Since the disappointing loss to Abilene Christian in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, three players have left the basketball program. Royce Hamm and Donovan Williams entered the transfer portal, and Kai Jones entered the NBA draft. The decisions of Matt Coleman, Andrew Jones, Courtney Ramey and Jericho Sims are pending.
With how thin Texas’ roster could be by the summer, Shaka Smart, if he is still the head coach, will need to hit the transfer portal hard. Northeastern’s Tyson Walker could be a great start.
Jeff Goodman of Stadium is reporting Walker will make his decision this weekend. The finalists include Kansas, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Texas and Vanderbilt.
Northeastern guard Tyson Walker told @Stadium he will make a decision this weekend between Maryland, Michigan St, Texas, Kansas, Vanderbilt and Miami. Absolutely love Walker’s game. Sophomore guard averaged 18.8 ppg last season.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 24, 2021
During his sophomore season, Walker averaged 18.8 points per game, shooting 44.4% from the floor. Getting into the paint and finishing at the rim is where Walker excels as a point guard. He took nearly nine shots inside the 3-point arc a game, finishing over 50% of the time.
Northeastern played in the CAA, the No. 16 conference in the country per the NET. Walker played against three major conference foes: Georgia, Syracuse and West Virginia. In those games, he averaged 12.0 points and 4.3 assists.
When sizing up Texas’ competition for Walker, getting past Kansas and Michigan State is going to be tough. Both teams struggled without a true point guard, leading to early NCAA Tournament exits. Bill Self and Tom Izzo are two of the best in the game as well, which would be hard for Walker to turn down.