In the modern era of college basketball, the transfer portal affects every team at every level with players having immediate eligibility at new schools. Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team is no exception.
The Skyhawks have three players enter the transfer portal so far. Biko Johnson, Chuol Deng and AJ Riggs are all exploring their options in the transfer portal, FLC head coach Jordan Mast confirmed.
Each player contributed in Mast’s first year as FLC’s head coach as the Skyhawks went 19-12 overall and 12-8 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Johnson led the team and was second in the RMAC in scoring with 16.3 points per game. He averaged 27.5 minutes per game, shot 40% from the field, 35% from 3-point range and 74% from the free-throw line.
A senior from Carson, California, Johnson spent one year with the Skyhawks and has ran out of eligibility at the Division II level. A new ruling allows athletes who spent time at a junior college to have an extra year of eligibility at the Division I level.
Jake Lieberman reported on X that Johnson has heard from Division I schools like Evansville, Cal State Fullerton, Charleston Southern, Idaho and Fresno State.
Deng was second on the team in scoring with 13.4 PPG in 27.5 MPG. He shot 40% from the field, 33% from 3-point range and 74% from the free-throw line. Deng also led the Skyhawks with 7.9 rebounds per game.
The 6-foot-7-inch forward spent one year with the Skyhawks and has one year of eligibility remaining. Mast said Deng has the option of coming back to FLC. Deng is likely drawing interest from multiple Division I schools.
“Both of them were fantastic and did exactly what we needed,” Mast said about Deng and Johnson. “When we took over and had no players here we knew we had to get a few older guys that had experience and had success and to keep us competitive. One thing that we did not want was a full rebuild where we had to take a lot of losses … Chuol and Biko were great examples the entire year. They showed the work ethic necessary, physicality necessary and attention to detail necessary to be successful. That helped build a fantastic foundation.”
Riggs came on strong at the end of the year as an outside shooting threat for the Skyhawks. The freshman averaged 6.1 PPG on 50% shooting from the field, 45% from 3-point range and 91% from the free-throw line in 12.2 MPG
Mast said Riggs is exploring his options and he thinks there’s a chance Riggs will come back to FLC.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
