Three intriguing SEC basketball players already in the transfer portal

By Chris Marler

The NCAA basketball portal is still a week away from opening, but it’s never too early to start looking at some of the high profile, and most intriguing, SEC players that have already entered. Here are three to keep an eye on. 

LSU G Dedan Thomas Jr. 

Thomas came from UNLV and was a massive impact for LSU when he was on the floor. The issue was he wasn’t able to stay on the floor nearly as much as anyone had hoped when he originally signed. Thomas was one of the biggest gets LSU brought in from the portal or high school in quite some time. A skillful guard that can score and distribute. He was one of the most sought after players in last year’s cycle and carried a price tag of roughly $2 million according to reports. 

Why he’s intriguing

Thomas announced that he planned on entering the portal before Will Wade’s courtship back to Baton Rouge was made official. He would be a huge retention piece for a coach who has had tremendous success with talent like Thomas’. 

Florida C Olivier Rioux

Even if you don’t know the name, you know exactly who this is. Remember the Florida basketball player that was built like a giraffe? Yeah, that guy. That’s Rioux. Rioux is 7-foot-9. He hasn’t played much in two years of college and only averaged 1.5 minutes in the 11 games he appeared in this season. He is still a physical unicorn though at 7-foot-9.

Why he’s intriguing

Did you not see the part about him being 7-foot-9? 

South Carolina G Eli Ellis 

The numbers won’t pop off the page for Eli Ellis at South Carolina. That’s partially because he was a freshman, and partially because he was playing on one of the worst teams in the country. Ellis was the sixth man for the Gamecocks and averaged over eight points per game in year one. As someone who covers South Carolina closely, it always felt like his star was a little too bright to be in Columbia and LaMont Paris’ offense. 

Why he’s intriguing 

Ellis didn’t go the traditional route for his recruitment. Instead of playing a normal high school career, he chose to play in the OTE league. The boomer in me had no clue what that meant, and I still don’t if we are being honest. I do know that he was a two time MVP of that league though, and won the championship with a last second shot his senior year. He’s a former top 100 recruit and carries a lot of star power thanks to his social media platform. It will be interesting to see if that is leveraged into a big NIL package at a bigger school or a Mid-Major where he’s destined to start right away.