How E.J. Evans and Tristan Jeffries’ transfers affect the 2019-20 season

<p>Transfers are a big part of modern day high school basketball. It's not uncommon to see top players in good programs transfer to a big name to give them a better chance of winning a championship. The majority of transfers happen before the start of the school year, but there are a few exceptions to the rule. Trenton Catholic's <strong>E.J. </strong><strong>Evans </strong>just transferred to St. Benedict's, while <strong>Tristan Jeffries </strong>is now at St. Thomas Aquinas after leaving Gill St. Bernard's. Both players were part of their original school's fall league teams, so their departures seem very abrupt.</p> <p>Jeffries' move to St. Thomas Aquinas makes the Trojans one of the teams to beat in Non-Public A South. St. Thomas Aquinas already had a dynamic backcourt in Wake Forest signee <strong>Quadry Adams</strong> and sophomore <strong>Jaquan Harris</strong>. Junior guard <strong>Kyree Henry </strong>is one of the top shooters in New Jersey, which should open up driving lanes for Adams and Harris. Southern New Hampshire signee <strong>Derrick Grant </strong>is a load on the block and should pair nicely with Jeffries. Throw in junior guard <strong>Jalen Jones </strong>and sophomore big man <strong>Mehki Johnson </strong>and the Trojans have a team primed to make the Non-Public A South final.</p> <p>The loss of Jeffries will sting, but the Knights may have actually gotten better. Freshman <strong>Mackenzie Mgbako </strong>is a super talented player with deep range, good handles and a solid feel for the game. He's not as athletic as Jeffries, but Mgbako pairs up better with Princeton signee <strong>Zach Martini</strong> down low. North Alabama signee <strong>Will Soucie </strong>struggled at times during the fall league, but should be up to form  once the season starts. The young backcourt of <strong>Denver Anglin </strong>and <strong>Isaac Hester </strong>will have to grow up fast as the Knights do not have many other options in the backcourt. Gill St. Bernard's are still a talented team that will make noise in the state playoffs.</p> <p>Evans' departure could prove costly for the Iron Mikes. He was slated to be the team's second leading scorer after VCU signee <strong>Jamir Watkins</strong>, but his loss changes everything. Princeton Day School transfer <strong>Freddie Young Jr. </strong>proved he was capable of being a secondary scorer and should shoulder more of the scoring load. Junior guard <strong>Donavin Crawford </strong>is a capable outside shooter that will have to become a more diverse scorer. <strong>Jean Bernard</strong> is a solid role player, but the senior will have to increase his scoring output. Freshman <strong>Dasear Hawkins</strong> is a talented player who will be asked to produce right away. The Iron Mikes have the pieces to overcome Evans' departure and they should make a deep run in Non-Public B South.</p> <p>St. Benedict's Prep has already started playing games, so it could be hard for Evans to get significant playing time right away. The Grey Bees already have a talented backcourt in NJIT signee <strong>Adetokundo Bakare</strong> and <strong>Barra Njie</strong>. Freshman <strong>Ty-Laur Johnson</strong> has been an early season spark-plug for St. Benedict's and should continue to get good minutes. Evans is a talented player that will help St. Benedict's win a lot of games this season, but he will struggle to find minutes during the early portions of the season. </p>