Wake Forest's Harris among early transfer portal entries

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 Division I men’s basketball 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 recorded 13 double-doubles and was the only Division I player to average more than 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots.

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 past 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 with 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.

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.

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 having made one-year stops at Kansas State and Virginia. He scored 16.9 points per game for the Bears. Pippen, 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.

KJ Lewis, who averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds at Georgetown after two seasons at Arizona, is seeking a third school in four years.

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.

Purdue announced it had signed forward Caden Pierce, who played three seasons at Princeton and sat out this year as a redshirt while completing his degree. Pierce started 89 games for the Tigers and was 2023-24 Ivy League player of year after averaging 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He chose the Boilermakers over Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville and Connecticut.

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