Peacock stars Banks, Lee and Edert enter transfer portal

Three of the stars of Saint Peter's remarkable run to the Elite Eight have put their names in the transfer portal following coach Shaheen Holloway's departure for Seton Hall. Starting guards Daryl Banks III and Matthew Lee and backup Doug Edert tweeted about their moves Wednesday. All thanked the little Jesuit university in Jersey City, New Jersey, for the past three years. They said they wanted to see what opportunities awaited them in basketball.

Players who enter the portal are letting other schools know they are considering a transfer. Peacocks big man and three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference defensive player of the year KC Ndefo entered the portal last year but returned to Saint Peter's.

Holloway, who led the Peacocks to the MAAC Tournament title and wins over No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 7 seed Murray State and No. 3 seed Purdue in becoming the Cinderellas of this year's NCAA Tournament, was hired by Seton Hall, his alma mater, on March 28. It happened a day after national runnerup North Carolina routed Saint Peter's for a berth in the Final Four.

AUBURN: Freshman Jabari Smith, who led the Tigers to their first No. 1 ranking, is entering the NBA draft. Smith, who is projected as a potential No. 1 overall pick, lived up to his billing as the highest-rated recruit in program history. He announced his decision in a video posted Tuesday on social media.

CLEVELAND STATE: The school is hiring longtime Iowa State assistant Daniyal Robinson as its next coach — its fourth in five years. Robinson replaces Dennis Gates, who turned Cleveland State around in three seasons before leaving last month to take over Missouri's floundering program.