Last week the Gators got some unfortunate news when it was announced that guard Zyon Pullin would be missing the first three games of the season due to a NCAA suspension. The crime? Pullin played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, an event for graduated seniors to put their skills on display in front of scouts. Historically this has meant only players who have exhausted their eligibility would partake, but with the extra COVID year players like Pullin have participated, and since the Portsmouth Invitational isn’t a NCAA certified event–punishment has always followed.
Florida was aware of the possibility for an incoming suspension for Pullin when they recruited him, but the few games he was going to miss wasn’t enough for the Gators to lose interest.
The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament was back in April–long before Pullin entered the portal and long before he committed to Florida. This event offers an extremely competitive environment and a high quality of competition, so it’s worth looking back and seeing how Pullin performed to possibly see what it could mean for his level of production at Florida.
Remember that unlike other combines that skew towards younger, higher upside talent–Portsmouth is all veteran players between 22-24 years old, all of which are hungry to prove their upside. If Pullin could perform well here, it’s a positive sign for what he could bring to Florida.
Before games took place, measurements and athletic testing occurred.
Pullin measured at 6’4” without shoes and 6’5.25” in shoes, essentially confirming the 6’5” he was listed at while playing for UC Riverside. Pullin’s excellent length for the point guard position is a big part of his game, so confirming this measurement is a positive sign for how he’ll look on an SEC floor. With a 6’5.5” wingspan he might not have crazy length, but it’s still going to be solid for the point guard position, as is the 199 pounds he weighed in at.
In terms of athletic testing, Pullin didn’t particularly shine. This won’t be a massive surprise, as if he had elite size, great feel for the game, and athleticism–he’s probably not in college anymore. His 28.5” vertical leap isn’t going to jump off the page, nor will his 3.345 second reaction shuttle and 11.586 second lane agility time, both of which were near the bottom of the guard groups. Pullin is always going to be a player whose length and savvy are more important than quickness and dexterity, though if you’re looking for any reason he could see struggle at the SEC level–perhaps this is it. Closing things out on a brighter note, Pullin’s ¾ court sprint time was solid at 3.364 seconds, holding up with a lot of smaller, quicker guards.
After the athletic testing were the scrimmages, and this is really where it was great to see Pullin playing against some of the best players in the country. Here are the numbers he put up in the three games:
Game 1
27 Minutes
12 Points
4 Assists
2 Rebounds
0 Steals
0 Blocks
2 Turnovers
3-4 Field Goal
0-0 Three-Point
6-6 Free Throw
Game 2
23 Minutes
2 Points
3 Assists
2 Rebounds
4 Steals
0 Blocks
2 Turnovers
1-2 Field Goal
0-0 Three-Point
0-0 Free Throw
Game 3
27 Minutes
13 Points
3 Assists
2 Rebounds
0 Steals
0 Blocks
2 Turnovers
6-11 Field Goal
1-1 Three-Point
0-0 Free Throw
Overall, it was a very positive performance for Pullin who was a key player on a team that also featured one of the best passing point guards in the country in Saint Louis’ Yuri Collins. Pullin commanded the ball in key moments in the game, and was an efficient scorer in two of three contests. The pick and roll is where Pullin is at his best, and many of his assists came out of these actions. Even against seasoned college veterans Pullin was able to get to where he wanted to at the floor, and he knocked down a number of the smooth mid-range jumpers he was known for at UC Riverside.
One of the biggest concerns for Pullin is that in three games and 77 minutes of action he only took one three-pointer. He did hit it which was great to see–but it was a wide open attempt where the defense dared him to shoot knowing that he had no interest in shooting threes after two games of not even looking at the rim from behind the arc. It’s difficult to have success at the high-major level as a guard who isn’t a threat to shoot and you would have liked to have seen Pullin show the confidence to take more jumpers–even if they weren’t falling.
If you want to look on the bright side, Pullin was still able to score efficiently and run a good offensive system without the threat of the jumper which isn’t easy to do.
Overall, the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament was a very positive showing for Pullin who proved his game can translate against top level competition. Was the experience worth the three game suspension to start the 2023-24 season? It’s hard to say–but he should come into Florida with a lot of confidence.