Jordan Geronimo next to enter transfer portal in IU basketball's offseason of change

IU basketball junior forward Jordan Geronimo is the latest Hoosiers player to enter the transfer portal, joining Tamar Bates and Logan Duncomb this offseason.

The bouncy forward with seemingly limitless athleticism struggled finding a consistent role in his three seasons. Geronimo started six times this season, but really fell out of the rotation late in the year as freshman Kaleb Banks became the preferred energy guy off the bench. Geronimo played more than four minutes in just one of IU's final nine games, and didn't feature at all in three of them, including the loss to Miami in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

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After Race Thompson's injury at Iowa in January, Geronimo had an impressive two-game stretch in important wins over Wisconsin and Illinois. He played 29 minutes vs. the Badgers and scored 12 points with a season-high 11 rebounds. The following game against the Illini, Geronimo played 30 minutes, scoring a season-high 13 points with eight rebounds.

He scored a combined 11 points the rest of the season.

Tapped as a potential breakout candidate this year, the 6-6, 225-pounder with the 40-inch vertical and the 7-foot wingspan appeared in 27 games but missed time with left and right leg injuries and a dislocated finger. He averaged 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds. Geronimo entered the transfer portal in 2021 after Archie Miller's firing, but was coaxed by Mike Woodson to return.

This was always expected to be an offseason of roster turnover with Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson and Miller Kopp all departing. On Wednesday, Ball State big man Payton Sparks announced he's transferring to IU, which will help shore up the frontcourt holes. In the backcourt, Jalen Hood-Schifino has an NBA draft decision awaiting him and if he goes, IU will have four scholarships available — possibly five if Xavier Johnson isn't rewarded a medical hardship.

Through multiple reports, Indiana has been in contact with a variety of portal prospects, such as Virginia center Kadin Shedrick, UIC guard Jace Carter, North Carolina forward Puff Johnson, Wyoming forward Graham Ike, Towson guard Nick Timberlake, Harvard forward Chris Ledlum and Minnesota forward Jamison Battle.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU basketball: Jordan Geronimo puts his name in transfer portal