This will be one of those Transfer Portal losses that haunts the Oklahoma Sooners.
On3's Joe Tipton reported Tuesday evening, the day the Transfer Portal opened for men's college basketball, that redshirt freshman forward Kuol Atak plans to transfer after just one season at OU and with three years of eligibility left to develop into even more.
Kuol Atak entering Transfer Portal at hands of Porter Moser
Atak, listed at 6-foot-9, got little opportunity while appearing in 24 games and averaging only 12.3 minutes a game in what will be his lone season in Norman. He averaged 7.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in that small sample size.
When given the chance, though, Atak always showed he deserved more. Just last week in the Sooners' overtime win against Colorado in the first round of the College Basketball Crown, early foul trouble forced head coach Porter Moser to play Atak for a season-high 27 minutes. Atak turned those minutes into 16 points thanks to four three-pointers, plus three rebounds, a block and a steal. The next game, though, his minutes plummeted to 10, then to four in OU's loss to West Virginia that ended the season.
Read more: Oklahoma's College Basketball Crown win makes it obvious who Porter Moser has to retain
Atak got at least 20 minutes of playing only four times during the season, and scored double-figures every time, including a career-high 24 points against Mississippi Valley State.
Although there could always be more behind the scenes, Atak looking elsewhere for more opportunity and to develop falls on Moser. Atak took advantage of every opportunity he got, yet was still never rewarded with more consistent playing time. And that was after redshirting and already paying his dues for a year as a four-star recruit and top-100 player in the class by On3 out of Haltom High School in Texas.
There's obviously potential in Atak to be a star one day, but it won't be for the Sooners as OU fans will be forced to witness from afar again another player that got away from Moser flourish somewhere else.