Pinging The Portal: Cincinnati Reaches Out to Center Target

The Bearcats half to fill out the frontcourt.

Nov 20, 2023; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Saint Joseph's Hawks center Christ Essandoko (22) drives to | Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI —  The Bearcats contacted their first big man target in the college basketball transfer portal. On3's Jamie Shaw reports that Christ Essandoko is garnering UC interest.

The 7-foot freshman posted 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season across 21.1 minutes per outing. He is from Paris, France, and could be another international success story for UC.

Check out his highlights here.

St. Joseph’s transfer Christ Essandoko tells @On3sports these programs are in contact since he entered the Transfer Portal earlier today…

Kansas
Creighton
Kansas State
Florida
VCU
Providence
Mississippi State
Villanova
Penn State
Butler
Georgetown
Missouri
NC State
Texas Tech… https://t.co/5R4Lkrw9ul pic.twitter.com/frnV10EJLy

— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) April 4, 2024

Cincinnati also reached out to Central Michigan guard Derrick Butler as they search for more backcourt help.

The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 10.2 points and 4.2 rebounds as a junior rim-attacking player. Check out his highlights here.

CMU transfer Derrick Butler has received interest from the following programs:

NC State
Boston College
ECU
Virginia Tech
Cincinnati
Rice
+many more! pic.twitter.com/Tm17y25kCI

— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) April 4, 2024

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