Jeremiah Wilkinson Ranked Among Top 40 Transfers

Jeremiah Wilkinson, who who played his freshman season at Cal before entering the transfer portal this week, is among the top transfer basketball players available, according to a ranking by The Athletic posted on Saturday (March 29).

More than 1,000 college basketball players have entered the transfer portal since the portal window opened on Monday, and The Athletic (via The New York Times) ranks Wilkinson as the 37th-best transfer available.

The Athletic ranked the top 40 transfers available, and Wilkinson was among 10 players in that group who were freshmen this past season.

Wilkinson was named the ACC sixth man of the year, even though he was moved into the starting lineup for the final 14 games and averaged 19.5 points as a starter.

Cal coach Mark Madsen said toward the end of the season that he would do everyhing in his power to retain Wilkinson, but with the massive amount of money players can earn at colleges now and the extensive movement of players from year to year that becomes a difficult chore. Wilkinson is from Georgia, so he had no direct ties to the Bay Area.

Here is what The Athletic said about Wilkinson:

Ht: 6-1 Wt: 185

Wilkinson was a fun surprise for Cal, finishing among the national scoring leaders for first-year players. He has a dynamic game off the bounce, with the ability to both drive and find pull-up options. But the decision making on some of his shots was often an adventure, and he'll need to moderate that as he moves to a winning team. It can also be a struggle to place pure scoring guards roughly his size in the lineup, given how much they can give back on defense. Still, Cal was much better when Wilkinson was on the court because of his ability to beat his man, and that'll provide value wherever he ends up. He’s from Georgia, so don't be surprised to see him head back east. — Sam Vecenie

One surprising note in The Athletic’s description of Wilkinson is that he has just two years of eligibility remaining.  It’s unclear why he would not have three years remaining.

BJ Omot, Joshua Ola-Joseph and Christian Tucker are other Cal players who have entered the transfer portal, so Madsen is expected to bring in a number of transfers again this offseason.

So far, Cal sophomore Andrej Stojakovic, who led the team in scoring this past season, has not given any indication that he plans to enter the transfer portsal.

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