Colorado basketball picks up Washington State transfer Andrej Jakimovski from portal
Colorado basketball has landed another potential starter from the transfer portal.
Former Washington State forward Andrej Jakimovski is the latest, committing to Tad Boyle and the Buffaloes on Sunday. The 6-foot-8 senior from Macedonia started all 35 games he played in last season for the Cougars (33.7 minutes per game) and averaged 9.7 points to go along with 5.6 rebounds.
Jakimovski, who dropped a team-high 19 points on the Buffs in Boulder on Dec. 31, has 80 career starts under his belt and should slot right into Colorado's starting lineup for 2024-25. He'll likely be joined in the starting five by another new face in Trevor Baskin, who committed to the Buffs on Thursday from Division II Colorado Mesa.
After Colorado won a program-record 26 games and back-to-back games in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1955, the Buffs' roster took a major hit.
Eddie Lampkin Jr. (Syracuse), J'Vonne Hadley (Louisville) and Luke O'Brien (Georgia Tech) each hit the transfer portal and senior Tristan da Silva is off to the NBA as a projected first-round pick. Junior guard KJ Simpson announced his intention to enter the 2024 NBA Draft just last week and star freshman Cody Williams is expected to do the same any day now.
They accounted for Colorado's top six rotation players from last season.
Jakimovski and Baskin have been added to a group of returning underclassmen that includes Julian Hammond III, Javon Ruffin, RJ Smith, Courtney Anderson, Bangot Dak and Assane Diop. Andrew Crawford, Felix Kossaras and Sebastian Rancik are the Buffs' 2024 signees.
Colorado now has one open scholarship. That number increases to two if Williams decides to test the NBA waters.
Boyle's roster is beginning to crystallize ahead of the Buffs' move to the Big 12.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado basketball picks up Washington St. transfer Andrej Jakimovski
