Good luck finding a contending team in college basketball anymore without a transfer making an impact.
In this week's Associated Press poll, 21 teams feature a transfer on their roster, including guards on the top three squads: Gonzaga (Andrew Nembhard), Baylor (Adam Flagler) and Villanova (Caleb Daniels).
There was a time when certain programs that wanted to stay afloat relied heavily on transfers from junior colleges more than Division I schools because the latter had to sit out a year.
Then came the popular graduate transfers that could play immediately while seeking a master's degree, bringing a high level of experience and also freeing up the scholarship after one year.
This season, all sit-out transfers who came from another four-year school in good academic standing and enrolled in the fall were immediately allowed to play. The NCAA finally did the right thing in December by granting a blanket waiver because of the pandemic.
Former Wake Forest 7-footer Olivier Sarr, the No. 1 transfer in the country, hasn't lived up the hype and neither has his new team. Kentucky is 4-7, which included a six-game losing streak.
But teams such as the Gophers struck gold with transfers Liam Robbins, Both Gach and Brandon Johnson becoming starters. Gach, a Utah transfer and Austin, Minn. native, is averaging only 6.8 points on 28% shooting in Big Ten play, but he had 13 points in Sunday's 86-71 loss at Iowa.
"For me, it's trying to remain confident and just be myself out there on the court," Gach said. "Just putting other things aside and not thinking much out there. Just trying to be myself and have fun."
