The eighth and final former Kansas men’s basketball player in the transfer portal found a new home Wednesday when Ernest Udeh Jr. committed to TCU.
The 6-foot-11 center, who averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds as a freshman, posted a stylized graphic on Twitter announcing his commitment to the Horned Frogs with the caption “Imma need to grow some horns.”
Udeh arrived in Lawrence from Orlando, Florida, just last year but now becomes the fourth and final player from the 2022 class to depart the program. Zuby Ejiofor went to St. John’s and MJ Rice to NC State, and Gradey Dick projects as a high first-round pick in the NBA Draft on June 22.
Together, they account for a mere half of the Jayhawks’ transfer-portal departures.
On the flipside, KU has brought in, via the portal, Parker Braun, Arterio Morris, Nick Timberlake and — most directly relevant to Udeh — Hunter Dickinson, the two-time first-team All-Big Ten center who spent three dominant seasons at Michigan. Udeh announced that he was entering the transfer portal on May 11, a week after Dickinson committed.
Udeh, a former McDonald’s All-American, had been linked with schools like Duke and KU’s rival Kansas State but instead chose TCU. The Horned Frogs finished sixth in the Big 12 Conference last year but reached the NCAA Tournament, ultimately falling 84-81 to Gonzaga in the Round of 32.
Udeh’s departure has made KU rather thin on the inside behind Dickinson, where Braun, the transfer from Santa Clara, figures to see some time. The Jayhawks are also losing the length that could have been provided by forwards Ejiofor, Jalen Wilson (another NBA draft prospect) and Zach Clemence (who transferred to UC Santa Barbara). Freshman Marcus Adams Jr. is 6-foot-8 but has the skill set of a wing.
