Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 04/30/20
Welcome back to Three Things!
The intention of Three Things is simple: Keeping you informed. The offseason can be a busy time and college basketball isn’t always on everyone’s radars from April to October.
Here’s how it will work: Every morning, Monday through Friday, we will provide you with three things that you need to know from the previous day. Pretty simple, right? You’ll be amazed by your new college basketball wisdom!
Here are the three things you need to know for April 30.
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Marcus Santos-Silva commits
A massive transfer puzzle piece was put into place on Wednesday as former VCU forward Marcus Santos-Silva announced his commitment to Texas Tech. Santos-Silva averaged 12.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for the Rams. He is expected to be immediately eligible after completing summer coursework.
Chris Beard’s Red Raiders will welcome Santos-Silva to a Texas Tech rotation that could be scary good in ’20-21. Last year’s third-place finisher in the Big 12 is expected to return an elite guard trio of Davide Moretti, Kyler Edwards and Terrence Shannon Jr. in addition to UNLV sit-out transfer Joel Ntambwe, JUCO transfer Esahia Nyiwe and five-star freshman Nimari Burnett.
MAC star hits portal
Only 20 players nationally have managed to average at least 13 points and four rebounds per game in each of the past three years. One of them, Nike Sibande, entered the transfer portal on Wednesday.
The former Miami OH guard immediately becomes one of the elite scorers in the transfer market, and will be a traditional sit-out transfer and redshirt the ’20-21 season. At 6-4, the Indianapolis native has remarkable athleticism to pair with his scoring ability. Sibande is expected to land at a power-conference program.
Paolo Banchero cuts list
The nation’s No. 4 overall recruit out of the 2021 class narrowed his list on Wednesday, finalizing six possible candidates. Seattle native Paolo Banchero is currently considering Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee and Washington.
Listed at 6-9/235, Banchero is expected to be a one-and-done and future lottery pick. Former NBA All-Star and Washington guard Isaiah Thomas has publicly encouraged Banchero to “stay home” and commit to the Huskies, which happen to be the heavy favorite according to 24/7Sports.
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.