Syracuse Basketball: Pitt center, brother of former 4-star recruit, enters portal

Pittsburgh junior center Federiko Federiko, whose brother held a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball, is entering the transfer portal, according to multiple media reports.

The X account PortalUpdates noted on Friday that the 6-foot-11, 225-pound Federiko has entered the portal, which opened on Monday and will run for 45 days.

Federiko, who hails from Helsinki, Finland, averaged around 21 minutes per game during the 2023-24 season for the Panthers, a fellow Atlantic Coast Conference group that some say got snubbed on Selection Sunday for this spring's NCAA Tournament.

Pitt (22-11, 12-8 in the ACC), while it lost its two-game set with the Orange in the regular season, finished at No. 4 in the ACC standings.

Last Sunday, when the field of 68 was announced, the Panthers were left out, and their lack of inclusion was a hot-button topic among commentators over the past week. Similar to the 'Cuse, Pitt opted out of the 2024 NIT, assuming the Panthers would have received an invite to the 32-team field (my guess is they would have been selected).

Syracuse basketball has already seen several 2023-24 players enter the transfer portal.

In 2023-24, Federiko appeared in all 33 games for Pittsburgh. According to ESPN data, he averaged 21.3 minutes, 4.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.3 blocks per contest, while connecting on 63.7 percent from the field.

During the 2022-23 term, Federiko averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per affair, while making 66.7 percent of his field-goal attempts.

Before joining the Panthers, he played his final season of high school at the First Love Christian Academy in Washington, Pa. Per his bio on the Pittsburgh athletics department Web site, Federiko represented Finland during the FIBA U18 European Championship in 2019.

Federiko's younger brother is a former Syracuse basketball target. Okku Federiko, a 2024 four-star power forward, picked up a scholarship offer from the Orange in late January of 2023.

The 6-foot-9 Federiko, who has played for the Omnia Basketball Academy in Espoo, Finland, had offers from the 'Cuse, South Carolina, Duquesne and Pittsburgh. Last November, he officially signed with South Carolina out of the Southeastern Conference.

Within the 2024 cycle, On3 ranks Federiko in the top 90 overall and the No. 15 power forward.

In the 2023-24 campaign, Syracuse basketball had four centers on its roster, as well as power forward Maliq Brown, who was the team's starting center in the second half of this term after junior Naheem McLeod, unfortunately, suffered a season-ending injury.

Since the transfer portal opened this past Monday, I've seen a lot of talented and intriguing centers declare that they are entering the portal.