'Tis the season for early college hoops preview pieces, and today NBC churned out its list of the top 30 transfers for 2015-16. A familiar duo, or at least a duo that's going to be familiar once the season starts, headlines the list.
1. Damion Lee (via Drexel) and Trey Lewis (via Cleveland State), Louisville
At the start of the offseason, Louisville's top returning scorer was Quentin Snider at 4.1 points per game, and that's after his scoring average jumped a full point following three straight double-digit outings in the NCAA tournament.
But head coach Rick Pitino tapped into the graduate transfer market and came out with the most-sought after transfer, Damion Lee. Before that he had grabbed a point guard and 3-point shooter in Trey Lewis. Those two fifth-year seniors joined a heralded incoming freshman class that included Donovan Mitchell, Ray Spalding and Deng Adel.
Lee missed almost all of the 2013-14 season with a torn ACL, but recovered to finish fifth in the nation in scoring last season at 21.4 points per game. Lewis will be able to play either guard spot and provides a deep threat, hitting 96 threes (42 percent) in 2014-15.
Lee and Lewis benefited from Louisville's foreign tour in Puerto Rico. The duo left their mark in the first game of the trip, combining for 49 points. Lee went for 36 points off 11-of-18 shooting. The two newcomers have also stepped up as leaders, according to members of the team.
Maryland's duo of Robert Carter and Rasheed Sulaimon checks in at No. 2.
