04/07/26 04:31:00
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04/07 16:29 CDT Kansas' Bidunga, Wake Forest's Harris, Saint Mary's Murauskas
among players entering men's portal
Kansas' Bidunga, Wake Forest's Harris, Saint Mary's Murauskas among players
entering men's portal
By The Associated Press
Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, Wake Forest's Juke Harris and Saint Mary's
Paulius Murauskas were among the parade of players entering the transfer portal
Tuesday, the first of 15 days when Division I men's players can go looking for
a new school.
Bidunga finished his second season with the Jayhawks as the Big 12 defensive
player of the year and an Associated Press All-Big 12 second-team pick. He
averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds and was a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of
the Year finalist. He led the Big 12 and was fourth nationally with 91 blocked
shots and 10th in field-goal shooting at 64%.
Bidunga was the only D-I player to average more than 13 points, 8.5 rebounds
and 2.5 blocked shots. The Jayhawks had another starting big man, Bryson
Tiller, enter the portal along with three other players.
Harris was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference's most improved player after he
increased his scoring average from 6.1 points as a freshman to 21.4 this
season. He also was an AP All-ACC second-team pick after becoming one of two
players in program history to score 750 points in a season. Myles Colvin, the
Demon Deacons' second-leading scorer, joined Harris and four other teammates in
the portal.
Murauskas was joined in the portal by four of his teammates as the Gaels
transition from longtime coach Randy Bennett, who left for Arizona State, to
Mickey McConnell, who was Bennett's associate head coach. Murauskas was the
West Coast Conference's second-leading scorer at 18.4 points and had two
30-point games. He was an All-WCC first-team pick both years he was with the
Gaels after transferring from Arizona.
James Nnaji, who made headlines for signing with Baylor after being selected in
the second round of the NBA draft and playing professionally overseas, entered
the portal. The 7-footer was granted eligibility because he had never signed an
NBA contract or played in the G League. He ended up playing limited minutes for
the Bears as a freshman and averaged 1.4 points and 2.1 rebounds.
Isaiah Johnson, who led Colorado and was third in the Big 12 in scoring with
16.9 points per game, went into the portal after one season with the Buffaloes.
Providence, which fired Kim English last month and hired Bryan Hodgson, had
just one player listed on its 2026-27 roster Tuesday. Among seven players in
the portal was Stefan Vaaks, who as a freshman averaged 15.2 points and 3.3
assists and made a Big East-leading 91 3-pointers. Elsewhere in the Big East,
Butler's Finley Bizjack, who led the Bulldogs with 17.1 points per game, and KJ
Lewis, who averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds at Georgetown, are in the
portal.
LSU's Dedan Thomas (15.3 ppg) and Michael Nowoko (13.4 ppg), the Tigers'
second- and third-leading scorers, were among seven players in the portal with
Will Wade returning as coach after the firing of Matt McMahon.
California saw its top two scorers enter the portal in Dai Dai Ames and Justin
Pippen. Ames is looking for his fourth school in four years after previously
making one-year stops at Kansas State and Virginia. He scored 16.9 points per
game for the Bears. Pippen, a son of NBA great Scottie Pippen, started his
career at Michigan and will be heading to his third school in three years after
averaging 14.2 points.
Also entering the portal was San Diego State forward Miles Byrd, the Mountain
West's defensive player of the year.
Gavin Doty, who averaged 18 points for Siena to rank second in the Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference, announced he would follow coach Gerry McNamara to
Syracuse. The Orange later saw leading scorer Donnie Freeman (16.5 points)
enter the portal.
Zoom Diallo, who scored 15.7 points per game for Washington, and Jackson
Shelstad, who averaged 15.6 for Oregon in an injury-shortened season, also are
in the portal. Purdue announced the signing of Caden Pierce, who played three
seasons at Princeton and was 2023-24 Ivy League player of year after averaging
16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
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