Rice transfer center Iffy Ufochukwu commits to Duke

Rice Owls transfer center Ifeanyi “Iffy” Ufochukwu is taking his talents to Duke via the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3 has learned. He’s spent the past two seasons in Houston, and now he’s joining the Blue Devils.

Over his time with the Owls, Ufochukwu played in 25 career games. He’s averaged 2.0 points and 1.2 rebounds. It’s evident Duke is expecting more out of the big man than what he’s shown thus far.

Moreover, Ufochukwu did not have a star-rating according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. We’ll see if he can take his game to a new level in Durham.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

More on the Duke Blue Devils, NCAA Transfer Portal

In other news, former Washington State shooting guard Cedric Coward has also committed to Duke out of the portal, On3 has learned. It’ll be the third school of his career.

Coward initially cut his options in the transfer portal to five programs. On that list for him were blue-blood and new-blood teams, like the Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida Gators, Kansas Jayhawks, Washington Huskies and of course, the Blue Devils. That’s with him also still having the other option of the pros, as he’s testing for the 2025 NBA Draft, as well.

Coward played well in what appearances he did make with the Cougars before a shoulder injury ended his season before December. He averaged 17.7 points (55.7% FG, 40% FG), 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game in those six outings with Wazzu.

Prior to being in Pullman, Coward spent two seasons at Eastern Washington and one season at Willamette University (DIII). He posted 19.4 points and 12 rebounds per game in his 26 games in Division III. He then put up 11.3 points (60% FG, 38.6% 3PT), 6.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in his pair of years with the Eagles, including one earned selection as First Team All-Big Sky.

— On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.