Two new coaches, two very different situations.

On the one hand, there’s Jai Lucas. He’s a 36-year-old wunderkind who played at Florida and Texas and comes from NBA stock. Jai’s father, John, was an All-American at Maryland, the No. 1 pick in the 1976 NBA Draft and a veteran NBA player and coach. Lucas was working as an assistant coach at Duke when he had the chance to become the new head coach at Miami. Problem was, Miami needed to make its new hire before the postseason began. With Jon Scheyer’s blessing, Lucas took his talents to South Beach before Duke made its run to the Final Four.

On the other hand, there’s Josh Pastner, who was a walk-on guard at Arizona and went on to be a head coach at Memphis and Georgia Tech. Pastner has been working in television the last two years while biding his time to re-enter the coaching ranks. He was tapped as the new coach at UNLV, but he has now found himself at the center of a decades-old feud between his former college coach, Lute Olson, and longtime legendary (and controversial) UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Both coaches have been busily adding players to their emptied-out rosters. Hoops HQ correspondents Mike Barber and Paul Gutierrez spoke with each man and expertly told their respective stories.

There is no shortage of drama in college hoops these days, and if I’m being perfectly candid, that makes my job a lot more interesting and a lot more fun. Change is uncomfortable, but someone has to sort out all the chaos. Just because the transfer portal closed yesterday doesn’t mean the shoes will stop dropping. There are still well over 1,000 players players in the portal who have yet to commit to a new school.

With that in mind, our friends at The Portal Report have produced a couple of important stories. The first is by Riley Frain and lists the top players who entered the portal in the final rush. The other comes from Tristan Freeman, who presents his top 10 programs who have managed a semblance of continuity amidst the chaos. It’s all happening! And Hoops HQ is on top of every move.

Have a great Wednesday, everyone, and thanks as always for your support of Hoops HQ. —Seth

The Transfer Portal Closed on Tuesday. Here are the Best of the Late Entries.

The men’s college basketball transfer portal is officially closed. Players are no longer permitted to enter their names, while those currently uncommitted will remain available for recruitment.

However, with a lawsuit pending that could give NCAA athletes additional eligibility, Monday saw a slew of last-second transfers hit the portal in hopes of being granted another year. Many other non-seniors were late deciders as well.

Here’s a breakdown from our partners at The Portal Report of the top 10 transfers who entered the portal just prior to its closing, including a look at each of their eligibility criteria.

In the Land of Chaos, the Continuity Kings Shall Reign

By Tristan Freeman

The word “continuity” has never been rarer in college basketball. The transfer portal, NIL opportunities and the NBA Draft have conspired to produce what is arguably the most tumultuous off-season in the sport’s history.

And yet, some programs have managed to avoid the carnage and retain the core of their rosters. That leaves them well-positioned to pursue hardware during the 2025-26 season. Here, then, are Hoops HQ’s Top 10 Continuity Kings. To qualify for this list, teams had to have lost two or fewer scholarship players and returned at least three rotation players from the 2024-25 campaign.

‍