The Tennessee basketball program added significant size to its 2021-22 roster Wednesday when 7-foot forward Jonas Aidoo signed with the Volunteers.
A consensus national top-70 prospect from Durham, North Carolina, Aidoo (pronounced uh-DOO) plans to enroll at UT this summer and will be a freshman next season.
He is rated as high as No. 33 nationally in the Class of 2021 by Rivals.com, and he was tabbed as the top prospect in the state of North Carolina by the 247sports.com composite.
“Jonas comes from a wonderful support system, led by his mother, Regina,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “He’s a high-character young man and will fit our program well in that respect. I love that he is hungry to develop—both as a player and a person. He has set an extremely high standard for himself. He’s a very versatile player with a high basketball IQ, and he’s going to be fun to coach.”
Aidoo is currently completing a postgrad prep year at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was coached by Michael Wright. He averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks this season while shooting 68 percent.
Just last month at the Phenom HoopState Championship in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Aidoo posted a three-game scoring average of 17.3 points while leading Liberty Heights to the championship game.
As a high school senior in 2019-20, Aidoo averaged 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks per game at Durham Voyager Academy.
A growth spurt prior to his sophomore year saw Aidoo add five inches to his frame.
He played his AAU ball with Pro Skills Basketball’s Team Curry program, coached by Sim Frazier.
-UT Athletics
