NCAA Basketball: Top mid-major players in 2022 offseason transfer portal
By Shea Irish
Fardaws Aimaq – Utah Valley
6’11” Junior Center
2021-22 Season: 18.9 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 1.3 BPG 49.0 FG%, 43.5 3-PT%
Career Accolades: 2021 WAC Player of the Year, 2x WAC Defensive Player of the Year, 2x 1st Team All-WAC
Only three players in the entire country averaged 13 RPG or more in the 2021-22 season. You guessed the first two, Oscar Tshiebwe and Armando Bacot, but who was the 3rd? It was none other than the Utah Valley big man, Fardaws Aimaq.
With six games of 20+ rebounds over the last two seasons, Aimaq certainly deserves the label of a ‘rebounding machine’. His most spectacular performance came in December against BYU, the #12 team in the country at the time. He posted 24 points and 22 rebounds while adding 5 steals, 4 assists, and 3 blocks to lead his team to an OT upset over the Cougars.
Aimaq had 25 rebounds in a February 2021 game vs Dixie State, setting a Wolverines school record. He also has a solid stroke for a 6’11” rebounding force, shooting over 43% from deep in a limited sample (20-46) and shooting 72.3% from the line in 2021-22. He will easily be one of the top 10 impact transfers overall headed into next season.
According to a recent article written by Jake Weingarten of Stock Riser’s, Fardaws plans on visiting Houston, Virginia, Washington, and possibly Arkansas in the next few weeks. Tell me he wouldn’t be a perfect fit for Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars, a team that loves to crash the glass. They have been one of the best rebounding teams over recent seasons and he would definitely help continue that trend. He has also heard from Gonzaga, Kentucky, and Texas Tech.