Connecticut and Purdue needed the right players. Alabama needed more players. N.C. State had to fill big gaps in the backcourt.
They all effectively recruited transfer players, which is a key reason for their success in reaching the Final Four. They are heading to Glendale, Ariz., with a chance to win.
It's a reminder that recruiting experienced players has become an important part of building a top team in today's game. They each added at least one player in their fifth college season and integrating new players with different personalities is a rewarding part of the process.
UConn coach Dan Hurley said before the reigning champs beat Illinois in the Elite Eight, 'Getting players with a lot of energy. Avoiding inactive and apathetic players on your roster. Outgoing, different types of personality. It helps you in these bigger moments.'
'I think that's something that we spend a lot of time thinking about with a couple of the years where we didn't play our best in March. Get guys that are lively, that aren't going to shrink when the lights get bright in March.'
The Huskies have one in 6-foot-4 guard Cam Spencer.
Spencer, who played three seasons at Loyola Maryland and last year at Rutgers, found a place in the starting lineup alongside Associated Press first-team All-American Tristen Newton and returning big man Donovan Clingan for a roster that lost some major pieces from last year's title run.
Spencer is the team's second top scorer (14.4 per game) while shooting 44% from 3-point range and 92% from the foul line. He will celebrate his 24th birthday Saturday, the same day the Huskies face the Crimson Tide in the national semifinals.
'He's super easy and super fun to play with on offense,' UConn teammate Alex Karaban said.
Alabama coach Nate Oats brought in four transfers after losing four starters, including No. 2 overall NBA draft pick Brandon Miller. One of those, lanky 6-11 forward Grant Nelson from North Dakota State, played a huge role in getting the program to its first Final Four, going for 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Sweet 16 win against No. 1 region seed North Carolina.
Another is Aaron Estrada, a 6-3 guard who arrived as a two-time Coastal Athletic Association Player of the Year at Hofstra. Alabama is his fourth school in a five-year career, and he's an every-game starter as the team's second top scorer (13.4).
'I think I adjusted pretty well,' Estrada said. 'I just want to win. So whatever the team needed me to do, whether to score that night, rebound, get assists, play defense, I'm going to do it. I think coming to Alabama was an easy adjustment for me.'
At Purdue, the Boilermakers found veteran help by adding a 1,500-point scorer in Lance Jones, a 6-1 guard with 113 starts in four seasons at Southern Illinois. And while 7-4 Zach Edey was the star (40 points, 16 rebounds), Jones came through with one of the biggest shots of the Elite Eight matchup against Tennessee, rattling home a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2 minutes, 42 seconds left to give Purdue a 66-60 lead.
It took some courage, as well, considering Purdue had only made 2 of 13 shots from beyond the 3-point line up to that point.
“Coach (Matt Painter) advises us: Be prepared to shoot the ball when it comes to you and you're wide open,” Jones stated. “I've put a lot of effort into my shot, and I am very confident in it. My teammates also have a lot of faith in me.”
For the second year in a row, N.C. State has improved its team by bringing in players from the transfer portal — this time achieving unexpected success.
Fifth-year guard DJ Horne spent two years at both Illinois State and Arizona State, and he’s the team’s top scorer (16.8) after the departures of last year’s Jarkel Joiner-Terquavion Smith backcourt tandem. Stanford transfer Michael O’Connell has been crucial at the point both as a consistent playmaker with only 17 turnovers in the current nine-game winning streak, as well as a shot maker going back to his banked-in 3 to force overtime against Virginia and extend N.C. State’s unexpected ACC Tournament title run.
Add in last year’s addition of big man DJ Burns Jr. from the transfer portal — who has made himself the face of this year’s NCAA Tournament with his agile post moves and charismatic personality — and the Wolfpack’s success is comparable to that last Final Four trip in 1983 under the late Jim Valvano.
“I’m glad he’s here,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said of Burns. “I’m glad he’s on my team. I don’t know how you guard him. I’m excited, and I hope nobody figures that out.”
