UND men's basketball guard Tyree Ihenacho enters transfer portal
Mar. 22—ST. PAUL, Minn. — Tyree Ihenacho, who returned to UND men's basketball last spring after two seasons at James Madison,
told the Herald in May
that he "shouldn't have left in the first place."
But, after leading the Fighting Hawks to its best season under coach Paul Sather, Ihenacho is back in the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining.
Ihenacho was UND's second-leading scorer this season. He averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 21 games this season. He shot 40.1% from the field and 28.8% from three point range.
He was ineligible to play until Dec. 16, when a judge ruled that multi-time transfers were eligible to finish out the season. Ihenacho made his season debut at Utah Tech, coming off the bench in his first two games before starting the final 19.
Ihenacho will be immediately eligible to play at his next school. Due to pending litigation — the same lawsuit that allowed Ihenacho to play this season — multiple-time transfers will be eligible immediately next season without having to secure a waiver.
The NCAA
sent out guidance on the issue
last week, saying as long as student athletes provide "written notification of transfer consistent with the windows set forth in Figure 13-1 (or meets an applicable exception set forth in Bylaw 13.1.1.3.1.1 or complies with notice rules of the applicable division of association) during the 2023-24 academic year, the student-athlete will not be subject to Bylaw 14.5.5.1 during the 2024-25 academic year."
Ihenacho was a key part of the Hawks' seven-man rotation that led UND to its first winning season under Sather this year. UND went 18-14 and 10-6 in Summit League play and had a seven-game conference win streak.
The Hawks took the No. 3 seed into the conference tournament. No. 6 Omaha upset the Hawks in the quarterfinal game, despite UND leading by as many as 10 points with five minutes remaining.
Ihenacho had nine points, four rebounds and three turnovers in the loss.
Ihenacho is the third Hawk to enter the portal, joining
B.J. Omot
and
Elijah Brooks,
who entered earlier this week.
UND will return just three players from its core rotation this season: Treysen Eaglestaff, Amar Kuljuhovic and Eli King.
They were mainstays in the rotation that won 10 of its last 13 Summit League games after losing the first three games by totals of 25, 19 and 18 points.
The transfer portal for men's basketball is open until May 1.
