Georgia basketball program tracker: Player movement, staff changes and other news

Georgia men's basketball is entering year 2 under coach Mike White.

Check here for updates on roster additions and subtractions, staff hires and other Bulldog basketball news.

Georgia basketball lands NCAA Division II player of year RJ Sunahara

May 11: Georgia picked up another transfer commitment Thursday from RJ Sunahara, the NCAA Division II player of the year.

The 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale is the fifth transfer and ninth newcomer for the 2023-2024 Bulldogs roster.

He picked the Bulldogs over Notre Dame.

"The coaching staff was great and I like their vision and play style," Sunahara said in a message to the Athens Banner-Herald, "and I thought that I fit the type of player they want and the style of play."

Sunahara averaged 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds last season for the NCAA Division II champions while blocking 54 shots in his third season at Nova.

The Bay Village, Ohio product also spent a season at Fairmont State where he redshirted.

Georgia guard Jusuan Holt heads into transfer portal

May 10: A second Georgia basketball player has entered the transfer portal.

Jusuan Holt's name is now listed in the portal, a source confirmed Wednesday afternoon. Holt transferred from Alabama and played one season for the Bulldogs.

He started 11 games, averaging 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 29.5 percent from the field. Holt was second on the team with 31 steals.

The 6-foot-7, 190-pound native of Tacoma, Wash., joins Kario Oquendo in leaving via the portal. Oqunedo signed with Oregon.

Georgia has eight newcomers--four transfer and four high school signees--along with four holdovers from last season. It has one scholarship now remaining.

Georgia basketball lands Niagara transfer guard Noah Thomasson

May 9: Georgia’s transfer additions continued Tuesday when Niagara guard Noah Thomasson announced he would sign with the Bulldogs.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Houston native is the fourth transfer to join the Bulldogs ahead of the 2023-2024 season. He announced his decision on The Field of 68 live stream.

Thomasson led the MAAC in scoring at 19.5 points per game while shooting 48.1 percent and averaging 3.5 assists with a 38.6 3-point field goal percentage on a team high 54 made 3s.

Thomasson, ranked as the No. 101 transfer by 247Sports and No. 130 by On3, announced March 23 he would declare for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility.

He also considered Pittsburgh, Penn State, St. John’s and San Francisco.

Thomasson said that Georgia was one of the first schools to contact him in the portal and "kind of build a bonding relationship. I got to see them multiple times, kind of (see) their faces and hear what their goals are for me. My Dad lives in Atlanta so that's not that far from Athens. When I looked at this, man, I was just like it feels at home."

Thomasson played two seasons at Niagara after spending one season at Houston Baptist after transferring from Butler Community College.

Thomasson gives Georgia eight newcomers including three other transfers: VCU forward Jalen DeLoach, Illinois forward RJ Melendez and South Florida center Russell Tchewa.

Georgia now has the maximum 13 scholarship players. That includes five holdovers from last season—guards Justin Hill, Jabri-Abdur Rahim and Jusaun Holt, forward Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe and center Frank Anselem.

Georgia adds fourth player from high school ranks for 2023 in Blue Cain

May 3: Make it four commitments from the high school ranks for Georgia basketball after Blue Cain from IMG Academy announced he's heading to Georgia.

That gives the Bulldogs another top 100 recruit and seven total newcomers including three transfers in this class.

Russell Tchewa commits to Georgia basketball

May 1: A 7-foot center has committed to Mike White and Georgia basketball.

Russell Tchewa, who averaged 11.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season for USF, pledged to the Bulldogs Monday, per a report by On3Sports. Tchewa will play his final season in Athens after also previously playing for Texas Tech.

Georgia signs guard Silas Demary for 2023 recruiting class

April 24: Georgia landed another top 100 prospect for its 2023 basketball recruiting class Monday when guard Silas Demary Jr. signed with Georgia.

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Demary played at Combine Academy in Lincolton, N.C., and received a release after signing a letter of intent with Southern Cal in November.

Demary also played at Millbrook High in Raleigh and Liberty Heights in Charlotte.

Demary averaged 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists during a postgraduate season in 2022-2023 at Combine, per UGA.

Demary is the No. 99 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

He joins 6-8 power forward Dylan James (No. 83) from Winter Haven, Fla. and 6-5 small forward Mari Jordan from Norcross.

Georgia also has added transfer forwards RJ Melendez from Northwestern and Jalen DeLoach from VCU.

VCU forward Jalen DeLoach commits to Georgia Bulldogs

April 22: Here are the details of Georgia's latest basketball transfer portal addition, Jalen DeLoach from Savannah who is signing with the Bulldogs.

Georgia basketball lands transfer in Illinois guard RJ Melendez

April 17: Georgia has added its first transfer during this cycle.

Illinois guard RJ Melendez announced a commitment during a Field of 68 livestream Monday morning.

He’s rated as the No. 119 available transfer by On3.com.

The 6-foot-7, 205-pound native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico took an official visit to Georgia this weekend. He also considered UCF, Notre Dame, Virginia and Kansas State.

"I'm ready to make a run at Georgia, get to the tournament," he said when announcing his choice.

Melendez started 18 games for an Illinois team that went 20-13, averaging 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, going 24 of 91 on 3-pointers with 22 steals and 13 blocks. He was hampered by a shoulder injury during the season, but hit double figures in scoring seven times with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Minnesota.

He scored 9 points and had three assists in an NCAA tournament game against Houston as a freshman and 10 points with six rebounds and three assists in a 73-63 NCAA tournament opening round loss to Arkansas this season.

Georgia coach Mike White "wants me to come in and make an impact, be a high-level usage guy, be able to help the team," Melendez said.

The 20-year old was a four-star recruit at Central Point Christian in Kissimmee, Fla. before his two seasons at Illinois.

White at Florida and assistant Erik Pastrana then at Oklahoma State were the first two to offer him in high school, he said.

Kario Oquendo announces he's exiting Georgia basketball program

March 21: Kario Oquendo has announced he’s leaving the Georgia basketball program again.

Last year, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound guard put his name in the transfer portal, but returned to the Bulldogs.

This time, the junior is declaring for the NBA draft while at the same time entering the transfer portal, he said in a post on Instagram Tuesday.

He said that will allow him “to keep my options open to return to college.”

Oquendo’s move comes a day after top Georgia scorer Terry Roberts said he was declaring for the NBA draft.

Oquendo was second on the team at 12.7 points per game last season while shooting 39.2 percent from the field. He was fourth on the team with 35 3-pointers. He started in 34 of 35 games he played in last season.

The Titusville, Fla., product led Georgia in scoring in 10 games last season. He averaged 15.2 points per game a year earlier.

Guard Terry Roberts declares for NBA draft

March 20: Georgia’s roster movement has begun for the 2023 offseason.

Point guard Terry Roberts took to Instagram on Monday afternoon to announce he’s declaring for the NBA draft. Roberts, the team’s top scorer this season, had one season of eligibility remaining.

The transfer from Bradley joined the Bulldogs before last season and led the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game at 4.0 assists per game. He tied for second on the team with 38 3-pointers and led the team with 44 steals.

The NBA early entry deadline is April 23 and the NCAA’s withdrawl deadline is May 31. The NBA draft is June 22.,

The 6-foot-3 Roberts from North Amityville, N.Y., scored 20 or more points in a team-leading five games last season for a Georgia team that went 16-16 and 6-12 in the SEC.

He missed two games in February with a concussion and was held to single digits in scoring in five of the next six games before scoring 14 against South Carolina and 12 against LSU in an SEC tournament loss.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia basketball 2022 tracker: Updates on players, coaches and staff