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College basketball transfer portal: Colorado State transfer John Tonje commits to Missouri, per report – 247Sports
Prized Colorado State transfer John Tonje is off the board. Tonje visited Missouri this weekend and committed to the Tigers Monday, according to Joe Tipton. Tonje garnered significant interest quickly after entering the transfer portal. Kansas, Michigan, Illinois, Memphis, Xavier, Utah, LSU, TCU, Nebraska, Iowa State, Virginia, Ohio State and Arkansas all reached out to Tonje, according to a report by Stockrisers’ Jake Weingarten.
An Omaha (Neb.) native, Tonje last season averaged career highs in points (14.6), rebounds (4.7), assists (1.3), steals (0.8) and minutes (31.0). Tonje is a career 45.2% shooter, including 37.2% from three. Last season, he shot 47.3% from the field and 38.9% from three. He also is a career 81.0% shooter from the free-throw line.
It’s a big win for Missouri coach Dennis Gates after a strong Year 1 with the Tigers. Missouri finished 25-10 in 2022-23 and earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Missouri knocked off Utah State 76-65 in the first round before falling to Princeton in the Round of 32.
Tonje fills a huge hole on the wing for a Missouri roster that will lose second-leading scorer D’Moi Hodge. Missouri could also lose leading scorer Kobe Brown and fellow double-digit, bucket-getter DeAndre Gholston. Both Brown and Gholston could opt to return for a fifth season.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Brown said after being honored on a senior night win over Ole Miss. “I am going to just wait until after the season to start thinking about that stuff.”
The college basketball transfer portal opened March 13 and runs until May 11.
Numerous graduate transfers already entered the transfer portal prior to the March 13 opening, but that date kicked off the 60-day window for the rest of the prospective transfers to hop in the portal to examine their options. The one-time transfer rule is still intact, per usual. If a player has not transferred yet, they are immediately eligible.
“I wish that it would start a little later than the day right after Selection Sunday,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood told Fox Sports’ John Fanta. “You would hope you don’t have someone on your team, as you’re heading to the tournament, who is looking at the portal, but I would also be wrong to say that it won’t happen. Somebody who isn’t playing or getting minutes is going to be looking for a new destination. I’ll be shocked if there’s a tournament team not dealing with that, and look, you have to stay on top of transfers at every moment because that’s essential in building a roster.”
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Name, Image and Likeness deals are going to be a factor in the transfer portal. It’s no coincidence that some of the teams who continue to dominate the transfer portal also have structured NIL collectives set up.
Illini Inquirer’s Jeremy Werner contributed to this report.
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