Louisville Forward Aidan Igiehon Enters Transfer Portal
(Photo of Aidan Igiehon: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Just one day after the Louisville men's basketball program found out they did not make the NCAA Tournament, roster management has already reportedly started.
Sophomore Aidan Igiehon has entered the transfer portal, head coach Chris Mack confirmed on Monday. The 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward/center saw action in just five games this season, averaging 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.2 minutes played. He will leave Louisville having only competed in 18 total games.
"It's been a tough road for him," Mack said Monday. "I know he had massive expectations coming in. But he just, he wasn't ready for college basketball at any level when he first came in, through no fault of his own."
His two-year career at Louisville was plagued by constant injuries. This season, he battled an undisclosed illness, suffered a groin injury, and then came down with mono towards the end of the season. In his freshman year, he missed the final six games of the season due to a shoulder injury suffered in practice.
Nicknamed 'Irish Hulk', the Dublin, Ireland native also struggled mightily to adjust to the college game. After averaging 23.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.8 blocked shots as a senior at Lawrence Woodmere (N.Y.), he averaged just 1.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and had just two blocks in his first year at Louisville.
“Aidan came in wholly unprepared for our level for all the things that go into being a college player," head coach Chris Mack said last April. "The sheer work ethic, the intensity of the workload, it was all something that was new to Aidan, as was the game of basketball."
Louisville opened up the 2020-21 season at 9-1, and were ranked as high as the No. 16 team in the nation. But due to COVID issues, injuries, and at times offensive inconsistencies, they went 4-6 in the second half of the season to finish at 13-7 and 8-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
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