One of the most unexpected additions to the 2022 college basketball transfer portal happened on Friday night, with Boise State senior guard Emmanuel Akot entering the portal, according to Matt Zentiz of On3.
B.J. Rains of Bronco Nation News confirms that Akot will enter the portal, but adds that Akot “could still return to Boise State.”
Additionally, Rains says that Akot “will soon announce he’s declaring for the NBA Draft,” presumably while not hiring an agent and maintaining college eligibility.
While Akot’s statistics aren’t eye-popping (10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 40.0 field goal percentage, 38.7 three-point percentage), he’s a highly impactful player.
Akot has a very unique skillset at the collegiate level, playing point guard at 6’8″, while also being able to defend pretty much every position on the floor. He was a huge reason Boise State was an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament and had Ken Pomeroy’s No. 21 defense.
After being a four-star recruit out of high school in Canada, Akot committed to Arizona. He spent two seasons with the Wildcats and averaged 3.8 points as a sophomore in 2018-19.
So, perhaps Akot will look to see if there’s a power-conference opportunity that appeals to him again.
Boise has already lost leading scorer Abu Kigab (the 6’7″ forward used his final season of eligibility), and senior combo guard Marcus Shaver Jr. (second-leading scorer at 13.3 points per game) announced on Thursday that he’ll test the NBA Draft waters while maintaining his final year of college eligibility. Leon Rice’s Broncos roster could look quite different next season after a great 2021-22 campaign.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.