Texas Basketball: 3 important transfer portal targets for June

Kevin Samuel, C

One of my personal favorite new entrants to the transfer portal early in the month of June is the former TCU Horned Frogs 6-foot-11 and 255-pound big man Kevin Samuel. This junior center was solid for head coach Jamie Dixon and the Horned Frogs last season, but he decided to put his name in the transfer portal pretty late in this offseason.

That could be something that works out well for the Longhorns when it’s all said and done, though. Especially if the Longhorns wind up missing out on the commitment of the former UMass Minutemen sophomore big man Tre Mitchell this summer, Samuel could be a good place to turn to next.

Texas doesn’t really have a proven traditional big man in the sense of what Samuel showed he could do for the Horned Frogs of late coming back this season. That is unless former standout senior big man Jericho Sims doesn’t find any luck in taking his talents to the next level and returns to the Forty Acres next season.

Samuel was very productive and efficient for the Horned Frogs in the past few seasons. Last season, he averaged 8.8 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.7 blocks. And he shot 62.5 percent from the field and a rather poor 39 percent from the free-throw line.

Outside of the bad free-throw shooting, Samuel’s numbers are about as good as it gets for a traditional big man in the portal if this is where the Longhorns wind up turning. He’s good defensively and a force on the boards. He’s got nearly 10 career wins, a 6.0 box plus/minus, and 22.8 player efficiency rating under his belt for his career.