Transfer portal: Where does Villanova go next with Rodney Rice off to USC? There are thousands of possibilities

The college basketball transfer portal officially closed at midnight Tuesday night, but that didn’t stop the count from continuing to rise Wednesday morning. Players only needed to file their paperwork by late Tuesday, and compliance officers have a few more days to process entries.

As it stood late Wednesday morning, more than 2,600 Division I basketball players were in the transfer portal. That’s an average of about seven players per team, although there was a surge of late portal entries from players without eligibility who are hopeful for a change in eligibility rules.

There was a lot of movement — and it’s not over yet — as players in the portal aren’t facing the same deadline to commit to their next school.

While some of the Big 5 schools are almost done filling out their 2025-26 rosters, others still have some work to do, like Villanova, which missed out on Maryland transfer Rodney Rice when he committed on Tuesday to Southern California.

We’ll start this week’s portal roundup with the Wildcats.

» READ MORE: Recent player movement in the Big 5 and beyond shows the gulf-sized gap between the haves and have-nots

Villanova firmly was in the mix for Rice, who would’ve brought with him nearly 14 points per game and some real scoring experience in a power conference, something the Wildcats roster, as it’s currently constructed, lacks. But Villanova’s offer for Rice was lower than what USC offered him, sources said, and Field of 68 said Rice will make upward of $3 million with the Trojans.

That’s top-20 NBA draft pick money, and Rice isn’t going to be a top-20 NBA draft pick. That’s not to say that’s not what his value is right now. Heck, someone just paid it. But if Villanova is spending, say, $7 million to $8 million on its roster, is Rice really worth more than $3 million?

That being said, it’s easy to look at the roster right now and wonder where all the money is going. Which makes it easy to think there’s still plenty left. The problem is that there isn’t an overabundance of quality players still available.

Will Villanova get in the market for Memphis transfer PJ Haggerty, who reportedly is asking for $4 million and demanding to play point guard despite being turnover-prone last season? He’s a better player than Rice, but it’s a lot of money.

Villanova does desperately need a point guard and could use another bigger scoring guard or wing.

The best available true point guards in the portal, though, are out of eligibility. The Wildcats hosted four-star class of 2025 guard Acaden Lewis over the weekend, but he’s still making visits, with another coming soon at Miami, before he makes his decision.

Even if Lewis chooses Villanova, will the Wildcats be willing to hand the keys to a freshman right away? If not, there are at least a few intriguing names in the portal, like Idaho State’s Dylan Darling. There are also guys like Arizona State’s BJ Freeman and Georgetown’s Jayden Epps if the Wildcats want another combo guard to handle the ball — assuming they don’t get in the sweepstakes for Haggerty.

Meanwhile, Villanova is expected to land Bosnian sharpshooter Harun Zrno, a 6-7 wing who initially was committed to Indiana before reopening his recruitment. Zrno, who averaged 17.5 points and shot 43.7% from deep in 14 professional games in Bosnia this past season, was on campus this week.

Combine Zrno with James Madison transfer Bryce Lindsay, Temple’s Zion Stanford, Maryland’s Malachi Palmer, and returning players like Tyler Perkins and Matthew Hodge, and there’s some talent in the backcourt and on the wings, especially in the shooting department.

The Wildcats also have incoming freshman Chris Jeffrey, a combo guard, and could land Maryland transfer Tafara Gapare, a 6-9 forward. Duke Brennan (Grand Canyon) and Braden Pierce (Maryland) will be the starter-backup combo at center.

A Big East contender on paper? Probably not, especially when considering the run of commitments St. John’s is on.

Villanova’s next few moves will be pivotal.

» READ MORE: Grand Canyon’s Duke Brennan is Villanova’s third commitment of the day as the roster takes shape

St. Joseph’s suffered a blow when it lost Xzayvier Brown to Oklahoma, but the Hawks are unlike much of the Big 5 — and many others in the Atlantic 10 — when it comes to losing players in the portal. Shawn Simmons II, who will be going down a level, was the only other player in the portal.

The Hawks are expected to keep Derek Simpson, Anthony Finkley, Dasear Haskins, Justice Ajogbor (who may get a waiver for another season), and others.

They also added La Salle transfer Deuce Jones over the weekend and announced that they’d signed Al Amadou (Marquette) on Monday. St. Joe’s remains in the mix for St. John’s transfer point guard Jaiden Glover, too.

If Billy Lange and Co. get Glover — and even if they don’t — the Hawks could run out a pretty exciting roster in 2025-26, despite losing their three best players.

La Salle announced last week that Mac Etienne had informed the school that he intended to forgo his final season of eligibility to start a pro career. But Etienne entered the transfer portal Tuesday, a sign that he’s keeping his options open and could return to play college basketball.

With Etienne in the portal and Daeshon Shepherd also putting his name in, hoping the NCAA makes a rule change, the Explorers have 15 of their 16 rostered players from 2024-25 in the portal. The only returning player from Fran Dunphy’s roster slated to be on Darris Nichols’ inaugural roster is point guard Eric Acker.

Shepherd wasn’t the only local tie with no eligibility to enter the portal. Villanova’s Enoch Boakye has been in the portal for almost two weeks, and Jordan Longino joined him Tuesday.

There have been nationally notable entries, too. Kansas’ Zeke Mayo and Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin said on social media that they were advised, “due to pending NCAA cases,” to enter the portal.

A case in New Jersey involving a Rutgers football player could end with a judge granting a preliminary injunction forbidding the NCAA from enforcing its own eligibility rules.

Maybe Villanova’s scoring guard problem is solved by Wooga Poplar being granted one last ride. Weirder things have happened.