Former five-star Patrick Balwin Jr. enters the NCAA transfer portal after NBA Draft declaration
Despite declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft last week, former five-star prospect and Milwaukee Panthers star Patrick Balwin Jr. is still entering the NCAA transfer portal. Baldwin has every intention of following through with the draft, however, according to Draft Express’s Jonathan Givony. Other teams probably shouldn’t get too excited about their chances with the former Panthers’ freshman.
Instead of heading to a blue blood program out of high school, Baldwin, the former No. 6 overall prospect, according to the On3 Consensus, opted to commit to Milwaukee. His father, Pat Balwin Sr., was the head coach until March 2 when the program let him go.
Although the Panthers went 11-22 overall, Baldwin Jr. played just 11 games due to injuries. In those games, he averaged 12.1 points per game, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
His father’s firing might have played into Baldwin’s decision to declare but he entered the year as a first-round draft prospect and he still is now. CBS Sports insider Gary Parrish has the 6-foot-9 forward going No. 29 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Baldwin hits the transfer portal
The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.
The process of entering the portal goes through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request.
Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship is no longer valid. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school does not have to reoffer a scholarship.