Arizona guard Jemarl Baker is expected to transfer from the Wildcats after graduating this spring.
(Update:Β Verbal Commits confirmed late Thursday afternoon that Baker has entered the transfer portal.)
The move puts Arizonaβs roster back within the 13-player maximum and potentially give Baker a chance to play point guard full-time as a fourth-year player next season.
A Southern California native who once committed to Cal, Baker arrived at Arizona as a sophomore transfer from Kentucky in 2019. He played both point guard and shooting guard off the bench behind Nico Mannion and Josh Green in 2019-20, then moved off the ball this season when James Akinjo and Terrell Brown took over the point.
Baker played a big role offensively before breaking his wrist on Jan. 9 and missing the rest of the season. He averaged 12.0 points while shooting 34.0% from 3-point range, where he exploded against both NAU and Stanford.
Against NAU at McKale Center on Dec. 7, Baker scored 33 points while hitting 7 of 9 3-pointers and he had 29 while hitting 8 of 13 from long range against Stanford on Dec. 19 in Santa Cruz, Calif.
But between his graduation and a potential chance to play point guard elsewhere, a move elsewhere for next season would not be much of a surprise. Arizona will likely turn to Akinjo again at the point next season, if he doesn't leave for professional basketball, while Estonian point guard Kerr Kriisa also showed considerable promise over the final month of the season.
Arizona also has three more guards coming in that the Wildcats signed last fall: Shane Nowell, Shane Dezonie and K.J. Simpson.
UA's two other transfers, Brown and Ira Lee, were expected to be departing this season as seniors but have chosen to take the extra year of eligibility granted to participants this season and play for another school.
Arizona's 13 scholarship players for 2021-22, as of now:
SENIOR
G James Akinjo
JUNIORS
C Christian Koloko
F Jordan Brown
SOPHOMORES
F Bennedict Mathurin
F Daniel Batcho
F Dalen TerryΒ
F Tibet Gorener
F Azoulas Tubelis
G Kerr Kriisa
F Tautvilas Tubelis
FRESHMEN
G K.J. Simpson
G Shane Nowell
G Shane Dezonie
