Texas Basketball: 3 new grad transfers the Horns should pursue this week
Zyon Pullin, G
More of an immediate impact guard target that the Longhorns could find in the portal at this point of the offseason is the former UC Riverside Highlanders senior guard Zyon Pullin. There aren’t many guards available in the portal at this point of the offseason that are as proven and impactful as Pullin.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported on May 17 that the two-time All-Big West guard was entering the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining this offseason.
Pullin is entering the portal as a graduate transfer, so he was able to enter after the May 11 window closed without having to worry about immediate eligibility at his next destination. Thus, Pullin could be one of the more appealing transfer guard options that could help to round out the backcourt rotation for Terry and the Longhorns heading into next season.
Now, before I cover what Pullin’s game looks like, I have to mention that it would take a sizable adjustment to his game if he wanted to play at Texas next season. Pullin played a good portion of his minutes over the last few seasons at UC Riverside at the point guard position.
Abmas is obviously the starting point guard for the Longhorns heading into next season. And unless Pullin would be willing to come off the bench as a spark plug of a second-unit guard hypothetically at Texas, he would need to play at the two or the three.
If Pullin is willing to hypothetically make an adjustment to play more of an off-ball guard/wing role at Texas, this could be a nice fit for the Longhorns heading into next season. Pullin is a quality on and off-ball scorer, as someone that can slash to the rim while shooting nearly 40 percent from deep.
He can beat opposing defenders in multiple ways, which would add another layer to this already budding dangerous offensive group on the 40 this offseason.
Pullin is also a decent defender that can switch between the one and the three. He’s posted a defensive box plus/minus better than 0.5 over the last three seasons at UC Riverside, showing his defense had a good but not great impact on winning on that end of the floor for the Highlanders.
The 6-foot-4 frame and above-average guard length that Pullin brings to the table would hypothetically allow him to play at the three on both ends.
Moreover, Texas seems to have found its top portal guard priority this spring in the former North Carolina Tar Heels junior Caleb Love. If you had to ask me, though, I think Pullin could actually be a better portal option than Love. Pullin is the more efficient scorer, better facilitator, and more effective defender compared to Love.