Jairus Hamilton Enters Transfer Portal

The bad news keeps coming for the Eagles as it has been reported by Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) via the Rivals NCAA Transfer Portal Twitter page (https://twitter.com/RivalsPortal/status/1241084279196696578) that sophomore forward Jairus Hamilton has entered the transfer portal. Hamilton averaged 9.5 points per game, 4.3 rebound per game, and shot the ball 42.8% from the field in what was an injury hampered season where he missed several games.

This a huge blow for the Eagles. Hamilton was likely set to be the Eagles’ primary wing player (pun not intended) and his departure leaves a hole there. This places even more importance on the Eagles reported pursuit of Yale forward Jordan Bruner as reported by SI’s BCBulletin’s A.J. Black and are among several schools trying to attract Quinnipiac forward Kevin Marfo as reported by 247sports.com’s Evan Daniels. If the Eagles are not able to grab either player, it may be that we see Kamari Williams step into the role, as the freshman showed promise toward the end of the season. Williams may have potential but lacks the experience that Hamilton would have brought to the role. The loss of Hamilton will be one more hurdle the Eagles will have to overcome next season.

Jairus brother Jared Hamilton graduated this year and one has to wonder if that played a factor in his decision to leave BC. Hamilton was a four star recruit who chose BC over schools such as Duke, Arizona, Florida, and UNC. This came around the time that Jared transferred to BC from Georgia Southern. With Jared gone, there is no familial tie which certainly played a factor in Jairus’s original commitment. That is not to say that Jairus is leaving BC because his brother is no longer there but it does suggest that there are not enough reasons for Hamilton to stay.

Some will link this news to reports that Chris Herren Jr. has also entered the transfer portal but I do not see any correlation. Herren didn’t get a lot of playing time this year and with the return of Wynston Tabb and Makai Ashton-Langford (who was not eligible to play this past season due to transfer rules), it’s not a surprising move.

The Hamilton news is bit of a different case as Hamilton was certainly set to be a key piece of the Eagles lineup in 2020-21. Hamilton is turning down significant playing time next year to go somewhere else. Much as been made about the future of head coach Jim Christian and of the state of the BC program and this news doesn’t confirm anything but fans will use this as a reason to call for Christian’s job or say that it is a sign that Christian is on his way out. I would posit that this should raise more questions about the program as a whole and not just Coach Christian. This is very much a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” situation it is just we can’t determine what that fire is. There are plenty of reason to suppose why Jairus Hamilton is transferring but no solid evidence to support any of it.

What can be said with certainty is that this is a huge blow for the Eagles and dampers some of the optimism fans may have had for the team in 2020-21.