Terrence Hill was among the most coveted players in the portal. (VCU Athletics)
This week, we learned that March Madness will expand by eight to 76 teams; the Players Era tourney will also be beefed up, to 24 teams; and after guiding Detroit Mercy to a nine-win improvement last season, head coach Mark Montgomery earned a contract extension through 2030-31. Other college basketball news items we’re following include…
Terrence Hill Jr. Off to Tennessee
The Virginia Commonwealth Rams have been a force to be reckoned with for the entire millennium, consistently making the NCAA tournament and often going on fairly deep runs, including all the way to the national semifinals back in 2010-11.
Recent seasons have been just as fruitful as VCU has posted back-to-back 28-win efforts, making the tourney both campaigns, including the second round in 2025-26. This is a team that has enjoyed much success so it’s not a surprise that the Rams were considered a top 35 team shortly after this year’s tourney wrapped.
Unfortunately, among the team’s losses was leading scorer/top assist man Terrence Hill Jr., who bolted to Tennessee in the transfer portal. He leaves some big shoes to fill.
Hill showed how dynamic he can be in the tourney, scoring 34 points as VCU roared back from a big deficit to beat UNC in OT. In the second round, he poured in 12 of his 17 points in the first half as the Rams erased a 12-point Illinois lead and went up by two. Unfortunately, VCU was overwhelmed by the Illini in the second half, but Hill’s exploits made him the type of player you have to game-plan for and his distribution skills are underrated (see video below).
As a sophomore guard, his three-point shooting touch improved and he emerged as a leading scorer despite almost exclusively coming off the bench. It was an impressive breakout for Hill, so it’s no wonder he was able to land a spot on a potential top 10 team like the Volunteers, for whom he’s expected to be the top point guard. This dude was one of the most coveted players in the portal.
Assuming Hill can improve his defensive game in 2026-27, he could be an intriguing NBA draft prospect with an Immanuel Quickley type of profile. Last season, Hill really made a name for himself, bagging Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved honours in the A-10.
FSU’s Tourney Drought
Even though last season they matched their highest win total since 2020-21, the Florida State Seminoles haven’t exactly been a powerhouse in recent season, as that aforementioned team from 2020-21 marked the last one that made in the NCAA tourney.
FSU is heading in the right direction, but at +25000 to win the National Championship next spring (as per FanDuel), they remain an extreme longshot.
And of course, the Seminoles will have to overcome the losses (or at least expected losses) of most of their leading scorers, including senior forward Chauncey Wiggins, who finished second on the team with 13.3 PPG, but has since entered the portal – although questions still remain about his eligibility to play another season.
When FSU gave Duke a major scare in the ACC tourney quarterfinals, Wiggins didn’t go off offensively, but he did can three treys, record an assist and come up with a key late block to give the Seminoles a chance to pull off a huge upset.
Still, in his first season at Florida State after spending three campaigns with Clemson, he took yet another massive step forward, earning more starts, improving his work on the glass – especially at the defensive end – and reducing his turnovers.
At 6’10”, Wiggins should probably bring more to the table in terms of rebounding and blocks, so it’s no surprise he’s not generating much in the way of NBA hype, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have a future as a pro, especially given his size, athletic ability, range and sweet shooting touch.
It’ll be interesting to see whether he earns another year of college eligibility or winds up getting an invite to NBA summer league.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Curtis Mayfield was truly one of the kings of socially conscious black music. Here’s another drug abuse classic from his 1972 Blaxploitation soundtrack to Superfly –- “Freddie’s Dead.”