Dwon Odom has entered the transfer portal

There’s no good way to spin this as good news, but Dwon Odom has hit the transfer portal. This season Odom averaged 6.3/2.0/2.2 and posted a .584/.804/.333 shooting line. His assist rate dropped to 20.1% while his turnover rate shot up over over ten points to 24.9%. Despite that, Odom posted a 108.7 offensive efficiency rating and a rating over 116 in conference play.

That’s the statistical story. On the court Odom was a threat to get into the lane every time he had the ball and shot near as makes no difference 60% once he was inside the arc. He leaping ability made him a threat to erase any shot, even one from his man. The difficulty, obviously, was the fact that Odom simply cannot shoot the ball from range at all. He made two threes this year and one of them was a chest pass that went awry. A guard with no shot is difficult to always find time for. Odom’s defense also seemed to be less than it could have been given his prodigious physical gifts.

Still, Dwon was a key returning piece. He can run an offense, the players on the team trust him, and he was the kind of guy that could make big plays and didn’t seem to shy away from big moments. He was excellent in the NIT final, scoring 18 on 8-12 from the floor without attempting a three pointer.

There’s no saying where Dwon would have fit in a Sean Miller offense. I won’t pretend to know exactly the ins and outs of what MIller wants from a point guard. Theoretically, the playing time competition at the point next season will involve Kyky Tandy. Desmond Claude, and Adam Kunkel. The transfer portal also works the other way, and it stands to reason that Miller will be looking to bring someone in.

It’s impossible to see the rumors that Jonas Hayes is debarking to Georgia or Georgia State as not playing a role in Odom’s decision. If Hayes stays, maybe Odom will as well. Just last season a Xavier player entered the portal and then came back. Perhaps that will happen again. For now, though, it just looks like Xavier has lost their most physically explosive player for next season. The knowledge that players are finally being allowed the freedom they always should have had doesn’t make departures like these any easier to take.