GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It took until June, but the big Florida basketball picture came into much clearer focus Wednesday
with the official addition of fifth-year senior guard Zyon Pullin.
When combo guard Walter Clayton Jr. joined the program by way of Iona in early April, the Gators believed they got themselves a so-called "game-changer" in the 2023 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Pullin, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound first-team All-Big West Conference transfer from California-Riverside, just might deserve the "missing piece" label for a team that was searching for not just a true and veteran point guard, but one who could also score.
The projected UF backcourt in 2023-24 now shows sophomore
Riley Kugel, who blossomed into a 2023 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman selection, and junior guard and team No. 2 scorer
Will Richard as returning starters for Coach
Todd Golden's second team, plus a pair of proven scorers, tough and impact guys in Clayton and Pullin. Toss developing, hard-working sophomore
Denzel Aberdeen into the mix and the Gators look to have some enticing perimeter options after also rebuilding their front court with a trio of productive transfers (see links below).
Pullin, from Pleasant Hill, Calif., started 77 of 109 games at UC-Riverside, including all but one the last three seasons when he combined to average nearly 15 points, grab 4.5 rebounds and dish 4.3 assists over 33 minutes a game. Pullin's finest all-around season was his most recent, when he averaged 18.3 points, shot nearly 49 percent from the floor, 39.4 from the 3-point line and hit 77 percent of his free throws on a team that went 22-12 and finished third in the league.
He's a volume shooter (his 416 attempts last season were more than a hundred than any UF player took in '22-23), but an efficient one, with the overwhelming majority of his attempts coming from the 2-point area (only 66 attempts from beyond the arc in '22-23), where he hit 50.3 percent. Twelve times during the season he scored at least 20 points, with a season-high 30 against San Diego. Pullin's final game with the Highlanders was a 24-point, 4-rebound, 5-assist game in a loss to Santa Barbara in the Big West Tournament.
When the season ended, Pullin entered both the transfer portal
and NBA evaluation process. When he begged out of the latter the list of competing suitors included Gonzaga, Xavier, Michigan and LSU, with the Gators emerging with a high-priority, high-need target.
Last month, Florida went hard after North Texas 5-11 guard Tylor Perry, only to lose one of the nation's best pure shooters to Kansas State. So Golden and the Gators did more than just rally from that disappointment. Pullin is an outstanding late acquisition.
Zyon Pullin (5) averaged 18.3 points, shot 48.9 percent from the floor, 39.4 from the 3-point line and hit 77 percent of his free throws during the '22-23 season.
The Gators love Pullin's SEC size and ability to score on the ball, but they also fell for some of his advanced metrics, starting with an assist rate of 27.9 percent that ranked 111th nationally. He has a terrific feel for the game — a trait the team sorely lacked with several rotational players last season — and plays with an excellent pace, with an ability to change speeds and deke big-man defenders off ball screens.
Florida still has two scholarships available for depth purposes, but make that four guards on the roster already with resumes that show solid metrics as far as usage and effective field-goal percentages, with any three of them capable of playing together and the coaching staff feeling very good about it. Pullin is the only one with a pure point guard background, but Clayton (and Kugel at times) will take a turn on the ball.
Which of the three (Kugel, Richard, Clayton or Pullin) will start? Check back in the fall after they've gotten a chance to mesh. Ultimately, it may not matter because they're all going to play a ton of minutes.
Depth, especially when talented, always is a good problem to have.
IN CASE YOU MISSED
* Harry Fodder: How EJ Jarvis Fits In
* Harry Fodder: How Micah Handlogten Fits in
* Harry Fodder: How Walter Clayton Jr. Fits In
* Harry Fodder: How Alex Condon Fits In
* Harry Fodder: How Tyrese Samuel Fits In
