Last year, over 2,000 college basketball players unhappy with their current situation at a school left for greener pastures via the NCAA's transfer portal.

In October, the NCAA shortened the transfer portal to 45 days (originally 60). It opens Monday and will close May 1. Over the next 45 days, coaching staffs across the country will be scouting players in the portal while dealing with departures of their own. Xavier will have 1-on-1 interviews with each player on the team, and in some cases difficult conversations will be had.

Xavier's roster will underdog major changes and look extremely different by the time next season tips off.

Xavier has landed some key pieces in the portal like Souley Boum, a first-team all-Big East selection who helped guide the Musketeers to the Sweet 16 in Sean Miller's first year back on the bench. Rice transfer Quincy Olivari was the biggest bright spot of this season's struggling squad, becoming the first Muskie to lead the Big East in scoring with what Miller called "one of the great seasons in Xavier history."

While Xavier will add portal pieces, they, too, will lose some players. Here's a prediction of which players hang around and which players through their hat in the portal.

Reid Ducharme

Ducharme, who committed to Xavier in Aug. 2022, was a four-star recruit and Xavier's second commit of the 2023 class. While the Musketeers played a lot of freshmen this season, Ducharme saw just nine minutes over five games, scoring 2 points.

Ducharme played just one minute of mop-up duty in a win over Seton Hall Dec. 23 and never saw the floor again, partially because of a concussion sustained in the middle of the Big East schedule. With great athleticism and shooting ability, Ducharme is simply stuck behind a slew of talented guards who are eligible next season, and he could seek playing time elsewhere.

Prediction: Transfer Portal

Lazar Djokovic

Will the freshman's late-season turnaround be enough for him to stay? Xavier's brass had high expectations for Djokovic when he committed to Xavier in mid-August. With great size (6-foot-10) and athleticism, Xavier slotted Djokovic into the starting lineup right away after season-ending injuries to starting forwards Jerome Hunter and Zach Freemantle.

However, Djokovic's high expectations were hampered quickly. starting with a hand injury that caused him to miss the first three games of the season. After getting in the mix near the end of November, Djokovic cracked the starting lineup for the Crosstown Shootout Dec. 9. In four games as a starter during the regular season, he scored just 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Overall, Djokovic averaged 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 27 games. He did play well down the stretch, turning in 24 points and 19 rebounds over the last four games (two starts) when Xavier's frontcourt was decimated by injuries.

Miller has already stated that Hunter and Freemantle are expected to return next season. Freemantle was back participating in Xavier practices near the end of the season while the team is hopeful Hunter can make a full recovery from a torn Achilles suffered in February. Djokovic is another Musketeer who will be stuck behind veteran guys with more Big East experience. Coaches will see potential in the Serbian forward and he'd likely get more playing time elsewhere.

Prediction: Transfer Portal

Trey Green

Green and Dailyn Swain were named to the Big East's all-freshmen team. With Green's shot-making ability, there's always a role ready for him. Green showed flashes of his sharpshooting ability, netting 32 3-pointers this season, though he shot just 32.5% from downtown, a number he's bound to improve on in seasons to come. Xavier will have a talented backcourt next season and Green could make a big second-year jump in the Muskies' up-tempo, guard-friendly system.

Prediction: Stays

Abou Ousmane

When Abou Ousmane committed to Xavier in April, the Musketeers were adding frontcourt depth. Ousmane was slated for a complementary role behind Freemantle and Hunter. Instead, Ousmane was thrust into the starting center spot and had an up-and-down season.

Ousmane had his good moments. He was a key enforcer down low and made several big plays on the defensive end throughout the year. He also struggled with foul trouble and shot a career-low 45.7% from the field. He averaged 6.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and started 28 of 33 games.

Ousmane is another wild card. Xavier is likely going to add some size through the portal. If Ousmane is OK with a smaller role, then he'd have a spot getting less minutes off the bench. Ousmane was a third-team all-conference selection at North Texas and a double-digit scorer in back-to-back seasons. A true coin flip, Ousmane would be a starter on a lot of teams, a path most Division I athletes prefer.

Prediction: Transfer Portal

Gytis Nemeiksa

Another player propelled into big minutes given Xavier's injuries, Nemeiksa averaged 5.3 points in 33 games (20 starts). An undersized forward, Nemeiksa struggled to maintain his starting spot when matched up against the many talented forwards in the Big East. He was granted an extra year of eligibility, which looks like it'll be used elsewhere.

Prediction: Transfer Portal

Kam Craft

Craft did not appear in a single game for the Musketeers and has been away from the team since mid-January. Craft was considering a medical redshirt to add an extra year of eligibility. It's tough to make the case there's minutes for the Chicago native to grab moving forward.

Prediction: Transfer Portal

(Update: Craft entered the transfer portal March 20.)

Sasa Ciani

Depending on who Xavier adds in the portal, you could see Ciani hanging around Cintas Center for a second year. Ciani has good size (6-foot-9) and was one of the many freshmen to gain valuable experience this year after shooting nearly 50% from the field over 13 minutes per game. Ciani stays and grows in a minor role (along with freshman Kachi Nzeh) off the bench.

Prediction: Stays

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Predicting who stays, leaves for Xavier as NCAA Transfer Portal opens