Rick Barnes admits surprise by transfer of Jonas Aidoo

After spending the last three seasons at Tennessee, Jonas Aidoo decided to enter the portal and has since transferred to Arkansas for his senior season. It was a choice that apparently no one on Rocky Top saw coming, including his head coach in Rick Barnes.

Barnes spoke about Aidoo’s decision to leave Knoxville during a media availability on April 18th. He said that he would describe it as a surprise considering what they had been told about how he felt in regards to a return.

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

Barnes had a lot to say about transfers on that day. He discussed the decision of Tobe Awaka, who transferred to Arizona, to enter the portal too. He also spoke on the program’s policy on players potentially returning after withdrawing their names from the portal.

As for Aidoo, he left after appearing in 90 games for the Vols. Half of those outings were starts, including all 36 games this past season. In his collegiate career, he has averaged seven points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 49.8% overall.

Last season was the best of Aidoo’s three years. As the team’s starting center, he posted career-highs at 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks on 51.5% shooting. That earned him selections on the All-SEC Second Team and the SEC All-Defensive Team. It also helped the Volunteers to one of their best year’s in school history. They went 27-9 overall, won the regular-season title in the SEC, and made their second-ever Elite Eight.

However, on April 11th, Aidoo elected to enter the portal while also planning to test for the NBA Draft. He is one of four from Tennessee’s roster to do so this offseason alongside Awaka as well as Freddie Dilione (Penn State) and DJ Jefferson (Longwood).

Aidoo entered as one of the hottest commodities that was available for transfer this offseason. He ranked as the No. 10 overall player and the No. 2 C behind only Oumar Ballo (Indiana), the top player in the portal, in On3’s 2024 Transfer Portal Top Players.

Then, after plenty of top interest nationally, Aidoo committed to the Razorbacks last week. He is one of three transfers to join on with John Calipari’s new team in Fayetteville so far along with Johnell Davis (FAU), the No. 3 player and No. 1 SG in the portal, and Zvonimir Ivisic (Kentucky).

The transfer portal can certainly lead to some hard feelings, especially when those choices come unexpectedly. That might not fully or accurately describe Barnes’ feelings on the matter but it’s clear that that news was, at the very least, unanticipated for him and the Volunteers.