Jamal Bieniemy to transfer from Oklahoma

Lon Kruger already lost Corbin Merritt to the transfer portal, and now he'll have to replace one of his starting guards as well.

In somewhat surprising news, Jeff Goodman reported Friday morning that Jamal Bieniemy would be transferring from Oklahoma.

This comes on the heels of a 2019-20 season in which Bieniemy averaged 5.2 points per game as part of a three-man backcourt rotation. The sophomore played 32 minutes a game for the Sooners, but Austin Reaves and De'Vion Harmon largely overshadowed him in terms of production. Bieniemy shot just 34 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep on the season.

Bieniemy had made an immediate impact as a freshman in the crimson and cream, appearing in 34 games and connecting from beyond the arc at a 40 percent clip. But he couldn't build off the strong rookie campaign, and now he'll look for a fresh start as he departs Norman.

He had three games of 15-plus points across his two seasons with OU, including a career-high 22 last March in a win over West Virginia.

With Merritt already off to Austin Peay and Kristian Doolittle graduating, Kruger now has three members of his 2019-20 crew to replace. Redshirt big men Rick Issanza and Anyang Garang will enter the mix, and the Sooners will also add one 2020 signee in shooting guard Trey Phipps.

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