Tennessee forward Tobe Awaka also entered the portal earlier this week, meaning the Vols have lost their two primary big men from this past season. It should be an interesting journey moving forward as the Vols attempt to build a strong roster ahead of next season.
North Carolina has set its sights on Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound junior confirmed to Inside Carolina on Monday that he has spoken with the UNC staff. A source close to Aidoo confirmed multiple UNC conversations, first with assistant coach Jeff Lebo, and then head coach Hubert Davis in the last 24 hours, with more conversations scheduled for this week.
Aidoo entered the transfer portal on April 11 after three seasons at Tennessee, in which he showed significant strides each year. After a mostly reserve role his first two campaigns in Knoxville, Aidoo blossomed in 2023-24 into one of the conference’s best big men, earning Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team honors. He averaged 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game for a Tennessee team that went 27-9 (14-4), reached the Elite Eight, and was ranked the No. 3 defense in the nation by KenPom.
He recorded eight double-doubles on the year, highlighted by a 24-point, 10-rebound game against Ole Miss and a 23-point, 12-rebound performance at Arkansas. He twice recorded his season-high of five blocks (vs. Georgia and Kentucky). In Tennessee’s 100-92 loss at UNC on Nov. 29, Aidoo was limited by foul trouble but contributed 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with four rebounds and a block.
Aidoo is ranked the No. 10 overall player and No. 1 power forward in the portal by 247Sports. As Inside Carolina has previously reported, following the departure of five-year stalwart Armando Bacot, UNC is looking this offseason in the transfer portal for an immediate impact post player to join the rotation with rising junior Jalen Washington (3.9 points, 2.6 rebounds) at the center position for 2024-25.
A native of Durham, N.C, Aidoo attended Durham (N.C.) Voyager Academy and then spent a prep year at Charlotte (N.C.) Liberty Heights. He was ranked the No. 47 prospect in the class of 2021 by 247Sports.com, and committed to Marquette in December of 2020 before backing out of that commitment after Marquette fired Steve Wojciechowski.
North Carolina briefly showed interest in recruiting Aidoo during his second recruitment in the spring of 2021. Roy Williams made an introductory call to Aidoo three days before the legendary Tar Heel coach announced his retirement.
Georgia transfer Jalen Deloach announced his commitment to Loyola Chicago. The 6-foot-9 junior played his first two seasons at VCU before playing last season under Mike White at Georgia.
Deloach averaged 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds this season.
Deloach is coming off his official visit which played a major role in this decision.
“Everything about the visit helped me come to this decision,” he said. “I never been to Chicago so it was fun seeing everything. It’s good vibes all around and I love the campus.”
While on the visit, Drew Valentine laid out his plan for Deloach for next season.
“I believe in the vision coach Drew has for me. He has a plan for me and he’s a young upcoming coach who’s one of the best coaches in the country. I believe in him and his staff.”
Deloach continued: “They want me to come in, play big time minutes help the young guys lead. They’re going to play me like Evan Mobley. Shoot the three guard and use my big time motor. I already been in the conference as an all conference type player so I know what to expect.”
With three years of experience, Deloach is excited to help the team both on and off the court.
“I’m bringing leadership. I won a championship at VCU so I’m going to bring that dog mentality and championship mindset.”
Rutgers transfer Gavin Griffiths will remain in the Big Ten and play for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a source tells 247Sports.
A 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward out of Simsbury (Conn.) Griffiths averaged 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game for the Scarlet Knights this past season.
His decision comes after visiting campus this weekend as he chose the Cornhuskers after strongly considering Providence as an option.
A former four-star prospect, Griffiths was ranked the No. 67 overall recruit in the national 2023 class.
He is the third portal addition for Fred Hoiberg this spring as he will join North Dakota State transfer Andrew Morgan and Utah transfer Rollie Worster.
Griffiths will have three years of eligibility remaining once he arrives on campus.
The transfer portal opened on March 18th and will remain open until Wednesday, May 1st.
Anytime during that window, a player can submit paperwork to their current school to request a transfer and within 48-hours of receiving the paperwork, a player must be submitted into the NCAA Portal database.
Before the window opens on March 18th and after the window closes on May 1st, players who have earned enough credits to graduate are able to enter the transfer portal at any time, listed as a “Grad Transfer”.
Simultaneously, with any coaching movement – whether a head coach is fired or gets another job – players of that team are also given a 30-day window in which they can enter the portal which is not bound to the March 18th-May 1st window.
When a player has officially entered the transfer portal, other schools are permitted to contact the player and begin the recruiting process.
There is also a new rule this off-season that will have major ramifications on the transfer market.
In recent years, players were given a one-time transfer waiver and if transferring for a second time, a waiver had to be granted to be immediately eligible by the NCAA.
For the transfers this spring, transfers are expected to be immediately eligible for the 2024-25 season according to a recent memo by the NCAA.
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