Earlier this week, UCLA freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel entered his name into the transfer portal. Kentucky is among several schools that have already reached out.
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported on Friday afternoon that, along with the Wildcats, the likes of Nebraska, Virginia, Cincinnati, Washington, Butler, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, BYU, Iowa, and Louisville have also made contact with the 6-foot-9 native of Turkey.
During his rookie season in 2023-24, Buyuktuncel appeared in 26 games for UCLA, including eight starts. He finished with per-game averages of 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.3 minutes while shooting 38.5 percent from the field, 29.7 percent from deep, and 62.8 percent from the line.
Much like Zvonomir Ivisic at Kentucky last season, Buyuktuncel also dealt with eligibility issues from the NCAA while with the Bruins. He only missed three games of the season before getting cleared though. Buyuktuncel grew up in Turkey where he attended Ozluce Doga Kolegi while also representing his country in multiple FIBA tournaments.
At UCLA, Buyuktuncel posted double-figures in scoring twice (13 points vs. Stanford, 12 vs. Oregon), which came in back-to-back outings. He missed an additional three games during the season due to minor injuries. After averaging 20 minutes per game through his first 12 contests of the year, his playing time dipped to 13 minutes in the following 14 games.
Buyuktuncel is certainly a project piece, but one with plenty of potential. He’ll have three years of college eligibility remaining at his next stop.
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