Josh Ogundele Will Return to Iowa After Entering Transfer Portal

A little over two weeks ago, Iowa Hawkeyes' guard Joe Toussaint announced he was committing to play the rest of his collegiate basketball career in Morgantown for the West Virginia Mountaineers and Bob Huggins.

Iowa fans everywhere have been waiting anxiously to see where big man Josh Ogundele would be going next, as he entered the portal around the same time frame as Toussaint.

As it turns out, he won't be going anywhere. The center from London, England shared on his Twitter profile today that he'd be suiting up for the Hawkeyes once again in 2022.

Over two seasons in Iowa City, Ogundele has received limited action on the court. Though he was pivotal in several matchups with the Purdue Boilermakers this season, he totaled just 29 points, 24 rebounds, five blocks, and four steals in 19 games as a sophomore.

When he announced he was entering the transfer portal, it was assumed he'd be looking for a larger role elsewhere. He must not have found it.

When I spoke with David Eickholt, Hawkeye Insider for 247Sports, on Cornstalks and Sports Talk about Ogundele he told me the following:

With Ogundele's (decision), it wasn't really a shock to me. I didn't see a pathway to playing time with Filip Rebraca coming back. It was also pretty obvious Fran (McCaffrey) was going to go back into the portal for at least one more big.  I think Josh is probably still two years away (from contributing).

In another episode of CSAST, I discussed Ogundele with play-by-play voice for the Hawkeyes on KRUI in Iowa City, John Leo, he added this:

I'm not sure that he developed into the player that we had hoped he would be at this time. ... I think for him it's mainly the physical side of things when it comes to his development. ... He's definitely skilled and talented, (the issue is) staying in shape and developing (as a post presence).

Ogundele's decision to return comes almost a week after super-senior Connor McCaffrey shared he'd be back for his sixth year with the Hawkeyes.