Jonas Aidoo transferring to Arkansas from Tennessee basketball

Former Tennessee basketball forward Jonas Aidoo is transferring to Arkansas, according to a report Monday from Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

Aidoo entered the portal on April 11 and entered the NBA Draft. He kept his college eligibility while going through the draft process.

Aidoo had an All-SEC season as a junior. The 6-foot-11 Aidoo averaged 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He had six double-doubles in conference games. He blocked 66 shots, which ranked third in the SEC.

The 2024-25 SEC schedule hasn’t been released but Arkansas and Tennessee are likely to meet each other although it’s not certain with two new teams entering the league.

Rick Barnes was surprised by Jonas Aidoo transferring

Vols coach Rick Barnes works to avoid being surprised by transfer portal decisions. Aidoo’s came as a surprise for the Vols based on the messaging they had received from Aidoo following the season.

“Yeah because he had told everybody he was fine,” Barnes said.

Aidoo was one of four Vols to enter the transfer portal following the season. Redshirt freshman guard Freddie Dilione V was the first, while fellow redshirt freshman guard D.J. Jefferson followed suit. Forward Tobe Awaka was the third and Aidoo was the fourth.

Jonas Aidoo was an All-SEC player with Tennessee basketball

Aidoo averaged 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game in his three seasons at Tennessee.

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The Durham, North Carolina, native jumped into the starting lineup as a junior. He spent his first two years as a role player behind veterans including Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic. He played 18.3 minutes per game as a sophomore and showed his defensive prowess in that season.

Aidoo’s freshman season got off to a slow start as he battled an illness preseason. He stepped into the playing group after Nkamhoua suffered a season-ending injury in February 2022. He played 7.8 minutes per game in 19 games as a freshman.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.