Utah Valley’s Bandaogo getting in transfer portal

Utah Valley’s Aziz Bandaogo informed ESPN he will enter the NCAA transfer website later on Friday, immediately becoming one of the best readily available huge men on the transfer market.

“The reason I am entering the portal is just not for my basketball career but more importantly for my psychological health,” Bandaogo stated. “I have actually been going through a really difficult period for months where my daily life has badly been impacted. I’m grateful for the possibility and I hope all my supporters will acknowledge the value of this decision.”

Bandaogo, a 7-foot junior from Senegal, averaged 11.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. He ranked as the 3rd finest shot-blocker in college basketball and was named WAC protective player of the year, assisting Utah Valley make the NIT Final Four, where they lost to UAB.An NBA Academy Africa alumnus, Bandaogo was one of the most enhanced players in college basketball this season, playing just 14 overall minutes as a freshman and after that balancing 2.7 points in 12 minutes as a sophomore at Akron, prior to blowing up as a junior into among the very best big men in mid-major basketball.His coach at Utah

Valley, Mark Madsen, left for Cal in the Pac-12 this offseason after his group’s outstanding season in which they went 28-9 (15-3 in conference).

Bandaogo’s size, rebounding and shot-blocking prowess need to make him among the most coveted available players in the transfer portal, as he’s expected to draw interest from a variety of power five conference schools in requirement of a beginning quality big man.

“This is a current decision I have actually made to transfer,” Bandaogo said. “I haven’t had much time to think or to be stressed over it. I feel in one’s bones I want to be closer to my pals and household that I have in USA. I feel that’s really important for me at the moment.”