Former Tennessee basketball center Jonas Aidoo has heard from Kentucky and new Wildcat head coach Mark Pope, according to a report from Kentucky Sports Radio. Aidoo also has a visit to Baylor scheduled for this weekend and is being recruited by North Carolina, his home-state school.
Aidoo is coming off a breakout junior season and was named Second Team All-SEC and made the SEC’s All-Defensive team, but made what Rick Barnes described as a surprising move to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal last week.
“Because he had told everybody he was fine,” Barnes told reporters on Thursday.
Aidoo averaged career-highs with 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 0.7 steals and 25.4 minutes per game. He was fourth in the SEC in rebounding and third in the league in blocked shots.
Four Tennessee players have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal
Aidoo was the fourth Tennessee player to enter the portal, following redshirt freshmen Freddie Dilione V and DJ Jefferson and sophomore forward Tobe Awaka, who had announced his transfer plans the day Aidoo entered the protal.
Aidoo’s regular-season numbers didn’t translate in the postseason. In one game in the SEC Tournament and four in the NCAA Tournament, Aidoo totaled 35 points and 26 rebounds.
He scored 15 points in the win over Saint Peter’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and had 11 against Texas in the second round. He had just four points against Creighton in the Sweet 16.
He was scoreless in 10 minutes in the Elite Eight loss to Purdue, going a combined 2-for-12 from the field in the second weekend of the tournament.
Transfer wing Darlinstone Dubar signed with Vols on Thursday
Aidoo’s departure made for six open scholarship spots on Tennessee’s 2024-25. The Vols on Thursday announced the addition of Hofstra wing Darlinstone Dubar, filling the first of the six open spots.
The Vols also hosted Belmont forward Cade Tyson on an official visit over the weekend, alongside Dubar, and had Charlotte forward Igor Milicic on campus for an official visit on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Barnes later on Thursday described the difficulty of trying to build a roster year in and year out when players can sometimes say one thing, then do something else.
“We have guys that literally tell us, hey, they love it, they’re here,” Barnes said. “Then they come in a day later and they’ve talked to someone else and they’re gone.”
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