Last year the Gators hit a home run with the addition of UC Riverside guard Zyon Pullin in the transfer portal. Averaging 15.5 points and 4.9 assists while taking care of the ball and running the offense things couldn’t have gone much better.
Unfortunately for the Gators, Pullin was a fifth-year senior meaning his eligibility is now exhausted. That means the Gators have big shoes to fill, and even if they see Walter Clayton as someone who is going to stick around and someone who could take some point guard abilities, they’d love to have someone who like Pullin has great size, great leadership, and the ability to distribute the ball.
Here are some of the top guards in the portal that the Gators could look at.
JP Pegues
Furman
Coached by Bob Richey, Furman has been a consistent winner at the mid-major level and has produced a number of talented, high-IQ guards that are always sought after when they become available. JP Pegues is next in that line following a junior season where he averaged 18.4 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. He stands at 6’1” and 185 pounds so he doesn’t have great size for the position–but he certainly has the IQ and leadership. Furman is perennially one of the most interesting and efficient offenses in the country and since they often play through the high post they need point guards that can generate clean catches for their bigs and then play off the ball. Many point guards are only comfortable with the rock but Pegues is just as comfortable off the ball setting screens, moving, and cutting, and would drastically increase the offensive IQ of any team he goes to. His ability off the ball is punctuated by his volume three-point shooting hitting 36% of his deep balls on 7.6 attempts per game. He also shot 88% from the free throw line–something Gator fans would love to see at the end of tight games. Another element Pegues would bring is NCAA Tournament experience as last year the Paladins won a game in the Big Dance with Pegues having 11 points and 4 assists versus Virginia and 10 points against San Diego State–two elite defenses. While Florida’s status with many targets is unconfirmed–they are definitely after Pegues. He already has a visit planned to Gainesville for the middle of April, so this is a player you’ll need to keep an eye on.
Jordan Pope
Oregon State
Things haven’t been great for the Beavers in recent years but they have had one bright spot–6’2” guard Jordan Pope. The Oakley, California native committed to Oregon State knowing he’d have an ability to contribute right away and that’s just what he did averaging 12.6 points and 2.3 assists per game as a freshman before taking a big leap last year as a sophomore averaging 17.6 points and 3.4 assists. Sure, the Pac-12 wasn’t particularly strong and the games weren’t always close, but he was able to be the best player on a team going up against Arizona, UCLA, and Colorado, and get valuable reps that have made him such a tantalizing talent in the portal. It’s not often guys that have scored 17.6 points per game with multiple years of eligibility remaining become available and he’s going to have his pick between a number of top college basketball programs. Pope can score in a number of ways, getting to the rim with his slippery dribble moves or by getting to his 37% career three-point shot on 5.3 attempts per game. You might even remember Pope from when the Gators played Oregon State last year as he was arguably the Beavers’ best player as a freshman, scoring 12 points and adding 5 assists. Pope can get buckets, he can dish out assists, and he’s done it all without a lot of help from his teammates. The one thing he’s missing is big-game experience, but he has shown all the tools offensively to be a weapon wherever he goes.
Frankie Collins
Arizona State
Another player the Gators have reached out to is Frankie Collins who has already cut his list to include Florida alongside TCU, SMU, San Diego State, Cal, and a return to Arizona State. Collins started his career at Michigan before transferring to Arizona State where he spent two seasons, averaging 13.8 points and 3.2 assists last year as a junior. Known as a bit of a microwave, Collins is someone that can get hot in a hurry, or go through some cold spells. He’s not a great shooter and instead relies on knifing to the rim for layups, a style that can overwhelm less athletic defenders but is also a style that can result in a lot of turnovers. Transition is certainly a strength and he can play the tempo that Florida wants to play at, though his ability to make half court reads is not anywhere near the level of the guard he’d be replacing in Zyon Pullin. Arizona State did not have a great season finishing 128th in KenPom and Collins hasn’t seen a lot of winning basketball, though coaching staffs like Florida’s will see the raw talent and think they can channel it more than what we’ve seen so far.
Koren Johnson
Washington
After Washington’s head coach Mike Hopkins was fired Koren Johnson put his name in the portal and it wasn’t long before he announced his top five schools: Florida, Oregon, UCLA, Indiana, and a possible return to Washington under new head coach Danny Sprinkle. Another player with multiple years of eligibility that the Gators are hoping to land, the sophomore Johnson just averaged 11.1 points and 2.7 assists per game. As a recruit he was the 127th ranked player in the class and has been on a solid trajectory in terms of development and the coaches recruiting him will be expecting a big leap from his sophomore to junior season. Johnson isn’t a super explosive athlete but has a nice handle and great feel. He doesn’t turn the ball over much, and he improved his three-point jumper to 37% this season. Washington played extremely fast and much of it was due to the play of Johnson who always keeps his head up with the dribble and can push the ball as well as anyone, and Florida will like to see that as they look to keep their pace high. Washington might have fired their coach after last season but the Huskies were 60th in KenPom, so it’s not like Johnson was playing in a bunch of uncompetitive games. The numbers might not jump off the page with him, but there is a lot to like on film and there is a chance in a new situation his game really takes off. With Florida in his list of top schools they should have a decent shot at landing his services.