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Head coach John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks have earned the commitment of one of the top transfer portal prospects in the country, as Tennesssee center Jonas Aidoo has made his pledge to the Hogs according to multiple reports on Monday.

Baylor, North Carolina and Alabama were the three other teams linked to Aidoo, who is a 6-foot-11 former five-star prospect out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Aidoo still has his name entered in the 2024 NBA Draft as well, though he has not appeared on any mock drafts recently.

As a junior for the Volunteers during the 2023-24 season, Aidoo averaged 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while making 51.5% of his shots from the field. The AP First-Team All-SEC selection also averaged 1.8 blocks and 1.0 assists per game last season.

Aidoo had a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double in a 92-63 win over Arkansas inside Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 14. He scored a career-best 29 points on Dec. 12 against Georgia Southern and he brought down a career-high 15 rebounds on Jan. 13 at Georgia.

According to KenPom, Aidoo finished the 2023-24 season as a better shot blocker (8.7% block rate) and rebounder (12.4% offensive rebounding rate, 19.5% defensive rebounding rate) than former Razorback Makhi Mitchell.

Aidoo took a huge step forward as a junior after averaging just 5.1 points and 4.9 rebounds as a sophomore in 2022-23. He scored just 2.1 points and had 2.2 rebounds in 19 total games as a freshman in 2021-22.

With the Razorbacks this fall, Aidoo will be a senior with one year of eligibility remaining.

Arkansas currently has five scholarship players on the 2024-25 projected roster — Kentucky transfer big man Zvonimir Ivisic and 2024 prospects Karter Knox, Boogie Fland, Billy Richmond and Aidoo.

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Former Tennessee center Jonas Aidoo has committed to join Arkansas via the NCAA transfer portal, per On3’s Joe Tipton. The commitment confirms what CBS reports first.

Aidoo averaged 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as he helped lead Tennessee to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Aidoo was also a defensive aid, serving to block 1.8 shots per game, a solid rim protector. At 6 foot 11, 241 pounds, he has excellent size in the post.

Moreover, Aidoo’s improvement over the last three years has been tremendous. He went from averaging 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds as a freshman, to 5.1 points and 4.9 rebounds as a sophomore, to 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds as a junior.

Prior to enrolling at Tennessee, Jonas Aidoo was a four-star prospect and the No. 40 overall player in the nation in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

He also checked in as a the No. 7 center in the class and the No. 1 overall player in the state of North Carolina, hailing from Charlotte (NC) Liberty Heights Athletic Institute.

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Arkansas basketball and John Calipari made another splash on the recruiting trail, this time landing an All-SEC talent. Former Tennessee center Jonas Aidoo officially committed to the Razorbacks on Monday evening, as first reported by CBS Sports analyst Matt Norlander. The news comes after Aidoo visited Fayetteville over the weekend.

Aidoo is currently ranked as 247Sports' No. 11 overall player in the transfer portal the second-ranked power forward. He played three seasons at Tennessee, but this past season was easily the best of his collegiate career.

As a junior, he averaged 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 51.5% from the field. Aidoo earned AP First Team All-SEC honors and a spot on the SEC All-Defensive team for his efforts with the Volunteers last year.

Arkansas fans will remember that Aidoo had a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double in Tennessee's 92-63 win over Arkansas inside Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 14. Earlier in the year on Dec. 12, he scored a career-best 29 points against Georgia Southern and recorded a career-high 15 rebounds on Jan. 13 against Georgia.

With Aidoo's commitment, the Razorbacks are now up to five scholarship players for the 2024-25 season and have just eight roster spots needed to fill.

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Aidoo earned All-SEC Second Team and All-SEC Defense Team honors this season with the Vols. He was the team's leading-rebounder (7.6 rpg) and second-leading scorer (12.1 ppg) during the regular season while his 60 blocks and 1.94 blocks per game both ranked third in the SEC. Aidoo's 54.7 shooting percentage during conference play ranked second in the league, while his 8.28 rebounds per contest ranked second. His 3.33 offensive rebounds were tied for third.

The native of Durham, N.C. finished his sophomore season in 2022-23 tied for fourth in the SEC at 1.4 blocks per game during SEC play and was Tennessee's top offensive rebounder on the season (1.8 orpg), as he appeared in 35 games with nine starts. Aidoo posted season averages of 5.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and a team-best 1.3 blocks. He was the first Vol off the bench a team-high 19 times, led the Vols in blocks 21 times and rebounding eight times, while his 21 dunks were second-most on the team.

Aidoo averaged averaged 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per game while making 19 appearances off the bench as a true freshman during the 2021-22 season.

The 6-foot-11 forward graduated from Durham Voyager Academy in 2020 and spent a prep year at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, in 2020-21. He averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks while shooting 68 percent in his lone season at Liberty Heights.

Aidoo signed with Tennessee as a four-star prospect in the class of 2021 after decommitting from Marquette. He was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 47 overall player in the country and the top overall player in the Tar Heel State.

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UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE BIO

Honors

2024 NABC Second Team All-District
2024 First Team All-SEC (AP)
2024 Second Team All-SEC (Coaches)
2024 SEC All-Defensive Team
2022-23 Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll
2021-22 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll

High School

Graduated from Durham Voyager Academy in 2020 and spent a prep year at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, where he was coached in 2020-21 by Michael Wright.
Was rated as high as No. 21 nationally in the Class of 2021 by Rivals.com, and he was tabbed as the top prospect in the state of North Carolina by the 247sports.com composite.
Averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks while shooting 68 percent in his lone season at Liberty Heights.
At the Phenom HoopState Championship in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in March of 2021, Aidoo posted a three-game scoring average of 17.3 points while leading Liberty Heights to the championship game.
As a high school senior in 2019-20, he averaged 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks per game at Durham Voyager Academy.
A growth spurt prior to his sophomore year added five inches to his frame.
Played his AAU ball with Pro Skill Basketball's "Team Curry" program, coached by Sim Frazier.

Personal

Full name is Jonas Parker Aidoo
Last name pronounced: AY-doo
Born Dec. 10, 2002, in Durham, North Carolina
Son of Regina Parker-Aidoo and Tony Aidoo
Enrolled at Tennessee with more than 400,000 followers and nine million "likes" on TikTok (@jonasaidoo).
Academic Major: Journalism & Electronic Media
Recipient of The Richard Mark Foster Family Scholarship