Head coach John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks have earned the commitment of one of the top transfer portal prospects in the country, as Tennesssee center Jonas Aidoo has made his pledge to the Hogs according to multiple reports on Monday.
Baylor, North Carolina and Alabama were the three other teams linked to Aidoo, who is a 6-foot-11 former five-star prospect out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Aidoo still has his name entered in the 2024 NBA Draft as well, though he has not appeared on any mock drafts recently.
As a junior for the Volunteers during the 2023-24 season, Aidoo averaged 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while making 51.5% of his shots from the field. The AP First-Team All-SEC selection also averaged 1.8 blocks and 1.0 assists per game last season.
Aidoo had a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double in a 92-63 win over Arkansas inside Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 14. He scored a career-best 29 points on Dec. 12 against Georgia Southern and he brought down a career-high 15 rebounds on Jan. 13 at Georgia.
According to KenPom, Aidoo finished the 2023-24 season as a better shot blocker (8.7% block rate) and rebounder (12.4% offensive rebounding rate, 19.5% defensive rebounding rate) than former Razorback Makhi Mitchell.
Aidoo took a huge step forward as a junior after averaging just 5.1 points and 4.9 rebounds as a sophomore in 2022-23. He scored just 2.1 points and had 2.2 rebounds in 19 total games as a freshman in 2021-22.
With the Razorbacks this fall, Aidoo will be a senior with one year of eligibility remaining.
Arkansas currently has five scholarship players on the 2024-25 projected roster — Kentucky transfer big man Zvonimir Ivisic and 2024 prospects Karter Knox, Boogie Fland, Billy Richmond and Aidoo. To see HawgBeat’s full 2024-25 Arkansas basketball roster tracker, click here.
