Rylan Jones reportedly enters transfer portal

Not until the team tips off this coming November/December will I have any confidence of what the Utah men’s basketball roster is going to look like. On Friday it has been reported that Utah point guard Rylan Jones has entered the transfer portal, and USU is the likely destination. Jones’ dad was on Coach K’s staff, and has had Utah ties going back to the Majerus era, and was not retained by Craig Smith.

Jones was a highly touted recruit that signed with the Utes and had a nice season and a half on the Hill, but injuries really slowed him down. Jones had a number of injuries his freshman year, and a shoulder/arm injury basically cut his season short this past season. He showed immense potential his freshman season averaging almost 10 points, 4.5 assists, and almost 3 rebounds per game. Those numbers were essentially cut in half his sophomore season, and just watching him he looked like he didn’t have much confidence on the floor. He didn’t shoot as much and really deferred a lot this past season.

Jones is a very smart player, but I wonder if his size is really going to hurt him staying on the floor because he is reckless with his body and he’s not a big dude. Almost every injury he’s gotten is due to getting on the floor and sacrificing his body.

Regardless, this is disappointing news as he would no doubt be a key player for the Utes in 2021. The question is if this news nudges Pelle Larsson back to Utah since point guard minutes have opened up.

This is going to be almost an entirely new Utah team in 2021, from coaching staff, support staff, and players.