CBS lists Arizona’s James Akinjo as second-best sit-out transfer in college basketball

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

It remains to be seen when James Akinjo will suit up for the Arizona Wildcats, but when he does, he is expected to be a huge difference-maker.

The former Georgetown Hoya was ranked second on CBS’ list of the top sit-out transfers for the 2020-21 college basketball season, with this being David Cobb’s reasoning:

The Wildcats are losing seven of their top eight scorers — four seniors and three freshmen — from last year’s 21-11 team. So the addition of a proven producer in Akinjo will be huge. The former top-100 prospect transferred from Georgetown seven games into his sophomore season. That means he’ll have to sit out games in the fall semester. But the former Big East Freshman of the Year will likely be a starter and key player once he’s able to join the team for Pac-12 play.

ESPN is also high on Akinjo, ranking him as the No. 1 midyear transfer in the country.

While Cobbs wrote that Akinjo will have to sit out games in the fall semester, that might not be true. The Wildcats have applied for a waiver that would make him immediately eligible and are still waiting to receive a response from the NCAA.

Since Akinjo only appeared in seven games last season, he figures to have a strong case.

“The decision has not been made,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said earlier in the month. “We have no expectations. I think the summer will put James in a place that he deserves to be in. We’re looking forward to him being a big part of our team. Obviously when that starting point will begin, we don’t have control over it. And that decision has not been made. I don’t think we will completely know maybe until the beginning of the new school year in the fall semester.”

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts https://ift.tt/2NbFbRq
via IFTTT