Texas Basketball: 3 immediate stars to find in the transfer portal

Marcus Bagley, SF

Another two-guard that could be a similar fit in Beard’s system to what Hamilton would bring to the table is the former Arizona State Sun Devils two-way forward Marcus Bagley. All three of the players in the transfer portal on this list are some of the best remaining available at this point of the offseason. But purely numbers speaking, Bagley might be the most potent of the trio.

With the UNLV Rebels standout junior shooting guard/wing Bryce Hamilton taking his name out of the transfer portal late last month, Bagley is one of the best remaining proven commodities on the wing at the moment. It does look as if Mahan and Bagley are two of the best remaining players in the transfer portal that can fill a role on the wing.

Granted, Bagley is much larger than Hamilton or Mahan, standing at 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds. The problem with the Longhorns pursuing Bagley is the fact that they could really clog up the forward rotation by getting him out of the transfer portal. He might be able to fill almost the exact same role as someone like Bishop, Allen, or Tyson.

Last season, Bagley averaged 10.8 points per game, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks, in just a dozen games played during his true freshman campaign. And he shot roughly 39 percent from the field, 35 percent from beyond the arc, and 72 percent from the charity stripe.

Texas would be getting a former borderline five-star recruit that is still very early on in his career, and definitely has NBA-caliber talent. That would have to be the main draw if Beard was to bring in yet another forward this offseason. But purely in terms of the star potential, it’s hard to ignore Bagley in the portal.