Georgia Basketball's leading scorer Kario Oquendo enters transfer portal
The news Georgia Basketball fans have been dreading finally happened on Wednesday as Bulldog star Kario Oquendo entered his name into the transfer portal. Oquendo, who finished as Georgia’s leading scorer both overall (15.2) and in SEC action (18.3), started all 31 games in which he played, missing just one game due to injury.
Oquendo led the Bulldogs offensively in 13 contests, also pacing the team on the boards in six teams, in steals during 15 outings in blocks in 12 games. He scored in double figures 22 times, 15 of which came during SEC play. Ten times did Oquendo reach the 20 point mark including the team’s four highest scoring marks on the season with 33 points against Texas A&M, 28 against Mississippi State, 26 against LSU and 25 against Auburn. His 33 points on the road against the Aggies equaled the highest single-game tally by any SEC player during the 2021-22 campaign.
Oquendo becomes the fifth Georgia player to enter the transfer portal and fourth in less than 24 hours. His name entering the portal also means that all five first-year Division I players – those coming from either the high school or junior college ranks – from Georgia’s 2021 signing class will play elsewhere next season. Dalen Ridgnal entered the transfer portal last week. Then, Camron McDowell and Tyrone Baker did so within minutes of each other yesterday. Finally, Christian Wright, who started 11 contests for Tom Crean’s team, put his name in on Tuesday evening.
Josh Taylor joins Georgia players in the portal
The Oquendo news was quickly followed by another Georgia player entering his name into the portal, only this time it was a member of a different signing class. Josh Taylor, who spent two seasons in Athens, became the sixth Bulldog to enter the transfer portal. In two seasons, Taylor appeared in 17 games, not averaging more than 1.1 points, 1.6 rebounds or 2.7 minutes per game in a single season. The 6-foot-9 forward out of Norcross was however one of the more highly touted prospects out of the Peach State when he signed with Georgia.
Georgia hasn’t gone without good news as it relates to the transfer portal though. The Bulldogs did land Longwood transfer Justin Hill, who averaged 14.0 points per game for the Lancers on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
As it stands right now, the Bulldogs expect just five scholarship players (Jailyn Ingram, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Tyron McMillan, Noah Baumann and Braelen Bridges) plus walk-on Jaxon Etter to return from the 2021-22 roster that went 6-26 under the direction of Tom Crean. It’s all a part of the reality of rebuilding the program under new head coach Mike White who now has an opportunity to get players of his choosing into the program via the transfer portal himself.
Are you subscribed?
Ready to get all your latest Georgia athletics news in one place? Become a member of DawgsHQ today. With your DawgsHQ membership, you’ll not only have access to the goings on in Athens, but you’ll be able to peruse other fan sites within the On3 network to hear just how rivals are feeling about the Dawgs, as well. Make sure to follow along on Twitter (@DawgsHQ), on Facebook and on YouTube for all the Dawg news you need now! And listen to the DawgsHQ crew on our podcast Dawg Walk Talk on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
