ROCK HILL, S.C. — Beckham Black repeatedly sliced through drills at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, finishing with lobs and layups that underscored a season in which he averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists at Southeastern Prep in Florida. Black, listed as the No. 2 player in the SCNext 100, said he is accustomed to being the primary option but that college coaches are presenting a different plan. “Most of the coaches talk to me about coming in and being a big part of the rotation,” he said.
The shift reflects a post-transfer-portal world created after the NCAA removed the requirement that Division I transfers sit out a year in April 2021. With experienced options available, college staffs are selling roles built around contribution and winning rather than immediate star status, according to players at the NBPA Top 100 Camp.
LSU commit Ahmad Hudson, ranked No. 22 in the SCNext 100, said coach Will Wade told him he thought Hudson was better than most players on last year’s roster but did not promise he would be the centerpiece. “I’m fine with it,” Hudson said. Players at the camp expressed a consensus that being a key cog on a contender can produce as much benefit as being the one-man scoring solution; the camp cited last year’s NBA draft lottery in which only one player, Dylan Harper, averaged at least 20 points per game in college.
Cayden Daughtry, the Nike EYBL’s top scorer at 23.7 points per game and second in assists at 6.6, said some college coaches still pitch him as an immediate go-to. Daughtry, ranked No. 13 in the SCNext 100, said he is skeptical about guarantees given the likelihood programs will add proven players from the portal. “Since I had a big spring, the coaches are telling me that I’m going to be that guy from the jump,” he said. “Is it going to happen? I know that coaches are going to get guys from the portal, so you just don’t know.”
Hudson said circuit play and camps are helping him prepare mentally for college competition, where rosters will mix high-level freshmen and experienced transfers. “I don’t care about being the star as long as I’m helping us win,” he said. It was a recurring theme at the camp: college coaches are emphasizing winning and ready-made rotation roles in the transfer era.
