Tennessee Volunteers Yemi Makanjuola transferring

Tennessee Volunteers head basketball coach Cuonzo Martin has announced today that center Yemi Makanjuola has been granted a release from the Tennessee hoops program and will be able to transfer. Martin stated that Makanjuola is leaving the Vols program on “good terms” and that it was a “mutual agreement” for both parties.

Last season, Makanjuola digressed after a promising 2011 campaign as a freshman. In his first year at Tennessee, Makanjuola had a 19.3 PER in 232 minutes (8.3 minutes per game in 28 appearances) and looked efficient in limited playing time. He shot 59.1% from the floor and looked lively on the boards. In 2012, he looked worse statistically in all facets with a meager 9.9 PER and a shooting percentage of 38.1%, which is awful for a center even if it was in just 42 shot attempts. Makanjuola should have received more playing time in 2012, but he instead received about the same amount (slightly less, actually).

Tennessee nabbed Makanjuola in the 2011 recruiting class as a three-star recruit out of Raleigh. No other schools besides Tennessee offered him during his recruitment, so it will be interesting to see what Makanjuola’s options are going forward.

Here was the statement left by the 6’9″, 250 pound center provided in the piece linked above, “It’s been a great privilege to be a part of the Volunteer family for the past two years. I want to thank the Tennessee fans for all the support they’ve shown me, and I hope they’ll continue to show my teammates here great support in the future. Tennessee is going to have a great team next year, and that will be good for the fans to see. But the best thing for me right now is to continue to pursue my dream with another school. I’ll never forget the memories from my time at Tennessee, but I’m also excited about what’s next for me. Go Vols!”