ATHENS — Toumani Camara took a flier on returning to the Georgia basketball team so he could become a member of the Dayton Flyers, announcing his transfer there on Thursday.
RELATED: Camara ready to leave SEC, enters transfer portal
The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Camara was unable to put a dent in the SEC all-conference teams despite leading UGA with 7.7 rebounds per game and a modest 28 blocked shots.
Camara averaged 12.8 points per game, but he shot just 26.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (15 of 57) and 62.1 percent from the free-throw line, tied with Sahvir Wheeler for most attempts on the season.
Camara, from Brussels, Belgium, was offered by Dayton coming out of prep school. Camara visited Dayton and Kansas State, in addition to UGA, before committing to play for the Bulldogs.
The Flyers were 14-10 last season, finishing the season with a 71-60 loss to Memphis in the NIT.
Georgia, 14-12 last season, has landed a transfer themselves in Braelen Bridges, a 6-10, 225-pound post expected to provide the sort of rim defense that shorter Camara could not.
RELATED: Georgia basketball comes up big in transfer portal
There are more than 1,000 players in the NCAA Transfer Portal — more than 25 percent of the Division I scholarship players.
UGA coach Tom Crean released a statement last week on Camara’s decision to remove himself from the SEC.
“We truly appreciate Toumani’s contributions to our program,” Crean said. “But we all must realize this is how college athletics is played now, and it’s here to stay. We will use the NCAA portal to our advantage and work diligently to recruit young people that want to take full advantage of the tremendous education we have to offer and the incredible opportunity to be a part of our program.”
