Report: Ole Miss transfer Josh Mballa withdraws name from NBA Draft

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•05/25/22•

BarkleyTruax

Former Buffalo star Josh Mballa has reportedly withdrawn his name from the 2022 NBA Draft. The super senior will play for Ole Miss next season, where he transferred to earlier this month.

The 6-foot-7 native of Bordeaux, France spent his freshman season at Texas Tech during the 2018-2019 season that saw the Red Raiders fall in the national championship game to Virginia in overtime. He would transfer to Buffalo for the next three seasons, where he went on to become an all-around force for the Bulls as a two-time All-MAC and two-time MAC All-Defensive selection, as well as the 2020-21 MAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Appearing in 99 college basketball games through the first four years of his career, Mballa has tallied 29 double-doubles and has recorded 12 games with at least 15 rebounds, and nearly averages a double-double across his career at 10.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Last season, Mballa was one of the top offensive rebounders in the nation, leading the MAC and ranking sixth in the NCAA at 3.7 offensive boards per contest to boot.

Ole Miss basketball guard enters transfer portal

Ole Miss basketball guard Jarkel Joiner, who started his career at Cal State Bakersfield, has entered the transfer portal, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz. The unranked recruit from the 2017 class spent two seasons in the WAC before redshirting in 2019-20 and playing the past two seasons in the SEC.

Stay up to date on the latest news with On3’s Transfer Portal Wire.

Jarkel Joiner has started 102 of 114 games in college, including 41 over the past two seasons at Ole Miss before entering the transfer portal again. This season, he averaged 13.2 points and 3.0 rebounds with 2.3 assists for the Rebels.

See the top available prospects with On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings.

The 6-foot-1 guard also shot 32.0 percent from the 3-point line in his career and averages 0.9 steals on the defensive end. Joiner is able to use his sixth year of eligibility thanks to the NCAA’s rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.