth monitoring given turnovers have been such a steady shortcoming during the McDevitt era. A look at Counter's shot selection also carried some concern, as over 50% of his field goal attempts last season were constituted as "other 2s" (2-point jumpers, hook shots, floaters), of which he only shot 39% on (per Bart Torvik).

It is completely possible Counter was forced to be this type of player given how desperate of a team IUPUI was. Buy-in and open-mindedness to coaching will be key for him, but he is a very necessary addition to the roster given how the clear absence of point guard play after Weston's injury last season led to the team's demise.

Essam Mostafa- 6'9 TCU forward (rising COVID senior)
Mostafa spent four seasons (one of them as a redshirt) with Coastal Carolina, then transferred to TCU for 2023-2024. While his year with the Horned Frogs was pretty quiet (10 minutes and 3 points per game), he had quite the career in Conway with the Chanticleers, starting 80 games and averaging 12.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg, and shooting 54% from the floor. In his final season with Coastal, he led the Sun Belt in offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, and double-doubles. A behemoth of a human being at 6'9 & 250 lbs, Mostafa will be a force to be reckoned with down low in Conference USA next year. My bold and uneducated prediction at this early stage would make him the odds-on favorite to lead the team in points next season.

Kamari Lands- 6'8 Arizona State guard (rising junior)
Lands' story is similar to Hall's minus the TN affiliation. Lands was a top 100 player out of high school who attended some of the most touted high school basketball programs in the country (La Lumiere, Prolific Prep, & Hillcrest Prep). However he has yet to make a splash at the college level, averaging 6 points on 33% shooting with Louisville two years ago, and 4.5 points on 28% shooting with Arizona State last year. Still, Lands was able to average around 20 minutes a game with both teams, which may be a sign that he can hold his own defensively. Like Hall, there is a wide range of outcomes for him, but Middle has had success with players like Lands in the past who hope that leveling down can get their feet back under them and return their confidence.

Christian Fussell- 6'10 UT Martin forward (rising COVID senior)
Fussell needs no introduction as many remember him from spending his first three college seasons with Middle Tennessee. He returns from UT-Martin with the same level of production he had during his time in Murfreesboro. Given what Middle already has at the center role, I think Fussell makes for a great combination of a practice body, an injury insurance piece, and a positive mature voice in the locker room.

Although he wasn't a departure or a newcomer, Jestin Porter's story plays a huge part in Middle's final post-portal perception. Porter announced entrance into the transfer portal on March 20th. This was less than a week after the Blue Raiders' season had ended in a 31-point dismantling against their rival Hilltoppers. There was clear panic surrounding the state of Middle Tennessee men's basketball, but the staff weathered the storm well in the following weeks, securing the sure talents of Mostafa and Oglesby, as well as solid depth and upside pieces in Counter, Hall, and Lands.

On May 9th, exactly 50 days after entering the portal, Jestin Porter announced he was returning to Middle Tennessee for his final year of eligibility. This felt like a huge get considering the Blue Raiders still needed a dynamic scoring piece and were unlikely to lure another guard with Porter's level of pedigree to Murfreesboro.

1. Hard to give this staff anything less than a B+ over this portal season. Next year's team on paper has a balance of the roles you want on a team: stud starters, upside flyers, bought-in role players, and depth at every position.

2. This is a team with a ton of age. Weston, Bufford, Porter, Johnson, Oglesby, Mostafa, and Fussell make seven players playing their fifth year of eligibility. Add Counter who is a regular fourth-year senior, and that is eight of the 13 scholarship players that will be labeled as seniors.

3. Weston's health will be very key entering next year. Six to nine months being the typical recovery time for torn ACLs, you would think he should be ready by November 2024 as it will have been a full year. Still might be worth erring on the side of caution: recoveries aren't an exact science. A big part of Weston's game is physical and athletic ability. Maybe he'll need some time to return to form, or maybe he'll hit the ground running. Weston is a big factor in the team reaching their ceiling next year. Maybe the biggest factor. But given that pressure, we should be careful in putting expectations on his recovery.

4. I am very interested to see how McDevitt uses Mostafa offensively. We have seen over the years Nick's preference to run the offense through the center: running dribble handoffs at the top of the key and as a face-up quasi-playmaker in the high post. The numbers and film suggest Mostafa isn't exactly that type of player. He has never averaged more than 1.1 assists per game, and his strong offensive rebounding output suggests he is at his best in the paint during offensive possessions. It will be key to see if the offense will be changed to cater to him, or if his role will be changed to cater to the offense. I am hoping for the former.

5. Like all of Nick McDevitt's teams, it is fair to be concerned over ball security and shooting. Shooting is hard to project but there are reasons for optimism. Oglesby is a career 39% from the arc and should be a reliable option the Blue Raiders didn't have in 2024. Porter's 3p% has stayed steady and should improve with more spacing. You would hope Bufford hits closer to his 40% mark from 2023 than his 20% mark in 2024. Lands has upside there based on his high school projection. Tre Green could follow up his breakout second half of last year, shooting 43% from 3 in his final 15 games.

Ball security has proven to be either a blind spot or a deficiency that McDevitt is content with sacrificing. The only season Middle hasn't finished in the bottom third of the country during the McDevitt era was 2022. Not coincidently this was the best guard play he has had during his tenure. MTSU's chances here rest on the shoulders of Weston's recovery, Porter's improvement, and Counter's acclimation to a tougher league.

6. Usually Blue Raider teams under Nick McDevitt are loaded with athletic wing talent that anchors the active defensive style and identity of his teams. The makeup of this team however feels different. Justin Bufford and Jacob Johnson fit the mold, as do portal additions Jarred Hall and Kamari Lands and redshirt freshman Torey Altson. However, Bufford and possibly Lands are the only players I see with clearly defined roles next year. I could be overspeculating but I wonder if there were any conscious philosophical changes in approach after last season ended.

7. Based on my basketball ideologies, I think the clear starting lineup would be Weston, Porter, Oglesby, Bufford, and Mostafa. As noted before, this seems different from your typical Nick McDevitt archetyped team. You wonder if he would be comfortable putting out a lineup without superb length that lacks a sturdy defensive floor. That said, these five players stand alone in terms of accomplishment either in Murfreesboro or an adjacent level of college basketball. Weston, Porter, and Bufford have each played 1,500 minutes and scored over 500 points in Blue Raider uniforms. Mostafa was a proven steady force for three years in the Sun Belt and has likely gotten even better from playing in the Big 12 for a year. Oglesby doesn't have a plethora of career production but the premium on 3-point shooting and how consistently efficient he's been over his career as a shooter is still substantial.

The one other player I can also see having a case in the starting five is Kamari Lands. His lack of production as a college player makes him a bit of an enigma, but nearly 1,300 career minutes at the high major level is nothing to sneeze at. His 6'8 size fits the traditional profile McDevitt values as well.