RJ Melendez picks Georgia out of transfer portal, joining Bulldogs from Illinois

Georgia Basketball landed its first player out of the transfer portal in the 2023 cycle on Monday. After a visit this past weekend to Athens, Illinois guard RJ Melendez announced his decision to be a Bulldog joining Jeff Goodman on The Field of 68 podcast.

“Coach White and Pastrana, they were my first two offers coming out of high school. Coach White was at Florida and Pastrana from Oklahoma State, so you know, still having that connection and them reaching out right after I got in the portal and staying consistent with me,” Melendez told Goodman. “It was a big deal for me to see that they still have that trust in me and still see that player from high school. It didn’t matter what happened the past couple of years, so seeing them having that trust in me was great.”

“I’m really excited to be at Georgia. I’m ready to get to Athens already to start work. I’m ready to make a run at Georgia, get to the Tournament, just excited,” Melendez continued. “Coach White wants me to come in, make an impact, be a high level usage guy and help the team. Coach White has done a great job taking the team over from the past coach going 16-16. He’s doing an amazing job right now recruiting, and the goal is to have a better record, make the Tournament and make a run.”

Melendez, who also heard from the likes of Arkansas, Virginia, Kansas State, Creighton, Iowa State, Florida, Ole Miss, Georgetown, Florida State, South Carolina, and Mississippi State among others, played in all 32 games for the NCAA Tournament bound Fighting Illini this past season, averaging 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He started 18 of those contests and played an average of 21.5 minutes per game.

Eight times did Melendez reach double figures this past season. He did so in three consecutive games in November and December including a season-high 17 in a win over Lindenwood. He also did so against Syracuse and Maryland during that stretch before pouring in 10 each in games against Nebraska, Indiana and Minnesota.

In Illinois’ 78-69 win over the Golden Gophers, Melendez had a double-double, his only 10+ rebound effort, bringing down 11 boards on top of his 10 points. Melendez finished the season off with a double-digit scoring day in the NCAA Tournament against Arkansas with 10 points in the second half. He shot 47.6% from the field and 36.1% from 3-point range in Illinois’ first 10 games of the season before falling off to 37.6% overall and 26.4% from deep on the season.

Melendez spent two seasons in Champaign, playing in 22 games and starting one during his freshman season. He averaged 3.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game in 2021-22. Melendez was a four-star prospect ranked No. 101 overall in the Class of 2021 and as high as No. 56 in the country according to ESPN. He attended Central Pointe Christian High School in Kissimmee, Fla.

The 6-foot-7, 205 pound native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico joins a Georgia roster that loses each of its top three scorers after Terry Roberts declared for the NBA Draft, Kario Oquendo decided to as well while also putting his name in the transfer portal and Braelen Bridges exhausted all eligibility.

Justin Hill returns after appearing in all 32 games for the Bulldogs, starting 10, and averaging 8.6 points per game. Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who averaged 7.1 points and made a team-high 46 3-pointers, also is back alongside Frank Anselem, Jusuan Holt and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe.

Georgia also signed a pair of players in the Class of 2023 with Mari Jordan and Dylan James getting set to join the Bulldogs in Athens before too long. Jordan is ranked No. 146 overall and No. 31 among small forwards as the No. 10 player in the Peach State according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He committed to Georgia under the previous coaching regime and stayed on board. James on the other hand chose White and the Bulldogs. He comes in as a top-100 overall player according to the On3 Industry Ranking at No. 96, No. 18 among power forwards and No. 9 in the state of Florida.