Georgia basketball uga bulldogs justin kier tom crean

ATHENS — College basketball’s turbulent offseason of transfers and roster turnover amid the NCAA’s new one-time transfer legislation continued with Georgia graduate transfer Justin Kier entering the transfer portal Wednesday.

There have been 1,552 Division I players in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason, an average of more than four per team.

The attrition in the SEC has been particularly heavy, with every school losing at least five players to the portal and/or declaration for the NBA draft.

South Carolina (9) and Texas A&M (9) lead the way in that respect, followed by LSU and Mississippi State with 8 players apiece.

Georgia’s 7-player attrition matches the numbers at Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Coach Tom Crean, who is entering his fourth year as UGA head coach, has also added six players to the Bulldogs roster.

Earlier Wednesday, Georgia added hot-shooting guard Kario Oquendo, which may have prompted Kier’s decision to leave.

The Bulldogs also had graduate transfers P.J. Horne (Virginia Tech) and Andrew Garcia (Stony Brook) come into the program last summer. Neither Horne nor Garcia have announced if they plan to return and take advantage of the extra year of eligibility the NCAA has allowed for amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has been clear UGA has focused on adding reliable perimeter shooters and players who can thrive in Crean’s uptempo offense.

UGA incoming transfers

• Kario Oquendo (Florida Southwestern), 6-4, 194

• Jabri Abdur-Harim (Virginia) 6-7, 215

• Noah Baumann (Southern Cal) 6-6, 215

• Braelen Bridges (Illinois-Chicago), 6-10, 235

• Jailyn Ingram (Florida Atlantic), 6-7, 215

• Dalen Ridgnal (Cowley College), 6-6, 200

The Bulldogs’ incoming freshmen are:

• Tyrone Baker (Missouri City, Texas). 6-9, 200

• Camron McDowell (McEachern, Powder Springs, Ga.) 6-5, 180

• Christian Wright (Alpharetta), 6-3, 180