Houston guard Tramon Mark announced his final four schools on Wednesday, including the Gators alongside Arkansas, Kansas State, and Texas A&M.
Mark is quietly one of the best players in the transfer portal, starting and playing a load of minutes for a Houston team that was considered to be a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament before injuries slowed their momentum and gave the Cougars an early exit.
In addition to entering the transfer portal, Mark has entered the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Currently he isn’t expected to receive the kind of interest that would have him leave college, so he’s expected to play what will be his fourth season of college basketball.
Hailing from Dickerson, Texas, Mark was a top-100 recruit in 2020 who instantly made an impact for the Cougars as one of their highest-minute players. Entering his sophomore season he was expected to be one of the leaders for Houston before a shoulder injury ended his season only 7 games in. He returned this past season for the Cougars, starting every single game and averaging 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. These numbers, particularly in the context of playing for one of the best teams in the country, are impressive–though there is a chance he is ready for another major jump considering that he was still getting back to form this past season while returning from the shoulder injury.
Standing at 6’5” and weighing 195 pounds, Mark is a versatile wing who can play multiple positions, though for Houston he largely played the three offensively and guarded the opposing team’s best player, no matter the position. This is important to note when looking at Mark and his box score numbers–while they’re solid but may not jump off the page, it’s his defense that might be the strongest part of his game. Houston was 5th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom and Mark’s work as a shutdown wing played a huge role in that. Cougars basketball is all about toughness and physicality and Mark embodied that with his fearless defensive effort.
Offensively, Mark is a player who was best with the ball in hands trying to break down a player one on one. When it was a late clock situation or the Cougars wanted to take advantage of an opposing player in space, it was often Mark who was called upon. He has a quick first step and is physical driving the ball, shaking defenders off their spot as he moves towards the rim. The one negative of this style of ball is that Mark was not particularly efficient. He took a lot of tough shots, and that led to him shooting 43% from two-point range and 33% from three. This is also something that will hurt his pro prospects, so wherever he ends up next–improving efficiency will be the main focus.
It’s not often a starter from one of the best teams in the country enters the transfer portal and that makes Mark an intriguing target. He has big game experience with 8 NCAA Tournament games under his belt and he could play a leadership role for a Florida team that hasn’t been to the Dance in several years.
When it comes to projecting which players in the transfer portal could contribute at the high major level it’s often a difficult question, but the track record of Mark makes it pretty certain that he’s going to be an elite player wherever he ends up next. While there may be questions about his offensive efficiency–even if that doesn’t improve you know Mark is going to bring elite defense on the other end.
Because of Mark’s proven defense and production for a stellar Houston team it’s going to be a difficult recruitment against the teams that remain in the running. Recently in an interview, Mark said he would make his decision in “the next couple of days.”