NAIA Transfers Making Instant Impact
Four NAIA to Division I basketball transfers making immediate impact: Ian Scott, Tristan Smith, Kashie Natt, and Johnny Radford complete analysis.
The transfer portal has taken the college basketball world by storm. With the best players from the non-power conference ranks transferring up with the power of NIL, this has opened up new pools of players to join those ranks as replacements.
Many programs are looking towards high schoolers who are now looking for new opportunities to contribute early in their career, or players from the lower ranks. However, some teams have been finding diamonds in the rough outside of the division one ranks.
One trend in particular I’ve been following is, players transferring in from the NAIA. Let’s take a look at four players who have entered their first year in division one that are already having success and contributing through the first month of the season.
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Ian Scott (Indiana State)
6’7, 220lbs ~ Grace
The 6’7 forward Ian Scott was some what of a hot commodity during the offseason after dominating for the Grace Lancers last season. He averaged 18.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 63.2% overall and 27.8% from three-point. He was a first team All-American and runner-up for the National Player of the Year.
While Indiana State is 5-4 and just took a tough loss to Alcorn State, Ian Scott has certainly been contributing at a high level. He’s averaging 13.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 67.7% overall and 50% from beyond the arc. He already has three double-doubles, including 24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals against Charlotte on opening day. Against Duke, he shot 5-6 with 13 points, three rebounds, and four steals.
Looking at his metrics, Scott has a 123.6 offensive rating which is 420th in the nation. His 69% effective field goal percentage is 33rd, and his 70.8% true shooting percentage is 32nd. On the defensive end, he features a 21.4% defensive rebounding percentage which is 157th and a 3.4% steal percentage which is 275th.
Essentially, his metrics tell the story of his true style of play. He’s a wildly effective scorer while also being a menace on the defensive end via both cleaning up the glass and disrupting opponents’ offenses. His basketball IQ is out of this world as he rarely takes a bad shot. He has sneaky vision as well on the court for a 6’7 forward.
Tristan Smith (Northern Iowa)
6’6, 235lbs ~ Concordia
Tristan Smith transferred into Northern Iowa from Concordia where he put up outlandish numbers last season. He averaged 18 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists. 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. He shot 60.1% overall from the floor on 37.1% from beyond the arc.
As of December 2nd, Smith is averaging 10.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and nearly one block and one steal per game while shooting 55.4% overall and 28.6% from three-point. What I love is, when he isn’t getting involved at a high volume on the offensive end, he’s still contributing on the court. Against Tulsa, he finished with just seven points on 3-5 shooting, but he had seven rebounds three assists, and one steal as well.
Looking at his metrics:
115.9 offensive rating
28.4% possession percentage (100th)
56.6% effective field goal percentage
10.1% offensive rebounding percentage (290th)
16.4% defensive rebounding percentage
24.5% assist rate (257th)
4.9% blocking percentage (241st)
What stands out the most to me is his possession percentage. Let’s look at the five players in front of him for the same metric:
Teagan Moore (WKU) 20.3 points, 6.6 rebounds
Pharrel Payne (Maryland) 17.3 points, 6.3 rebounds
Jack Karasinski (Bellarmine) 20.8 points, 4.8 rebounds
Anquan Hill (Sacred Heart) 17.1 points, 6.1 rebounds
Anthony Johnson (Arizona State) 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds
Four of the five players playing right around the same amont of possessions are averaging seven to ten more points per game. This stands out to represent how vital Smith is to the Panthers’ gameplan even if he isn’t the main go-to scorer on the court.
Side note, this kid is an INSANE dunker:
Kashie Natt (Sam Houston)
6’3, 190lbs ~ LSU Alexandria
After a dominating season at LSU Alexandira, Kashie Natt hit the portal looking to spend a season in Division I. He landed at Sam Houston after averaging 19.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, three assists, and two steals per game while shooting 47.6% overall and 30.6% from three-point.
Thus far at Sam Houston, Natt is averaging 10.1 points, eight rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.5% overall and 27.3% from beyond the arc. Here’s where his metrics lie:
127.8 offensive rating (277th)
14.4% offensive rebounding percentage (64th)
18.2% defensive rebounding percentage (380th)
17.7% assist rate
3.5% blocking percentage (394th)
4.5% steal percentage (62nd)
While he isn’t lighting up the board with 15+ points per game, he has silently been incredibly efficient and a monster on the glass. The Bearcats rank 33rd in the country in offensive rebounding percentage and a large reason for that is Natt. The best part is, he is going this against strong competition. Against No. 10 Texas Tech, he has 16 points and 11 rebounds (five offensive). Need I remind you…Natt is just 6’3. He is averaging eight rebounds, nearly three offensive at less than 200 pounds and just 6’3. It’s incredible.
I will say, at 6’3 I would love to see him improve on the three-point shooting, but that’s not his game. Through eight games, he has taken just 11 three-pointers while knocking down three of them (two against Texas Tech). He’s truly the definition of a ball pest on the floor and a monster on defense. You have to watch Natt play this season!
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Johnny Radford (Eastern Washington)
6’1, 180lbs ~ College of Idaho
Johnny Radford put up some solid numbers in his final season for the College of Idaho as he averaged 13.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He shot 45.4% overall from the floor and 41.8% from beyond the arc.
At Eastern Washington, Radford is averaging nine points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 36.2% overall and 34.1% from three-point. He’s shown glimpses of strong offensive games against Seattle where he shot 5-6 and Colorado when he shot 3-5. In that two game span he shot 8-11 overall and 4-5 from three-point. However, his shots haven’t been super effective outside of those two games, yet I do think we’ll see more consistency as he adjusts at this level.
Looking at his metrics, he has a 113.7 offensive rating, a 12.8% assist rate, and a 2% steal percentage. Despite erratic shooting performances, he has a 50% effective field goal percentage and a 55.1% true shooting percentage.
Some of what’s effected his efficiency is the fact that Eastern Washington is just 1-7 with no wins against a division one team. Radford is being forced to shoot 7.3 times per game and 5.1 of those coming from beyond the arc. They have Isaiah Moses who is averaging 19.1 points and shooting 47.4% from three-point, however, after Moses it’s a mix of Alton Hamilton, Radford, and Kiree Huie.
As a team, they are just 316th in the country in assists per field goals made. While stats at the NAIA level aren’t always in depth, judging off Radford’s shot I think it’s fair to assume that he’s be exceeding these current figures if he were able to operate more on the catch-and-shoot. However, even without that, he is finding a way to create his own offense and help to facilitate for others.
I’ll end this entire post mentioning that Radford also played on the College of Idaho golf team. You don’t find too many two-sport athletes in college these days!