BYU Forward Noah Waterman Enters the Transfer Portal

Waterman spent the last two seasons at BYU

Jan 23, 2024; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars forward Noah Waterman (0) reacts to a shot / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday, BYU senior forward Noah Waterman entered the transfer portal just hours before it closed to BYU players. The loss of Waterman is a hard pill to swallow for new BYU coach Kevin Young. Waterman started 33 games for BYU last season and he took a gigantic step forward in his second year in Provo. Last year, he averaged 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 37% from three. Waterman was also a critical component of BYU's offensive rebounding efforts - he averaged 1.3 offensive rebounds per game.

Waterman's ability to stretch the floor at 6'11 fits into the five-out offense that Kevin Young wants to run at BYU. His size is also valuable given that BYU's other bigs - Fousseyni Traore and Keba Keita - are no taller than 6'8. He likely would have been a starter again next season had he stayed at BYU.

Waterman was one of BYU's most improved players last year. In his first year in Provo after transferring from Detroit Mercy, Waterman scored just 4.6 points per game on 32% shooting from three. Waterman struggled at first. It took him a full season to adjust to the elevated competition at BYU, but once he did, him improved in all areas under Mark Pope.

Like other BYU players that have entered the portal and returned to BYU, Waterman could still return to BYU. If he doesn't, BYU will look to the transfer portal to backfill Waterman with another big man that can stretch the floor.