NCAA Basketball: 10 teams that should target UVU transfer Aziz Bandaogo

When it comes to the market for true centers in the NCAA Basketball transfer portal, there was a period of time when the number of available options was shortening. Guys like Graham Ike, Kadin Shedrick, and most recently, Jamarion Sharp, are off the board. But a new one has emerged in Aziz Bandaogo, one of the breakout stars from the past season.

After two years of limited playing time at Akron, Bandaogo transferred over to Utah Valley, where he was the replacement for Fardaws Aimaq, who was the former Defensive Player of the Year before leaving for Texas Tech a year ago. Yet no one expected the former Zip bench player to be an even better defender overall.

This past season, Bandaogo averaged 11.5 ppg and 10.4 rpg in 37 starts. The 7’0 center had 16 double-doubles, including 23 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists against Seattle, along with 14 points and 16 rebounds in the NIT semifinal loss to UAB. His big impact was on the defensive end, ranking 5th in NCAA Basketball with 2.9 blocks per game, including two games of 6 blocks each.

Bandaogo won WAC Defensive Player of the Year and after head coach Mark Madsen left for the Cal head coaching job, became part of a roster exodus this week. He entered the transfer portal and is now one of the top available players.

There is a concern about his eligibility as a two-time transfer that hasn’t graduated but with mental health being cited, there’s a chance that Bandaogo will be able to play next season. For the sake of clarity, we’ll be assuming that going forward when looking at teams that would make sense on paper.