The son of a Kentucky basketball legend is in the NCAA transfer portal for a second time
The son of a UK basketball legend is in the NCAA transfer portal for the second time, and there figures to be plenty of suitors for his basketball skill.
On Monday afternoon, New Mexico guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. entered the transfer portal. He is the son of former Kentucky and NBA star Jamal Mashburn, who helped lead Kentucky to a Final Four appearance in 1993 before embarking on a lengthy professional career.
The younger Mashburn was a four-star prospect out of high school in the 2020 recruiting class, and played his first college basketball season at Minnesota for head coach Richard Pitino, a son of former UK and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.
Richard Pitino was fired as Minnesota’s head coach following that 2020-21 season, and quickly found a new job as New Mexico’s head coach. Mashburn went with him as a transfer.
The two have been together in Albuquerque for the last three seasons, and over that span Mashburn blossomed into a dependable, penciled-in starter for the Lobos.
After averaging 8.2 points per game as a freshman at Minnesota, Mashburn averaged 18.2 points per game in the 2021-22 season, 19.1 points per game in the 2022-23 season and 14.1 points per game this season, as New Mexico won the Mountain West Conference Tournament and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014.
The Lobos were an 11 seed in this year’s March Madness and lost to 6 seed Clemson 77-56 in the first round. Mashburn had six points and one rebound in that game. He shot 1-for-11 from the field in that loss.
Now, the soon-to-be fifth-year guard is looking for a new school at which to finish his college career.
The NCAA transfer portal is open until May 1, and comes with some changes this year. The most significant change relates to the December news that the NCAA is allowing all athletes to transfer for a second time through the end of the 2023-24 season, without having to sit out a season.
Other transfer portal conditions include players having a 30-day window to enter the portal following a coaching change and graduate transfers being allowed to enter the portal at any time.
This story was originally published March 25, 2024 at 2:22 PM with the headline "The son of a Kentucky basketball legend is in the NCAA transfer portal for a second time."
