Virginia Basketball: Potential Transfer Portal Reconnections

Matt Newton | Apr 2, 2024

Igor Milicic Jr. playing in the 2022 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament. / Virginia Athletics

In the highly-competitive, borderline-cutthroat world of the college basketball transfer portal, coaches have to use any means necessary to gain an advantage in recruiting possible transfer targets. That includes rekindling prior relationships from the high school recruiting trail and taking advantage of in-state players going back on the market.

Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers have yet to lean into that particular strategy, as the more than 20 transfers they've reportedly been in contact with have mostly been new players with no previous connection to the Hoos (Virginia Basketball: Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker). With that said, here's five potential reconnections Virginia could make in the transfer portal:

1. Igor Milicic Jr., Charlotte

Igor Milicic looks to pass during the Charlotte men's basketball game against Coppin State. / Charlotte Athletics

This one should be fairly obvious for anyone who has followed Virginia basketball for more than two years. UVA's 2021 recruiting class included just two players: Taine Murray and Igor Milicic Jr. While Murray has patiently and steadily gotten better and better throughout his career and is set to have an important role in his upcoming senior season, we never got to see that developmental arc for Milicic, who played very sparingly in his first and only season at Virginia before entering the transfer portal.

Milicic ended up transferring to Charlotte, where former UVA assistant Ron Sanchez served as the head coach, and stayed even after Sanchez stepped down to return to the Virginia coaching staff last summer. A regular starter in his two years with the 49ers, Milicic has blossomed into a quality all-around basketball player and a prototypical stretch four. This past season, he averaged 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while also blocking 1.1 shots per game, all career-highs. Milicic also shot 37.6% from three-point range on nearly five attempts per game.

Now, the 6'10", 225-pound Croatian forward is back in the transfer portal, looking for a new home for his final season of college basketball. There's no guarantee that Milicic is even considering a return to UVA, but the Cavaliers have a need for a player just like him in the front court and two coaches on staff who previously succeeded in recruiting him. That's enough to make this one to keep an eye on.

2. Maliq Brown, Syracuse

Maliq Brown drives the ball to the basket during the Syracuse men's basketball game against Virginia. / Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

People who follow Virginia men's basketball recruiting have been all over this story since the news broke on Monday afternoon that Maliq Brown would be entering the transfer portal. A native of Culpeper, Virginia, who played his high school ball at the Blue Ridge School less than an hour north of Charlottesville, Brown flew under the radar during the high school recruiting process. Rated a three-star prospect, Brown got a little bit of interest from the major in-state programs like Virginia and Virginia Tech, but those recruitments seemed to have never progressed to the point of serious courtship.

Brown ended up at Syracuse, where he has turned into an extremely valuable player on both ends of the floor. In two seasons with the Orange, Brown played in 61 games and made 25 starts. This past season, he averaged 9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. Brown, who played most of the season at center after Syracuse's Naheem McLeod went down with a season-ending injury, became the first center in ACC history to lead the conference in steals. He was the third player listed on the ACC All-Defensive Team, only trailing Virginia's Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn in voting, and was fourth in the voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Does this sound like a guy who might fit in at Virginia yet?

On the offensive end, Brown doesn't take many threes, only 0.6 per game, but makes them at 36.8%. He excels around the rim, shooting 73.6% on two-point field goals. And although he was given the tough assignment of playing slightly out of position at center, Brown was up to the challenge, averaging nearly a block per game.

It's still something of a mystery why Maliq Brown has decided to enter the transfer portal, but the 6'8", 222-pound forward is now on the market with two years of eligibility remaining. Given his roots in the Commonwealth of Virginia and his exemplary defensive play, you'd have to think Tony Bennett and company are taking a good long look at him.

3. Jamie Kaiser, Maryland

Jamie Kaiser shoots a three-pointer during the Maryland men's basketball game against Northwestern. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Two summers ago, Virginia was among the top contenders to land a commitment from Jamie Kaiser, a four-star recruit and top 75 prospect out of Burke, Virginia. A late surge in recruiting interest caused Kaiser to delay his decision and he ultimately ended up committing to Maryland, choosing Kevin Willard and the Terrapins over finalists Indiana and Virginia.

Kaiser played his final season of high school ball down at IMG Academy in Florida and just finished his first season at Maryland, a freshman campaign that saw him appear in 33 games, including five starts, and average 19.5 minutes played, 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Though he struggled more than expected with his three-point shot, shooting 26.5% from beyond the arc on the season, his potential is still very high as he enters the transfer portal with three years of eligibility remaining and looking for a fresh start.

While a reconnection with one of the final programs Kaiser was considering out of high school does make some sense, the fit might be questionable at this point. At 6'6", 205 pounds, Kaiser fills the role of the third guard/wing/small forward on the floor. Andrew Rohde, Taine Murray, and Leon Bond III already contend for those minutes and Virginia has another wing player on the way in 6'5" sharpshooter Ishan Sharma. With that said, it's tough to gloss over such a highly-touted recruit and Virginia native, who nearly chose the Cavaliers the first time around, entering the portal with three years of eligibility left.

4. Andrej Stojakovic, Stanford

Andrej Stojakovic handles the ball during the Stanford men's basketball game against USC. / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Another highly-coveted high school recruit who strongly considered Virginia, Andrej Stojakovic had the Cavaliers in his top six but ultimately decided to stay closer to his hometown of Carmichael, California, and committed to Stanford. His other finalists were UVA, Duke, Oregon, Texas, and UCLA.

Stojakovic, who is the son of three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, had a solid freshman campaign with the Cardinal, playing in 32 games, including 10 starts, and averaging 22.3 minutes, 7.8 points, and 3.4 rebounds per game and shooting just a touch under 33% from beyond the arc. Following the season, Stanford fired head coach Jerod Haase after failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in each of his eight seasons leading the program. A mass exodus ensued, with several Stanford players entering the transfer portal, including the 6'7", 190-pound freshman guard Stojakovic.

The former five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American, who still has three years of eligibility remaining, is likely one of the biggest targets in the portal now, which means it's highly unlikely the Cavaliers will end up winning that battle. But it's at least worth making the call.

5. Justin Taylor, Syracuse

Justin Taylor drives the ball during the Syracuse men's basketball game at Duke. / Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Virginia waited a long time before jumping in the mix for Justin Taylor, a Charlottesville native who played essentially across the street from John Paul Jones Arena at St. Anne's-Belfield before heading down to IMG Academy for his senior season. Taylor still included UVA in his top five along with North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia Tech, and Syracuse. But given UVA's roster construction and existing recruiting class at that time, it never made a whole lot of sense for Taylor to choose his hometown school. Taylor committed to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and remained there for two years even through the coaching change from Boeheim to Adrian Autry.

A 6'6", 218-pound guard, Taylor arrived at Syracuse regarded as a gifted sharpshooter and confirmed that reputation by shooting 39.3% from three-point range as a freshman. But when injuries forced him to play out of position as a forward this season, Taylor's offensive game suffered as well and he shot just 30.1% from three. Though he started all 32 games and averaged more than 23 minutes per contest, Taylor scored only 5.0 points per game.

Now, Taylor is in the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining. Although he hails from Charlottesville and still has a great deal of promise in his college basketball career, the fit probably isn't quite right, so it's not impossible, but highly unlikely that Taylor finds his way to Virginia through the portal.

Read more: Virginia Basketball: Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker