Tag: Zyon Pullin

Phoenix Suns sign former Florida forward Tyrese Samuel on Exhibit-10 deal

After going undrafted, former Florida forward Tyrese Samuel is joining the Phoenix Suns on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Former Florida forward Tyrese Samuel has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Phoenix Suns, according to DraftExpress director of scouting Jon Chepkevich.

An Exhibit 10 contract is essentially a tryout contract that allows teams to bring in extra bodies for the summer. The ones who prove themselves worthy get their contract converted to a two-way deal. That’s the hope for Samuel, who was Florida’s most impactful big man in the 2023-24 season.

A grad transfer out of Seton Hall, Samuel started all 36 games in his lone season at Florida. He was named to the Associated Press All-SEC Second Team after averaging 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. His 11 double-doubles put him ninth on the school’s all-time leaderboard. He also posted the third-most offensive rebounds in a single season with 102.

Samuel is the second Florida Gator to sign a deal with an NBA team after going undrafted. First-Team All-SEC guard [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] signed a two-way deal with the Miami Heat on Thursday night.

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Former Florida G Zyon Pullin signs two-way deal with Miami Heat

Florida point guard Zyon Pullin has signed a two-way contract with the Miami Heat after going undrafted.

The Miami Heat signed former Florida guard [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] to a two-way contract, according to Jacob Rudner of Swamp247.

The two-way contract has become a more common path to the NBA for players who go undrafted, made evident by former Florida forward Alex Fudge’s time with the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks organizations this year. Fudge made six combined appearances this season.

Pullin is a far more refined player than Fudge was. After a four-year career at UC Riverside, Pullin transferred to Florida and delivered a First Team All-SEC performance, even though he missed the first few games of the year because of an NCAA violation pertaining to the draft.

The starting point guard led Florida with 162 assists and ranked second with 15.5 points per game. He also averaged 3.9 rebound, recorded 30 steals, and set a program record with a 3.77 assist-to-turnover ratio — the best number posted by any SEC player in the 2000s.

The Sun Sentinel previewed this pairing when the Heat hosted Pullin for a pre-draft workout on Thursday. The 6-foot-4 point guard saw it coming too.

“I’m very familiar with the Heat and two-ways,” Pullin said at the Kaseya Center on Thursday in front of Miami’s coaching staff. “I think that’s something about the Heat — if you compete, you play hard, you have an opportunity to play.”

Pullin will play for the Heat’s Summer League team.

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Zyon Pullin: NBA draft scouting report

2001 | 6’5 | 6’5.5 WS | 199 LBS Team: Florida Agent: Greer Love Best aggregate mock draft rank : 54 Best/ Worst rank: NR 2023-24 stats: In 2023-24, Pullin averaged 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 0.1 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game. He shot …

2001 | 6’5 | 6’5.5 WS | 199 LBS

Team: Florida

Agent: Greer Love

Best aggregate mock draft rank: 54 Best/ Worst rank: NR

2023-24 stats:

In 2023-24, Pullin averaged 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 0.1 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game. He shot 44.4 percent from the field, 44.9 percent from three, and 84.7 percent from the foul line.

Florida basketball to host Virginia Cavaliers for rematch in SEC-ACC Challenge

Florida will be looking to get revenge for its early season loss to Virginia in the SEC-ACC Challenge this fall.

The Southeastern Conference released the details for this year’s slate of SEC-ACC Challenge college basketball games for the event’s second season on Wednesday.

The announcement included the rematch between the Florida Gators and Virginia Cavaliers from last year’s Hall of Fame Game. In the second game of the 2023-24 campaign, the Cavs outlasted the Gators, 73-70, in a game that Todd Golden’s team gave away in the final minutes.

It is worth noting that eventual starting guard [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] missed the game as he sat out three games as a result of his participation in the Portsmouth Invitational. Had the graduate transfer guard been eligible to play, things might have ended differently — but the past is the past.

The two schools have met just four times prior on the collegiate parquet, with the Orange and Blue previously notching a 65-39 win in 2017 on Orlando’s neutral court. Florida also prevailed over Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

The television network designation and tip-off time for the Gators-Cavaliers matchup are still to be determined.

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Gators drop a spot in CBS Sports early basketball power rankings

Florida basketball slipped out of the top 20 in CBS Sports’ most recent top 25 and 1 rankings.

The college basketball transfer portal continues to be active despite the closure of the entry process as the remaining prospects seek greener pastures at other schools.

CBS Sports writer Gary Parrish has been updating his college basketball top 25-and-1 rankings during the offseason, accounting for the portal coups along the way, and has the Florida Gators among his top teams in the nation.

The Orange and Blue have been bouncing around in the lower half of the rankings but have held tightly to the No. 20 spot over the last few updates. However, Parrish dropped [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s gang a spot in this one to No. 21 after some changes in the teams ahead of them.

“This ranking is based on Todd Golden’s Gators returning six of the top nine scorers — everybody besides [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag], [autotag]Tyrese Samuel[/autotag] and [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] — from a team that secured a No. 7 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament,” his blurb reads, unchanged from weeks before.

“The transfer-portal additions of [autotag]Alijah Martin[/autotag] (FAU) and [autotag]Sam Alexis[/autotag] (Chattanooga) give Florida a pair of productive mid-major pieces, the former of whom helped Florida Atlantic make the 2023 Final Four.”

Florida ranks No. 31 in 247Sports’ college basketball transfer rankings having collected a trio of four-star recruits from the portal.

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Florida basketball slips a spot in latest CBS Sports too-early rankings

The Gators are still a top-20 team in the top 25-and-1 rankings from CBS Sports.

College basketball is not exactly on the forefront of the national sports picture but there is always someone out there tracking the preseason progress of the top teams. CBS Sports writer Gary Parrish has been publishing his top 25-and-1 rankings on a weekly basis and has included the Florida Gators in all of his updates so far.

This time around, however, the Gators fell a notch from their spot in last week’s update, landing at No. 20 out of 26 ranked schools. The Orange and Blue are one of seven Southeastern Conference schools listed, including the Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 8), Auburn Tigers (No. 10), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 11), Tennessee Volunteers (No. 16), Texas Longhorns (No. 21) and Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 23).

“This ranking is based on Todd Golden’s Gators returning six of the top nine scorers — everybody besides [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag], [autotag]Tyrese Samuel[/autotag] and [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] — from a team that secured a No. 7 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament,” his blurb still reads.

“The transfer-portal additions of [autotag]Alijah Martin[/autotag] (FAU) and [autotag]Sam Alexis[/autotag] (Chattanooga) give Florida a pair of productive mid-major pieces, the former of whom helped Florida Atlantic make the 2023 Final Four.”

Florida ranks No. 28 in 247Sports’ college basketball transfer rankings having collected a trio of four-star recruits from the portal.

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All-American Caleb Love headlines list of invitees for G League Elite Camp

Arizona senior Caleb Love was among the 45 players invited to participate in the G League Elite Camp on May 11-12 in Chicago, Illinois.

Arizona senior Caleb Love was among the 45 players invited to participate in the 2024 NBA G League Elite Camp May 11-12 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

Love was voted a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and the Pac-12 Player of the Year after averaging 18 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals on 41.3% shooting from the field with the Wildcats. He finished fourth in the conference in scoring.

The 6-foot-4 guard transferred to Arizona in May 2023 after spending three years at North Carolina. He finished with 1,476 career points in 101 games with the Tar Heels and made 200 3-pointers, which ranks eighth in program history.

The full list of players invited to the G League Elite Camp:

Player Previous
Mark Armstrong Villanova
Taran Armstrong Cairns Taipans (NBL)
Adama Bal Santa Clara
Keion Brooks Jr. Washington
Terrell Burden Kennesaw State
Branden Carlson Utah
Walter Clayton Jr. Florida
Isaiah Crawford Louisiana Tech
Yongxi Cui Guangzhou (China)
Clarence Daniels New Hampshire
Thierry Darlan G League Ignite
Garwey Dual Providence
Sean East II Missouri
Jesse Edwards West Virginia
Boogie Ellis USC
Tristan Enaruna Cleveland State
Aaron Estrada Alabama
Allen Flanigan Mississippi
Enrique Freeman Akron
Blake Hinson Pitt
Jaelen House New Mexico
Isaac Jones Washington State
Arthur Kaluma Kansas State
Chaz Lanier North Florida
Jaedon LeDee San Diego State
Xaivian Lee Princeton
Jalen Lewis Overtime Elite
Malique Lewis Mexico City Capitanes (G League)
Caleb Love Arizona
Baba Miller Florida State
Emanuel Miller TCU
Judah Mintz Syracuse
Matthew Murrell Mississippi
Baye Ndongo Georgia Tech
Jameer Nelson Jr. TCU
Ugonna Onyenso Kentucky
Wooga Poplar Miami (Fla.)
Zyon Pullin Florida
Mantas Rubstavicius NZ Breakers (NBL)
Babacar Sane G League Ignite
Isaiah Stevens Colorado State
Jarin Stevenson Alabama
Nae’Qwan Tomlin Memphis
Bryson Warren Sioux Falls Skyforce (G League)
Anton Watson Gonzaga

The 45 prospects invited to the G League Elite Camp were voted on by team executives. The list of players typically indicates those with the highest odds of being selected or signed as undrafted free agents with teams after the draft on June 27.

The event will feature 5-on-5 games, strength and agility testing, shooting drills, measurements and other related on-court exercises. Prospects will have the opportunity to improve their draft stock in a competitive environment against their peers.

The top players from the G League Elite Camp will be invited to participate in the draft combine on May 12-19. The event has helped several players advance to the combine and eventually make it to the NBA, including Jose Alvarado, Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Terance Mann.

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Pair of Gators prepare for G League Elite Camp this weekend

Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. will be working out this weekend in hopes of elevating their NBA draft chances.

The Florida basketball program will be represented by two Gators this year at the G League Elite Camp in Chicago. Guards [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] and [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. — the latter of which can still return to the team if the draft waters seem too cold — will showcase their talents in front of NBA coaches and front-office officials from May 11-12.

Clayton was included in the initial announcement on Saturday, which put him among the first 44 players named to the camp. Pullin got the call on Monday, pairing him up with his backcourt teammate from last season. The two were omitted from the NBA draft combine invitation list, but a strong showing this weekend could elevate them into consideration.

The two were added to Florida’s roster ahead of the 2023-24 campaign via the transfer portal as a part of [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s successful personnel reload. The dynamic duo was largely responsible for the Gators’ highest-scoring season in program history, as well as getting the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons.

The Orange and Blue’s 24-12 overall record was the best since the 2016-17 campaign (27-9) and it reached its first SEC Tournament finals since 2014.

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Golden, Gators guard duo respond to Florida’s loss at South Carolina

Here’s what members of the team had to say about the win that got away on the road.

Florida basketball’s woes against zone defense continued on Saturday afternoon in Columbia where the South Carolina Gamecocks fought back from a double-digit deficit to prevail over the Gators, 82-76. Once again, [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s team led for 3/4 of the game only to squander the lead in the final 10 minutes.

The Orange and Blue had four players finishing with double digits in the points column, led by [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]., who also added three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] also added 18 points along with seven assists and four rebounds; Tyrese Samuel (13) and Riley Kugel (10) were the other two in double digits.

Golden, Pullin and Clayton all spoke briefly with the media following the tough loss. Here is what they had to offer.

Florida’s 3 top scorers discuss win over Auburn on Saturday

Here’s what Florida’s trio of talented guards had to offer following the Gators’s big home win.

Todd Golden triumphed over his mentor Bruce Pearl on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, with the Florida Gators cruising to an 81-65 victory over the highly-ranked Auburn Tigers. In a game where visitors were slightly favored, the home team made a statement inside the O’Connell Center.

The Orange and Blue went wire-to-wire in this one, running out to an early lead and keeping their feet on the gas until the final 10 minutes. [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] had one of his finer efforts of the season, dropping 22 while [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. (20) and [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] (19) joined him with double digits.

The victory was a much-needed Quadrant 1 win, giving Todd Golden’s team their second this season in nine tries. Following the game, the three top scorers spoke with the media scrum; here is what they had to say.