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Texas basketball player Alex Anamekwe enters transfer portal after two seasons in Austin

Thomas Jones
Austin American-Statesman

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Forward Alex Anamekwe did not accompany the Texas basketball team to the NCAA Tournament and has entered the transfer portal, an official with the program confirmed Friday.

Anamekwe, a 6-foot-5 sophomore from McKinney, played in just six games for a total of 10 minutes, 35 seconds this season for the Longhorns (21-12), who were set to face Tennessee in a second-round game at 7 p.m. Saturday. The former three-star recruit was ranked as the 15th-best prospect in Texas by 247Sports for the 2022 class after helping McKinney win a Class 6A state championship but could never garner any significant minutes with the Longhorns. A stellar student, he did earn academic All-Big 12 honors as a freshman.

Texas forward Alex Anamekwe, dribbles toward the basket during a scrimmage against St. Edward's in October. A former star at McKinney High School outside of Dallas, the sophomore forward has entered the transfer portal and is not with the Longhorns in Charlotte, N.C., for the NCAA Tournament.

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The NCAA spring transfer portal opened Monday and will stay open until May 1, much to the chagrin of college coaches trying to navigate the postseason. At last week's Big 12 Tournament, Texas' Rodney Terry stressed the need to stay organized and have a staff able to handle any quick transfer moves.

“We can’t really worry about the portal a whole lot (right now)," Terry told reporters before his team fell to Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. "We’ll get to the portal when we need to get to it, but right now, we’re trying to win a postseason game.”