The current era of college basketball will go down in history as one of the most volatile. With the transfer portal, NIL deals, and the upcoming NBA Draft, it has become an unpredictable game. Over the last two months, hundreds of players have entered and exited programs, but amidst the chaos, some schools have grown stronger than ever.
As the draft withdrawal deadline passed and the portal window remains shut, one voice cut through the clutter with an interesting take. Veteran ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, speaking exclusively to PFSN, already has top rosters and an interesting take on the transfer portal.
Basketball Analyst Jay Bilas Speaks on Landscape of College Basketball, Best-Placed Teams for 2025
As the NBA Draft approaches, many colleges will see some of their best players move on. Colleges and coaches have prepped and have even locked their rosters. In the era of transfer portals and NIL, which college is placed best despite its talent leaving?
As ESPN analyst Jay Bilas puts it in his interview with PFSN, “I mean, I think you’re gonna see teams like Houston, Florida, Duke. Yeah. You know, North Carolina is gonna be better this next year.”
Bilas might be on to something. Houston’s core is returning despite NBA Draft whispers. There’s Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp, and JoJo Tugler returning to Kelvin Sampson’s squad. The Cougars will also have three five‑star freshmen, Chris Cenac, Isiah Harwell, and Kingston Flemings, joining them.
Things are also looking good back east in North Carolina at Duke, as well. Despite losing Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach, Kon Knueppel, and Tyrese Proctor to the NBA Draft, the rebuild has been quite good.
Jon Scheyer has Cameron and Cayden Boozer plus Dame Sarr, Nikolas Khamenia, and Sebastian Wilkins coming in for the 2025-26 season. Additionally, the Blue Devils will also see veterans like Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster, and Maliq Brown returning.
Meanwhile, defending national champion Florida has also had a perimeter makeover this spring. They have revamped their entire backcourt from last year’s title team for a pair of dynamic guards.
Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee and former NBA hopeful Boogie Fland have also joined the Gators.
Florida flies up CBS Sports preseason basketball rankings after major transfer portal coup https://t.co/D9mU0s84B5 pic.twitter.com/j8nd0fW6SV
— Gators Wire (@GatorsWire) May 21, 2025
At NC State, the hiring of Will Wade has changed the dynamics for the better. Wade, after all, won 50 of 58 games at McNeese in two years with his smart rebuild. The Wolfpack topped the portal leaderboard by landing Texas Tech’s Darrion Williams. They then went on to add Tre Holloman, Ven‑Allen Lubin, Terrance Arceneaux, and Jerry Deng.
But does this dominance by traditional bluebloods mean another season with no Cinderellas?
As Bilas sees it, “No school can escape losing talent to a better opportunity, but mid‑majors have access to better talent now than they’ve ever had.” He celebrates parity, adding that “the talent is being spread around more”.
“No school right now until things stabilize with contracts. No school can escape losing talent to a better opportunity. But, you know, it’s really interesting. Mid-major programs have never complained about losing their coaches to Power [Four] schools,” he explained. “Did they think they wouldn’t lose their best players to better opportunities?”
Yet, he warns, stability may return once contract norms settle.
“We’re headed toward that now. But in the absence of that, players should be allowed to take advantage of their opportunities just like every other person in the American business context,” added Bilas.
Once the draft fever subsides and colleges shift focus to the next season, Bilas’s exclusive insight paints a picture of a college game in flux. Of course, the talent is more spread out, as he mentioned. However, it is still anchored by a handful of programmes savvy enough to capitalize on the chaos.
