Jonas Aidoo commits to Arkansas

Jonas Aidoo has a new home — and he’ll be staying in the SEC. The 6-11 center announced on Monday that he will be joining John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks next season.

Baylor was the perceived favorite here, but Arkansas made a strong push this weekend getting him on campus for a visit. Alabama, North Carolina and Kentucky were also involved.

Aidoo is coming off of his best season yet, emerging as a true offensive threat for Tennessee during his junior year. He averaged 11.4 points per game, shooting 51.5 percent from the field. Aidoo added 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

Rick Barnes admitted that Aidoo’s departure was a surprise.

“He had told everybody he was fine,” Barnes told the media in an uncharacteristically short response.

Aidoo also entered the NBA Draft, and there’s been some chatter about him wanting to have more freedom to shoot from long range. He shot 20 percent on very limited attempts from three-point range last season, but developing his shot a little bit more could boost his NBA stock.

Tennessee essentially replaced Aidoo with Ohio State center Felix Okpara, who might not be as skilled on the offensive end, but likely is going to bring a little more to the table defensively. The Volunteers have also landed two long wings — 6-10 Igor Milicic and 6-8 Darlinstone Dubar.

Tennessee still has three open spots on the roster left to fill.