Why did Jonas Aidoo transfer to Arkansas? What to know about former Tennessee star forward

John Calipari continues to make splashes as he builds his roster at Arkansas, and perhaps the Hall of Fame coach made his biggest one yet on Monday.

As reported by CBS Sports' college basketball insider Matt Norlander, Tennessee and All-SEC forward transfer Jonas Aidoo committed to play for Calipari and Arkansas next season.

REQUIRED READING: Jonas Aidoo commits to Arkansas basketball: What does Tennessee transfer bring to Razorbacks?

Aidoo was a highly recruited prospect in the transfer portal and chose the Razorbacks over Big 12 powerhouse Baylor, which is the program most college basketball insiders thought the 6-foot-11 forward would transfer to after taking an official visit back on April 20.

But Aidoo — who averaged career-high numbers this past season for the Vols at 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game — chose to play for Calipari, where he will now bring SEC experience to a roster that continues to be put together daily either through high school recruiting or the portal.

He is the latest transfer to choose Arkansas, joining Kentucky transfer Zvonimir Ivišić. According to Norlander, Aidoo had one of the biggest NIL asking prices amongst any forward in the transfer portal. So landing Aidoo and meeting his NIL asking price continues to check out with the resources that Arkansas committed to Calipari with his hiring, including an NIL budget north of $5 million.

Here's what you need to know about Aidoo as he transfers to play for the Razorbacks and Calipari:

Why did Jonas Aidoo transfer?

This is a two-fold question.

The reason for this is that when Aidoo entered the portal back on April 11 he also entered the NBA draft while retaining his college eligibility. While Aidoo has committed to the Razorbacks, there is a possibility he still won't suit up for Arkansas come the season opener. The reason is that Aidoo is still testing the NBA draft waters and is one of 195 players who filed for early entry to the draft, as announced by the NBA on Tuesday. Per the NBA's release and NCAA rules, Aidoo has until Wednesday, May 29th to make a decision if he will forgo his college eligibility to enter the draft or return to college and play at Arkansas.

As noted by Knoxville News' Tennessee beat reporter Mike Wilson, Vols coach Rick Barnes was thrown off by Aidoo's decision to enter the portal and not return to Knoxville this upcoming season.

"Yeah because he had told everybody he was fine," Barnes said to Wilson.

Now Aidoo will head to Fayetteville to be part of the rebuild that Calipari has been planting the seeds for with the Razorbacks.

Jonas Aidoo stats

Aidoo had a breakout season for the Vols this past year as highlighted by his All-SEC and All-SEC defensive team honors.

• Career: 629 total points, 476 total rebounds, 120 total blocks, 7.0 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game and 49.8% shooting from the field.

• 2023-24: 411 total points, 263 total rebounds, 66 total blocks, 11.4 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 51.5% shooting from the field.

• 2022-23: 178 total points, 171 total rebounds, 44 total blocks, 5.1 points per game, 4.9 rebounds and 50.7% shooting from the field.

• 2021-22: 40 total points, 42 total rebounds, 10 total blocks, 2.1 points per game, 2.2 rebounds per game and 32.5% shooting from the field.

Jonas Aidoo highlights

As aforementioned, Aidoo had his biggest season as a Volunteer this past year. During Tennessee's win over Texas A&M back on Feb. 24, Aidoo became the first Vol since Jarnell Stokes in 2013-14 to finish with a stat line of 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks while shooting 9-of-4 from the floor. He put up a career-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field with 11 boards in a non-conference game against Georgia Southern, the first of three 20 points and 10 rebound games of the season — which is tied for the third-most by Tennessee player in the last 20 years according to his profile page on the Tennessee's athletic website.

Here are some highlights of Aidoo compiled by of College Basketball Scouting:

Jonas Aidoo 247 rankings

• Transfer: Four-star | No. 14 ranked overall prospect | No. 3 ranked power forward

• Recruit: Four-star | No. 46 ranked overall prospect | No. 7 ranked center | No. 1 ranked player in North Carolina

Aidoo was a highly recruited high school player in the 2021 recruiting class out of Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was considered a four-star recruit and a top-50 prospect according to his 247Sports composite ranking. Aidoo — who was the No. 1 ranked player in North Carolina and the No. 7 nationally ranked center in his class — chose the Vols over schools like Clemson, Alabama and Marquette. He was originally committed to play at Marquette but decomitted from the Golden Eagles following the firing of Steve Wojciechowski in 2021. Aidoo would then commit to Tennessee, following current Vols associate head coach Justin Gainey who originally recruited him at Marquette.

The 6-foot-11 forward had similar recruiting rankings in the transfer portal. He was listed as a four-star player, the No. 14 overall prospect and the No. 3 power forward in the portal according to his 247Sports page.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Jonas Aidoo transfers to Arkansas: Stats, 247 ranking, more