TCU basketball adds one, and loses one, to the NCAA transfer portal on same day
The NCAA transfer portal giveth and taketh as TCU basketball discovered on Wednesday.
The Horned Frogs picked up a commitment from Maxwell Evans, a Vanderbilt guard, while also seeing forward Kevin Easley, Jr. depart. That’s the way college basketball go these days with reportedly more than 1,100 basketball players in the portal.
Evans, a Houston native who played at Bellaire High School, is a nice addition for the Frogs. A source described him as “an experienced guard who can score.” He averaged 8.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 25 games last season.
More important, he brings much-needed leadership and Power 5 experience to the program. Evans played in 117 games for Vanderbilt the last four seasons.
As far as Easley, there were rumblings he’d be headed to the portal so it wasn’t much of a surprise when he officially put his name in Wednesday, according to sources.
Easley joined TCU as a transfer out of Chattanooga following the 2018-19 season. Easley sat out the 2019-20 season and found himself in a limited role last season. He averaged 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 26 games.
Easley is the fourth forward from last year’s opening-day roster to land in the portal, joining Diante Smith, Mickey Pearson and Jaedon LeDee.
TCU could also lose its leading scorer with RJ Nembhard declaring for the NBA Draft. Nembhard could still return to school, but some outlets project him as a top 50 prospect in the 2021 class.
Center Kevin Samuel also has yet to declare his intentions for next season. Samuel is on pace to graduate this spring.
TCU is coming off a 12-14 season, the first losing season of Jamie Dixon’s career.
This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 4:04 PM.
