Tag: Joe Bamisile

Rumor: VCU senior Joe Bamisile to withdraw from 2024 NBA draft

Senior Joe Bamisile will reportedly withdraw from the 2024 NBA draft and return to VCU for the 2024-25 season.

Senior Joe Bamisile will reportedly withdraw from the 2024 NBA draft and return to VCU for the 2024-25 season, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Bamisile was among 201 players who filed as an early-entrant candidate for the draft this year. He declared while maintaining his last year of college eligibility and has decided to return to play for head coach Ryan Odom, who just completed his first season with the Rams.

The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 13.1 points and 3.4 rebounds on 37% shooting from 3-point range in 28 games. He registered six 20-point games, including a season-high 29 points, five rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot on Jan. 19 in a win over Saint Louis.

Bamisile joined the Rams last year after playing one season each at Virginia Tech, George Washington and Oklahoma. He connected on a career-high 64 3-pointers last season and is 17 points shy of reaching 1,000 career points.

His return projects to be a big addition to the team, which will be adding three-star recruit Brandon Jennings and Phillip Russell (Texas-Arlington) and Jack Clark (Clemson) via the transfer portal. He was the second-leading scorer on the team.

The Rams finished 24-14 under Odom this past season. They earned an invitation to the NIT after finishing as the runner-up to Duquesne in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

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5 players Porter Moser and OU hoops should consider via the transfer portal

A look at a few names the Oklahoma Sooners are targeting in the transfer portal and a couple more they should make a run at.

Oklahoma basketball is experiencing a retooling following consecutive years with no NCAA tournament berths. This year’s Sooners finished last in the Big 12 and, along with Texas Tech, were the only teams from the conference that didn’t make the tourney.

Those results have likely made Porter Moser’s seat somewhat warm, as making the NCAA Tournament is a fairly reasonable bar for most Power Five programs. Oklahoma has a reasonably strong history of basketball success as a program but has never won a national title.

No one expects Porter Moser to turn Oklahoma into the second coming of Coach K and Duke. Still, consistent tournament appearances and fighting for the Big 12 crown seem reasonable.

The blowback from two consecutive seasons of missed postseasons has been evident. [autotag]Jalen Hill[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Groves[/autotag], Benny Schröder, Joe Bamisile, Bijan Cortes, and [autotag]C.J. Noland[/autotag] are all no longer with the team after entering the transfer portal. Noland committed to Saint Louis, while Schröder landed with George Washington.

These departures also combine with Grant Sherfield’s decision to pursue NBA opportunities. At the same time, Tanner Groves has decided to move on from college basketball entirely after graduating.

As it stands, Oklahoma has lost eight players this offseason, with six of those players logging starter or significant bench minutes. Oklahoma essentially needs a brand-new team. They bring in two four-star prospects in Kaden Cooper and Jacolb Cole, but that won’t be enough especially considering they are true freshmen.

The transfer portal is the only way to rebuild this roster, and we have a few targets Oklahoma should look at.

Sooners forward Jalen Hill to enter the transfer portal

Oklahoma loses another player to the transfer portal with the departure of forward Jalen Hill.

Oklahoma’s basketball program is in some murky waters at the moment. After a tough season that saw them finish last in the Big 12, the Sooners are undergoing some serious roster turnover.

Several seniors are moving on, and a slew of key contributors have left via the transfer portal.

Before Monday, Oklahoma had already seen [autotag]Benny Schroder[/autotag], [autotag]Joe Bamisile[/autotag], [autotag]Bijan Cortes[/autotag], and C.J. Nolan enter the portal. CJ Noland announced Monday he was taking his talents to Saint Louis.

Senior forward Jalen Hill will also enter the transfer portal, per CBS Sports Jon Rothstein.

Hill quickly entered the rotation as a freshman for the Sooners in 2019 before becoming a full-time starter as a junior.

The Las Vegas native had the best season of his college career in 2022-23, averaging a career-high 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. His leadership and defense were integral to everything the Sooners wanted to accomplish on the court. Hill was athletic enough to guard 3’s and 4’s and play small ball 5. He was capable enough to switch and stay with point guards in the screen action.

During conference play, he turned his game up a notch and averaged 10.3 points per game on 51 percent shooting, finishing the season as an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.

The departure also marks the last holdover from the Lon Kruger era. With Hill out the door, every player on the OU roster now or going forward will be recruited or brought in by Porter Moser.

Oklahoma must be very active in the transfer portal to fill out its needs. They don’t have enough players now to fill out the roster.

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Sooners guard Joe Bamisile enters the transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners guard Joe Bamisile enters the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners lost another player to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] as [autotag]Joe Bamisile[/autotag] becomes the third player to depart the Sooners since their Big 12 tournament exit.

Joining C.J. Noland and Bijan Cortes, Bamisile will be looking for his fourth team in as many years as he looks to continue his collegiate career.

A bit of a sparkplug at the end of the season, Bamisile’s athleticism and energy stood out when the Sooners needed a boost off the bench. His minutes were inconsistent through nonconference play but began to see more playing time as Porter Moser looked for answers to give his team more of an edge.

Bamisile saw at least 10 minutes in six of the Sooners’ last seven regular season games. In those contests, he averaged 7.33 points per game. He averaged just four points per game in 2022-2023 after putting up 16.3 points per game for George Washington the year prior when he earned 31.4 minutes per game.

With three guards on their way out the door, the Sooners will lean heavily on [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] and [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag] in addition as they welcome in four-star small forwards [autotag]Kaden Cooper[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacolb Cole[/autotag] next season.

Next year will be a pivotal year for [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] as he looks to improve upon two seasons without an NCAA tournament berth.

Oklahoma Sooners dominated on the road by West Virginia 93-61

The Oklahoma Sooners had no answers in Morgantown, losing 93-61 to the West Virginia Mountaineers.

For the second straight game, very little went right for the Oklahoma Sooners. This time, it was the West Virginia Mountaineers pouring it on in Morgantown after Oklahoma was blown out by Oklahoma State earlier this week.

West Virginia jumped out to an 11-point lead midway through the first half, before the Oklahoma Sooners brought it back to within three at 25-22. But from that point on, it was all Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers closed the half up 56-30, and that was pretty much all she wrote. Oklahoma didn’t have an answer after the break.

[autotag]Erik Stevenson[/autotag] led all scorers with 34 points on 13 of 23 shooting on the night. He was six of 11 from three-point range and was the difference in the ball game. Only two other Mountaineers scored in double figures.

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The Sooners had another poor shooting night on Saturday. They were 23.8% from three and 37.3% from the field. Grant Sherfield and Joe Bamisile were the only Sooners in double figures, and only four Sooners had two or more made field goals.

After the win over No. 2 Alabama, it felt like the Sooners were figuring some things out. Well, that’s all gone out the window, and Oklahoma looks like a team that will be hoping for an NIT berth at the end of the season. Porter Moser and the Sooners have some soul-searching to do as they prepare for No. 11 Baylor on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at the best photos from the Sooners’ 93-68 loss to West Virginia.

Sooners No. 45 in Matt Norlander’s “Top 100 and 1” basketball teams

Oklahoma finds itself at No. 45 in CBS Sports writer Matt Norlander’s top 100 and 1 best NCAA basketball teams.

College basketball is approaching in a hurry. November marks the first month of college basketball and with the season close writers across the nation are laying down their preseason rankings.

One of the sport’s biggest writers is CBS Sports, senior writer Matt Norlander, who is about as plugged in as anyone in all things collegiate basketball dropped his “top 100 and 1” rankings of the 101 best teams in Division 1 as he sees them heading into this 2022-2023 season.

Oklahoma is one of nine Big 12 teams to feature in the rankings. If that’s any indication, the Big 12 could very well be the toughest conference in basketball once again.

Norlander ranked the Sooners No. 45 and had this to say:

The Sooners clock in at No. 28 in KenPom’s preseason ratings, which looked mildly surprising at first glance — until you realize OU finished last season 30th. It was the highest-ranked team to not dance. Porter Moser’s second season will benefit from bringing three starters back: the Groves brothers, Tanner and Jacob, and Jalen Hill. That will be a productive troika. They’ll be uplifted if Nevada transfer Grant Sherfield continues to be a stat compiler like his past two seasons. Sherfield averaged 19.1 points, 6.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds last season. If his shooting can improve, OU will finish in the top five in the ever-competitive Big 12. He’ll be backed up by sophomore C.J. Noland, who could grow into one of the most valuable reserves in the conference, provided he doesn’t eventually earn a starting spot in time for Big 12 competition. – Norlander, CBS Sports

Oklahoma rolls into this season with the returning trio Norlander mentions. They had to go portal shopping to round out the rest of their roster, especially for guard depth.

Grant Sherfield and Joe Bamisile give the Sooners two productive bucket-getters that can create their own shot, which is ever important against the high-level defense you’ll see in this conference. Sherfield is certain to run the point with Noland backing him up. If Bijan Cortes can take a step, it would be a huge for the guard depth.

Oklahoma’s interior looks to be focused around the Groves brothers and Missouri transfer Yaya Keita. Keita is 6’9, springy, and potentially could give Oklahoma some quality minutes as a rim running big to clean up misses and run in transition. They needed his depth in the absence of the three big men that left the program in Ethan Chargois, Akol Mawein, and Rick Issanza.

At No. 45, it paints a clear picture that barring a really bad year, Oklahoma should find themselves in the NCAA Tournament after so narrowly missing the field last year.

With the depth in the Big 12, a top five finish, and a decent foray thru the non-conference should give Oklahoma the resume it needs.

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Former Sooner guard Umoja Gibson reveals transfer destination

A former Oklahoma guard is heading out North.

Oklahoma’s basketball team will look very different next year as multiple guys left the program following their near miss of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in the 2021 season. Senior guard Elijah Harkless transferred to UNLV, freshman Alston Mason transferred to Missouri State, sophomore center Rick Issanza transferred to Loyola-Marymount, and junior forward Akol Mawein transferred to Sacramento State.

Umoja Gibson entered his name into the portal on April 27th. Gibson originally transferred to Oklahoma from North Texas in 2020. He will now head north where he will play his college ball in Chicago at DePaul.

Gibson will head to the Blue Demons with one year left of eligibility. The senior guard started 35 games for the Sooners and led Porter Moser’s squad in scoring this season.  He averaged 13.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 43.5 percent overall, 87.1 percent from the free throw line, and 39 percent from beyond the arc.  Percentage-wise, he was the third-best 3-point shooter in the Big 12 conference.

 

Gibson’s departure will leave a sizable gap for the Sooners to overcome but the Sooners believe that the transfer of Joe Bamisile from George Wahington will help make for the loss of Gibson’s scoring. Bamisile averaged 16 points a game last year on 46 percent from the field.

Incoming freshmen Otega Oweh and Milos Uzan also could figure into the backcourt rotation as both have good size length and diverse skillsets that could help them stand out and earn early time for Porter Moser.

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Sooners land high-flying George Washington guard Joe Bamisile

The Oklahoma Sooners land a commitment from Atlantic 10 third-team guard Joe Basimile.

Just a few hours after guard Elijah Harkless entered the transfer portal, the Oklahoma Sooners land a possible replacement in former George Washington guard Joe Bamisile. According to Jon Rothstein of FanDuel, Bamisile committed to the Oklahoma Sooners for the 2022-2023 basketball season.

Bamisile had an excellent sophomore season in which he averaged 16.3 points per game and was an Atlantic 10 third-team All-Conference selection. He averaged five rebounds per game and shot 45.8% from the floor and 35.1% from beyond the arc while playing an average of 31 minutes per game.

Bamisile is just what the Sooners needed on all fronts as he adds elite athleticism, is a shot-maker, and is someone that can create for themselves and others. Harkless’s departure stung and rightfully so but Bamisile’s commitment is as good of a rebound as the Sooners could have gotten.

 

Bamisile will seek a waiver from the NCAA in order to be immediately eligible. Oklahoma is now his second transfer destination after flipping to George Washington after committing and signing with Virginia Tech out of high school.

When asked why Oklahoma, Bamisile told this to FanDuel, “It’s a good fit and a good situation. The location is a little better for me — playing in a college town versus in a big city. Coach Moser is also a proven coach. He’s led a team to the Final Four already when he was at Loyola Chicago.”

The Sooners will continue to attack the transfer portal as we know Moser feels highly comfortable and successful through this avenue earning the nickname “Portal Moser”. The work is not done yet as the Sooners could stand to bring in a few big men to possibly replace center Rick Issanza who entered the portal today, joining Elijah Harkless, Alston Mason, and Akol Mawein. Ethan Chargois, Marvin Johnson, and Jordan Goldwire all will be graduating after transferring in before last season.

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