8. Aziz Bandaogo | 7-foot center | Two years of eligibility | Utah Valley
The WAC Defensive Player of the Year is the best defensive weapon available in the transfer portal. Bandaogo averaged 11.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in a breakout season after spending two years at Akron. Bandaogo told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony that he is transferring for his mental health, so he’ll obviously be trying to get a mental health waiver, which he would need to play right away. Even if he’s not able to secure a waiver, considering his rapid rate of improvement, it might be worth it for a high-major program to stash him for a redshirt year and then have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Bandaogo is quick-twitched and can really move for his size. He’s able to defend out on the perimeter and then is an elite rim protector. Utah Valley opponents shot just 39.8 percent inside the arc and scored 0.88 points per possession when Bandaogo was on the floor, per hooplens.com. Bandaogo is a vertical lob presence at the rim who can get off the ground quickly and go get the ball in the air. He’s also an effective roller, able to get out of a screen and cover ground in a hurry. He had 105 dunks for Utah Valley this season. He also stepped out and made five 3s on 13 attempts. He was also used on the perimeter to initiate handoff actions. He runs the floor hard and is a guy who will steal a couple easy buckets every game just because of the pressure he puts on the rim. Bandaogo was part of the NBA African Academy, and he’s originally from Dakar, Senegal. He played only 15 minutes in seven games his freshman year at Akron and then averaged just 12.2 minutes per game as a sophomore. He blossomed under Mark Madsen at Utah Valley, replacing Fardaws Aimaq, who transferred to Texas Tech. Aimaq just followed Madsen to California. Bandaogo, unlike Aimaq, is not much of a post-up threat, and will fit well with any team that uses a lot of pick-and-roll.
247sports.com
