West Virginia forward James Okonkwo intends to enter NCAA transfer portal

West Virginia forward James Okonkwo announced Monday his intention to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

“I would like to thank the players, staff and fanbase that have supported me for the last 2 years at WVU for molding me into the player I am today,” Okonkwo tweeted. “As of today I am entering my name into the transfer portal. Thank you for everything and I will always cherish my time at wvu.”

Okonkwo attended Furze Platt Senior School in Maidenhead, England, before spending a prep year at Mount Hope (W.V.) Beckley Prep IJN.

He played in just three games as a freshman before becoming a bigger contributor as a sophomore. Okonkwo played in 31 games last season, averaging 11.0 minutes and 2.5 points on the year.

Other West Virginia players who have entered or intend to enter the transfer portal include guard Kerr Kriisa, forward Tre Mitchell, guard Joe Toussaint and center Mohamed Wague. However, Kriisa has withdrawn from the portal.

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

I would like to thank the players, staff and fanbase that have supported me for the last 2 years at WVU for molding me into the player I am today. As of today I am entering my name into the transfer portal. Thank you for everything and I will always cherish my time at wvu pic.twitter.com/Nywvjvd2vq

— kingjmo_32 (@kingjmo_32) June 26, 2023

James Okonkwo to enter, 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 like James Okonkwo 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.