**** Official 2026 MBB Spring Transfer Portal Thread ****

[ForeverIowan]

Toure, Batemon and Milan are musts. I like Pleta but he's replaceable, the other three would be a lot harder. I'm very bullish on Toure, I can see him making a big jump to star status in his 2nd year. TJ tends to keep a lot of his guys so I'm confident that the young core and Milan will be back although if he has a big tournament he might go pro.

Edit: And Buchanan. He fits well here but I also think he's replaceable if he decides to move on.

TJ has said himself Buchanan is the PERFECT 5 for his system.

6'10" former top 100 recruits with extremely quick feet do NOT grow on trees. He will also be a senior with his best basketball ahead of him. He will be a priority to bring back.

As an aside, in regards to Pleta, he missed the majority of the offseason in Ames. Give that guy an offseason of strength and nutrition and post work with Coach Green his ceiling is extremely high.

 

[CycloneVet]

If he was going to leave for more money, he would've already. We can give him enough to make him happy.

We are gonna free up a ton of cash through graduation

 

[NYCYFan]

I mean, everyone is replaceable but there's not a guy on that list that you want to replace. Pleta and Buchanon have been excellent, and bringing in guys to replace them will be a crapshoot at best

Let me rephrase. I prefer that they return and I suspect that they will but I like the upside of the young backcourt more than the upside of the frontcourt so I feel that the backcourt is more vital to bring back. I hope they all return

 

[ForeverIowan]

Strange we have two all conference type players on an all American coming off the books. A. Shouldn’t we have money to spend? B. No one other than Jefferson is projected in the first round why wouldn’t they return?

1.) Momcilovic will get some absolutely ridiculous offers to leave. We are talking upwards of $5M I am sure.
2.) From what I have heard Buchanan was an enormous discount this year.
3.) Toure, Batemon and Pleta all will command more $.

Just the world we are living in.

 

[CycloneVet]

Williams is a PG, 6'5", good shooter and in this video, looks to be an above average passer. I can see him starting along with Toure, kind of continuing the current team's use of 2 point guards starting.

I watched half of the video. Very fundamental passing, footwork, plays D. However I didn’t see any dunks. He is 6’5 and against lesser competition. A small concern with explosiveness especially coming off surgery.

 

[Cyforce]

1.) Momcilovic will get some absolutely ridiculous offers to leave. We are talking upwards of $5M I am sure.
2.) From what I have heard Buchanan was an enormous discount this year.
3.) Toure, Batemon and Pleta all will command more $.

Just the world we are living in.

I didn’t think foreign players were eligible for NIL

 

[CycloneVet]

A sneaky mismatch type of player. Like a 6’5” or 6’6” player that can hold their own rebounding and guarding the post or perimeter and use quickness to get shots up down low. Thinking like Ejim or even better a Burton. Might not be as high of price as a 6’8” 4 man.

We have traditionally done well with tweeners

 

[tyrelrobert]

I didn’t think foreign players were eligible for NIL

I thought that as well.

 

[Letterkenny]

I didn’t think foreign players were eligible for NIL

I'm pretty sure that changed. I don't know how they got around it though.

 

[HarryClone]

TJ has said himself Buchanan is the PERFECT 5 for his system.

6'10" former top 100 recruits with extremely quick feet do NOT grow on trees. He will also be a senior with his best basketball ahead of him. He will be a priority to bring back.

As an aside, in regards to Pleta, he missed the majority of the offseason in Ames. Give that guy an offseason of strength and nutrition and post work with Coach Green his ceiling is extremely high.

Didn't realize Buchanan was so highly rated so I went to check out his profile. Funny how like works sometimes.

 

[Cyforce]

I'm pretty sure that changed. I don't know how they got around it though.

According to Google it’s severely limited due to their F1 visa status. So I don’t think we have to worry about getting outbid for them.

I feel like too many sky is falling posters constantly wanting to tell us the end is near. I can’t imagine a final four appearance is somehow going to kill our program and dry up our revenue streams

 

[Cyfan1965]

Buchanan was highly rated enough that when what's his face ended up at Purdue Williams and Blum were like the staff more than fine with the BB alternative.

 

[Pharmacy99]

I watched half of the video. Very fundamental passing, footwork, plays D. However I didn’t see any dunks. He is 6’5 and against lesser competition. A small concern with explosiveness especially coming off surgery.

Agree with everything but shooting . Williams is not a good shooter.

 

[MJ271]

Williams is a PG, 6'5", good shooter and in this video, looks to be an above average passer. I can see him starting along with Toure, kind of continuing the current team's use of 2 point guards starting.

He definitely has some passing chops--that video has some great passes--but I don't think he's a PG in the way that most people mean it. At Eastern Washington last year, he averaged 2.4 assists and 2.6 turnovers (another EWU player averaged 3.8 assists).

To be fair, in Iowa State's offense the past few years, ball handling is pretty decentralized. Assuming he's good enough to play, I'm sure he'll handle the ball quite a bit and will bring it up the court every once in a while. But I'm with others that I would prefer to get someone in the transfer portal who can at least add to that depth of secondary playmakers.

 

[Letterkenny]

According to Google it’s severely limited due to their F1 visa status. So I don’t think we have to worry about getting outbid for them.

I feel like too many sky is falling posters constantly wanting to tell us the end is near. I can’t imagine a final four appearance is somehow going to kill our program and dry up our revenue streams

Agree. In 5 seasons, we've lost only one guy that we wanted. Tyrese Hunter. I'm not worried at all about TJ keeping the guys he wants, and adding a couple key players in the portal.

 

[NENick]

I know nothing about the foreign player NIL rules. Is Toure considered a foreign player? Rinaldo-Komlan?

I think TJ will pay appropriately for Milan (if he doesn't go pro), Toure, Batemon, and Buchanan. My biggest question mark is Pleta. If he is allowed to receive NIL, can TJ allocate enough to keep him as a backup post? Or can he become Jefferson's replacement?

Mitchell is another question mark. He kept his sweatpants on and never played ever since having an injury early in the year. Is he seeking a medical redshirt?

Finally, like Mitchell, the staff has been able to see Williams in practice. Plenty of time to evaluate whether he fits for next year.

 

[brentblum]

According to Google it’s severely limited due to their F1 visa status. So I don’t think we have to worry about getting outbid for them.

I feel like too many sky is falling posters constantly wanting to tell us the end is near. I can’t imagine a final four appearance is somehow going to kill our program and dry up our revenue streams

International players still get paid and at market prices. There is no discount anymore fyi and everything is allowed.

 

[purpleclone]

I see the starting five as Toure, Batemon, Milan, Buchanan, Pleta
Then on the bench I see Williams, Kiss, and Rinaldo-Komlan. I think Rinaldo-Komlan could be a big contributor as a freshman. He is very long and athletic, runs the floor well, and has good touch. It all depends on how quickly he adjusts to TJ's defense. We haven't had a big as athletic as R-K since TJ has been the coach.

If Pleta and Buchanan are on the floor at the same time time we’d have a serious problem

 

[Malone]

I see the starting five as Toure, Batemon, Milan, Buchanan, Pleta
Then on the bench I see Williams, Kiss, and Rinaldo-Komlan. I think Rinaldo-Komlan could be a big contributor as a freshman. He is very long and athletic, runs the floor well, and has good touch. It all depends on how quickly he adjusts to TJ's defense. We haven't had a big as athletic as R-K since TJ has been the coach.

I think you’re forgetting about Hason Ward.

 

[Cyforce]

International players still get paid and at market prices. There is no discount anymore fyi and everything is allowed.

So do you feel the sky is in fact falling and we become a feeder program?