Washington State transfer TJ Bamba commits to Villanova

Washington State transfer TJ Bamba has committed to Villanova, he told On3.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound shooting guard averaged 15.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists this season for the Cougars, who finished fifth in the Pac-12 with an overall record of 17-17. Bamba also shot 42.6 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three.

Bamba, a native of the Bronx, discussed his commitment to Villanova with On3.

“I chose Villanova because it ultimately gives me the best chance to reach my ultimate goal of playing in the NBA,” he said. “They have the national stage, the winning brand and the blueprint. They have the coaching and skill development that people like myself need in order to be successful. Recently, players in my mold of similar physical stature have come out of Nova, gotten drafted, and proven to be valuable pieces to NBA franchises (Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo). 

“I want to help Nova get back to its dominance and that’s by competing for a Big East championship and hopefully making a deep run come March. What first intrigued me about Villanova was the fact that it’s close to the Bronx, NY. Playing in front of family more often is something me and my family wanted and I’ve put myself in a position to make it happen. I look forward to embracing the Villanova Way.”

Bamba is currently also testing the NBA draft waters in order to get feedback on his game.

The Villanova Wildcats, led by Kyle Neptune, concluded the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 17-17, sixth in the Big East.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

TJ Bamba commits, transfer portal background information

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 is done 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 and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

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 no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.