Michigan’s victory in the NCAA title game last month might have closed the window on the 2025-26 season, but it also opened up the doors to the transfer portal. More than 2,500 players decided to test the waters and see if the grass was greener elsewhere, and 1 of the schools who took the opportunity to bring in some new talent was Duke. In addition to Wisconsin G John Blackwell and Loyola MD G Jacob Theodosiou, the Blue Devils signed Belmont F Drew Scharnowski to pair with returners such as Cayden Boozer/Patrick Ngongba II and incoming freshmen like Deron Rippey Jr./Cameron Williams. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Drew about his decision to transfer and his thoughts on NCAA tourney expansion.
You were born/raised in Illinois: how did you end up at Belmont to start your college career? I was actually born in Minnesota but I did grow up in Illinois. I was heavily recruited by the MVC schools but the Belmont staff had an emphasis on faith. I was raised a Christian and we both felt that the same things were important. I also liked the fact that Nashville is such a great city.
You entered the transfer portal last month: was it as insane as it sounds with schools just calling/texting you non-stop in an attempt to get you to play for them? I would say so. It is like nothing I could ever imagine but I was super-blessed to be in a position where so many schools wanted me. The only thing I can compare it to was my high school recruitment, which was 2 years long: the portal was like shrinking that into 2 weeks on steroids!
What made you choose Duke last month? They have a reputation for winning and I think they are the best program in the nation. They are bringing in a lot of talent and I think the other players will challenge me each day and help prepare me to play at the next level.
You wore #11 at Belmont: are you going to ask Bobby Hurley if you can bring his old # out of retirement?! No way! I will be wearing #8. I read a book last season called, “The Miracle of St. Anthony” by Adrian Wojnarowski about Bobby’s dad Bob Sr. and his high school program in New Jersey. It was a good insight into their lives.
Last January you had 19 PTS/11 REB/9 AST/2 BLK in a 17-PT win over Murray State: where does that near-triple-double rank among the best all-around games of your career? I remember that game. I probably had some better performances in high school against lesser opponents, but we played really well that night as a team and took it to Murray State.
Last year you were named to the All-MVC 1st-Team and the MVC All-Defensive Team: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It was pretty cool and a testament not only to the hard work I put in but also to the awesome support system around me that pushed me to be better. My coaches/family care about me not just as a player on the court but also how I am growing as a young man off the court.
You were top-15 in the conference in several categories (RPG/APG/BPG) but not FT shooting (43.6%): do you think the biggest factor is mental/physical/other, and can you fix it? I think it is a combination of both mental/physical. Building confidence takes repetitions in the gym. I am getting them in during my workouts every single day and try to simulate what it is like to shoot them during games.
Your brother Max played basketball at Alabama and your father Haug played pro basketball in Germany: who is the best athlete in the family? I am biased so of course I will say myself. I have the height/wingspan advantage over them but have never seen my dad play: I should dig up some of his old clips! I also give Max credit because he is so scrappy…but he is not as athletic as I am.
The Blue Devils’ 1st neutral-site game scheduled for this fall is on November 10th against Michigan State: how many friends/family will you have in attendance at the United Center? I have no clue. My parents moved from Illinois after I graduated high school, and a lot of my friends are in college elsewhere, but hopefully some of my high school/AAU coaches can get out there. Max lives in New York City so he wants me to hook him up with some tickets to our game against Michigan on December 21st.
Earlier this month the NCAA announced that the tourney will be expanding to 76 teams next March: what was your reaction to the news? Tourney expansion is cool in theory, but I cannot tell if it will benefit the teams or just give more money to the NCAA. Coming from Belmont, we had to win the MVC tourney to get into the NCAA tourney. I think 64 teams was good enough…but nobody was asking my opinion.
Hoops HD Hardball Championship Week – Monday Edition
Only one game was played in the college baseball landscape today – the Patriot League had the spotlight all to themselves today. Holy Cross blew open a close game en route to an 11-2 victory in Game 1 of the Patriot League Championship Series. The Crusaders can clinch the Patriot League auto-bid with a victory on Tuesday afternoon.
As for tomorrow, here are the conferences that begin their tournaments:
ACC (Single Elimination, 16-team ladder)
The games kick off at 9 AM in Charlotte with a matchup between Duke and North Carolina. All the early rounds will be televised on the ACC Network.
Atlantic Sun (Hybrid, 8-team bracket)
The first two rounds of this bracket will be single elimination; the format changes to double elimination when there are 4 teams remaining. All games will be aired on ESPN+ and will be played at Stetson’s home stadium in DeLand, Florida.
Big 10 (Hybrid, 12-team bracket)
The top 4 seeds get byes into the single-elimination portion of the bracket that begins on Friday at Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Field. The remaining 8 teams will play in 2 double-elimination brackets starting 10 AM Tuesday morning. The two winners from the winners bracket will advance to play the #3 and #4 seeds; the two winners from the losers bracket will advance to play the #1 and #2 seeds. All games will be aired on the Big 10 Network.
Big 12 (Single Elimination, 12-team ladder)
The top 6 teams will begin play in the quarterfinal round on Thursday; the bottom 4 teams begin play on Tuesday. The winners advance to take on the #7 and #8 seeds in the 2nd round; the 2nd round winners advance to play against the top 2 seeds in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. The first two rounds and semifinal round will be played on ESPN+; the quarterfinals will be on ESPNU and the championship game on ESPN2.
Ohio Valley (Hybrid, 8-team bracket)
The first round will be single elimination with the bottom 4 seeds playing on Tuesday. The winners advance to the 6-team double elimination portion of the bracket beginning on Wednesday. All the games will be played on ESPN+.
SEC (Single Elimination, 16-team ladder)
The games kick off on Tuesday morning at 10:30 AM in Hoover, Alabama. Like the ACC, most of the teams in the field will be playing for either a)at-large NCAA Tournament bids, b)a Top 16 seed which will guarantee the team hosting the regional for the first weekend, or c)a Top 8 seed which means that the team will be guaranteed to host the regional and the super regional round in the 2nd weekend leading up to the College World Series. All games up to the semifinals will be on the SEC Network; ABC will air the championship game on Sunday afternoon.
Sun Belt (Hybrid, 10-team field)
The top 6 teams get byes into the double-elimination portion of the tournament. The bottom 4 seeds will play 2 single-elimination games to play their way into the double-elimination portion. There will be 2 4-team double-elimination brackets; the winners of the 2 brackets will play in a single-elimination championship game on Sunday afternoon. All games will be aired on ESPN+.
These are all the conferences starting on Tuesday; many of the other confernces kick off on Wednesday.