What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 3/31/2023

College basketball transfer portal: Ranking the best players available right now--The Athletic

26. Marcus Domask | 6-6 wing | One year of eligibility | Southern Illinois
A three-time All-Missouri Valley member, Domask is a veteran four-year college player that you can slot into your lineup and not worry at all about him being productive. He’s one of those dudes that just knows how to play. He doesn’t need to dribble the ball to death to score. He moves exceedingly well without the ball, has deep range on his jumper, and consistently just finds little creases and openings to score. On top of that, Domask is a terrific passer who averaged 17 points and four assists per game on his way to a first-team all-league berth this year. Southern Illinois used him an awful lot on post-ups in a way that I don’t think a high-major offense will. Domask has also entered the draft, but he’ll likely be able to make more by staying in school. He was Mr. Basketball in the state of Wisconsin in 2019, and everything about his game is tailor-made to be a fit with Greg Gard and the Badgers. You have to wonder if they’d want to get involved as he’d give them a bit more size on the wings this year.
28. Rienk Mast | 6-9 big | Two years of eligibility | Bradley
Another first-team All-Missouri Valley player hitting the portal. Mast is a versatile Dutch big man who can operate on the block and create a shot with high-arcing hooks. That tends to be his home base, as he is ambidextrous with his finishing hand. But the more interesting skill he flashed this season was as a pick-and-pop threat. Mast hit 35 percent of his three 3-point attempts per game, with a pure looking shot that he can take quickly off the hop. He looks like a very legitimate option for a team that wants to play a floor-spacing five-man that can stretch the floor. And then weirdly he’ll be able to flash to the mid-post and drive an opposing player with an attack. The big thing that separates him from other offensive big men, though, is that he’s already been a part of pretty good defenses at Bradley. The Braves had the best defense in the Missouri Valley this year, and he was a big part of it. In total, Bradley won their minutes with Mast on the court by about 18 points per 100 possessions, and won them only by one point per 100 when he was off the court. He’s a real difference-maker that I’d buy playing at the high-major level next year.
32. Ben Krikke | 6-9 big | One year of eligibility | Valparaiso
It’ll be interesting to see how the portal evaluates Krikke’s unique game. Offensively, there isn’t much that the Valparaiso big man can’t do. He’s a tremendous post finisher, ending this season as a top-70 scorer in terms of volume as well as one of the five most efficient post scorers in the country, averaging 1.13 points per possession each time he took a shot down there. His footwork, balance, and touch in those areas are ridiculous. He has a bevy of weird hook shots, flip shots and post moves that give him just that little bit of separation he needs. If he gets in close to the basket, the ball is going in. But he’s not just a post threat. I loved his work in ball-screens this season as a pick-and-pop player. He’d get the ball from the perimeter and attack his man, throwing up some wild moves including the occasional spin move into a 16-foot jumper. He only made 28 percent from 3, but someone with this kind of touch would only need a summer to really improve that part of his game and make it a real weapon. This is how Krikke made three straight All-Missouri Valley Conference teams, including a first-team berth this season. He does present some inherent limitations at the highest level defensively because he doesn’t move all that well laterally, and doesn’t protect the rim at a super high level. But in the right spot, Krikke could be a real difference-maker at the high-major level. I wonder if a spot at Notre Dame down the road with Micah Shrewsberry, a coach known to be willing to post and play five-out, could fit.