Utah State basketball fans got a double gut-punch of news in the early afternoon as the two leading scorers from last years NCAA Tournament team, Great Osobor and Ian Martinez, entered the transfer portal with reports coming within minutes of each other.
Joe Tipton of On3 reported the news of Osobor entering the transfer portal. According to his report, the 2024 Mountain West Player of the Year is also “testing the NBA Draft waters” and “will also consider a return to USU as he explores his options in the portal.”
NEWS: Utah State big man Great Osobor, the Mountain West POY, plans to enter the transfer portal, while also testing the NBA Draft waters, he tells @On3sports. The 6-8, 250-pound junior averaged 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game this season. Osobor says he… pic.twitter.com/OhQ1xfhKo2
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 3, 2024
In his lone season at USU, Osobor averaged 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, all of which were most among Aggie players. It was a breakout campaign for the 6-foot-8 forward who spent two seasons coming off the bench at Montana State. Osobor followed his head coach, Danny Sprinkle to Logan and with Sprinkle now at Washington, that’ll be a potential destination to pay attention to. However, there will be a lot of teams looking to secure his services in his senior season.
Martinez entering the portal was reportedy by Verbal Commits among other outlets covering the transfer portal.
Utah State G Ian Martinez has entered the transfer portal. https://t.co/wgDFpNWfwX
— Verbal Commits (@VerbalCommits) April 3, 2024
Much like Osobor, Martinez had a career year with the Aggies. He set new career highs in virtually every category, averaging 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors, one of four Aggies to earn conference awards. Martinez had previously played at both Utah and Maryland.
The Aggies have now had four players enter the transfer portal. Landon Brenchley and Mason Falslev both entered on March 27, prior to the hiring of new head coach Jerrod Calhoun. Osobor and Martinez’s decision to enter the portal came after the introductory press conference and a meeting with Calhoun.
Should none of these players return, Utah State will have lost each of its top four leaders in points, rebounds and assists from this past season (Darius Brown, leaving due to the end of his eligibility, is top four in all three of those categories with Osobor, Martinez and Falslev being the others).
