Villanova’s TJ Bamba is off to Oregon; Mark Armstrong still on roster after transfer portal closes
Bamba is returning to the West Coast, committing to play for the Ducks after entering the transfer portal following one season at Villanova.
Villanova transfer TJ Bamba committed to play his final season of eligibility at Oregon, he announced Thursday on his Instagram account shortly after The Athletic reported the news.
Oregon will be Bamba’s third school. He transferred to Villanova last offseason from Washington State. After averaging 15.8 points during his sophomore season with the Cougars, Bamba posted 10.1 points per game at Villanova.
Bamba, a native New Yorker, posted a farewell to Villanova on social media Wednesday:
Bamba was not an early entry into the transfer portal. He entered in mid-April after meeting with Villanova’s staff to discuss his future. Like the process with fellow transfers Brendan Hausen, Lance Ware, and Trey Patterson, among the things discussed were: What role did Bamba want to have? How much money did he want? How did those things line up with what Villanova was looking to do?
Bamba was a key player for a Villanova team that did not live up to expectations, and he was not a particularly strong fit for the team’s read-and-react offense. His shooting was inconsistent, and he struggled at times to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim, making it fair to wonder why Villanova brought him to campus in the first place or didn’t change its style to fit its personnel.
What Bamba did bring was effort and toughness, and he played through a facial fracture that forced him to wear a mask during the final six games of the season. He scored 12 points in a Big East tournament quarterfinal loss to Marquette while playing 38 minutes, and scored another 12 in 36 minutes during a National Invitation Tournament loss to VCU.
» READ MORE: College basketball’s offseason has a free-agency feel. Here’s how Villanova is navigating the new world.
During what at times was a rocky season for Villanova, especially for coach Kyle Neptune, Bamba publicly defended his coach and teammates, a rarity for a team whose players typically take a buttoned-up approach to dealing with the media.
“We’re a family,” Bamba said in early February. “When you go through the ups, you want to go through the ups together. When you go through the downs, you’ve got to go through the downs together.”
Bamba, Hausen, and Patterson have decided on their next homes. Hausen committed to Kansas State last week, and Patterson earlier committed to play at Rice as a graduate transfer.
The transfer portal officially closed at midnight Thursday morning.
Villanova still has plenty of work to do in bringing in more talent. The Wildcats have gotten commitments from Penn freshman Tyler Perkins and La Salle’s Jhamir Brickus, a graduate transfer. Mark Armstrong did not enter the transfer portal before the deadline. While he remains in the NBA draft process, it seems more likely that he returns to Villanova for his junior season. The Wildcats deploy an undersized backcourt combination that includes Brickus (5-foot-11) and Armstrong (6-2).
» READ MORE: La Salle transfer Jhamir Brickus commits to Villanova. Here’s where the Wildcats’ roster stands.
The big question mark for Villanova remains the status of Eric Dixon, who has one season of eligibility left. The Big 5 player of the year prefers to start his professional career — he will turn 24 in January — but he would likely make more money via name, image, and likeness deals in returning to Villanova.
Assuming Armstrong is back, Villanova still has four more roster spots to fill and is in the market for a starting center, regardless of Dixon’s decision, and shooting help at the guard position and on the wing.