Although the Oakland men’s basketball team’s season ended just over three weeks ago, the off-season is already well underway in the college basketball world.
As of this writing, four Golden Grizzlies, including Malcolm Christie, Jaylen Jones, Jack Hoth and Deng Majak, have already put their names into the transfer portal, which likely marks the end of each of their careers at Oakland.
In the list below, you will find some of their definitive moments this previous season and what their departures mean for the Golden Grizzlies ahead of next season.
Malcolm Christie | G | 8.3 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.4 APG
The list starts with Chrisite, who transferred to Oakland after spending three seasons playing for Dalhousie University in Canada.
Christie’s role throughout the season was clear from the get-go. In the season’s first game against Defiance College, Christie attempted 10 threes while attempting zero shots from inside the three-point line. He was set to be Oakland’s three-point specialist.
However, as the season progressed, Christie’s time on the floor started to vary. Some nights, he’d play well over 30 minutes; others, he would see less than 10 minutes on the court.
Still, Christie did have some solid performances for the Golden Grizzlies, particularly during the stretch of games Oakland played to end the 2024 calendar year.
After back-to-back games shooting 50% from three against Michigan State and Cleveland State, Christie started the next seven games for the Golden Grizzlies, which led to him scoring a season-high 27 points against Hawai’i in an overtime loss on Christmas Day.
Jaylen Jones | G | 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.1 APG
Despite coming off the bench in all but one of his appearances for the Golden Grizzlies, Jones certainly made an impact last season for the Golden Grizzlies.
Jones played 22 minutes per game, the fifth most among Oakland players last season and the most of any player on this list. Additionally, he was influential offensively, totaling the most assists on the team as the lead ball-handler off the bench.
Jack Hoth | G | 1.3 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 0.1 APG
After initially starting the season as a redshirt junior, Hoth came off the redshirt mid-season for Oakland after injury woes hit the team. He made his debut in a January matchup against Northern Kentucky on the road.
Deng Majak | F | 0.6 PPG, 1 RPG, 0.2 APG
Throughout the season, Majak earned two starting nods for the Golden Grizzlies in 32 games. He started the season opener against Defiance, where he totaled two points and four rebounds, and he also made the start against Michigan State in Buru Naivalurua’s absence.
Looking Ahead
With these four players on the move and senior DQ Cole and graduate student Jayson Woodrich also out of the picture, there are some missing pieces to the puzzle that Oakland will have to fill ahead of next season.
For starters, with Cole off the roster and Jones likely off the roster, the Golden Grizzlies might consider bringing in a primary ball-handler to run the team next season.
Although Isiah Jones and Nassim Mashhour remain as possible options to run the Oakland offense, it would be ideal to bring in a pure point guard next season, even if he comes off the bench for the Golden Grizzlies.
Additionally, with Chrisite and Woodrich gone, the Golden Grizzlies will undoubtedly be in the market to add multiple players with the chops from deep, as Chrisite and Woodrich combined to shoot 44% of Oakland’s threes last season.
The big question remains what Majak’s departure means for this Oakland team.
Undeniably, the Golden Grizzlies were led by the big-man duo of Allen Mukeba and Naivalurua this previous season. Majak leaving could mean the duo stays put in Oakland, as it wouldn’t make much sense for Majak to stay considering the limited time he saw on the floor for the Golden Grizzlies throughout the season.
However, if one of Naivalurua or Mukeba leaves, the Golden Grizzlies will be relatively thin at the center position. Oakland would have to ideally recoup a couple of big men from the transfer portal ahead of next season.
Regardless of what happens, the offseason will be a pivotal time for Oakland to retool its roster and address the gaps created by these departures.
