NCAA Basketball: 6 teams that should target Iona transfer Isaiah Washington

Isaiah Washington is the latest guard entrant in the NCAA Basketball portal. Which teams should make a run at the former Iona player?

Among all the players who have entered the NCAA Basketball transfer portal, this is one of the least surprising. In fact, the only surprise is that it has taken Isaiah Washington so long to make the move, one that could hurt his odds at picking a preferred destination.

It started a couple of years ago, with Washington making the choice to leave Richard Pitino and the Minnesota Gophers. In two seasons with the program, the 6’1 guard came off the bench and saw his production dip from freshman to sophomore year. He landed with Iona, where he started and averaged 11.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 4.0 apg. Washington had his ups and downs but played well towards the end of the season, including a triple-double in a win at Canisius.

He was set to be the lone returning starter for the Gaels next season until former Louisville head coach and future Hall of Famer Rick Pitino made his NCAA Basketball comeback, picking Iona as his new home. Rick’s the father of Richard from Minnesota and had some not-so-flattering comments about Washington when critiquing his son’s team.

As a former member of the high school phenomenon “Jelly Fam”, there was a ton of fanfare for Washington and others as they enter college. But it hasn’t completely worked out, which will factor in the teams who’ll make a run for the former Gael. And considering that he already received a waiver to play for Iona this past season, the odds are great that Washington will have to sit out the upcoming year, with just one season of eligibility left.

While there will be other programs certainly involved going forward, here’s an early look at six programs that could use Washington when he’s able to play.