Busting Brackets
Fansided

SEC Basketball: 5 transfer guards that could be game changers in 2021-22

By Caleb Hightower

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 12: The arena sits unused after the announcement of the cancellation of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament has been cancelled due to the growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 12: The arena sits unused after the announcement of the cancellation of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament has been cancelled due to the growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
Xavier Pinson Missouri Tigers (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Xavier Pinson Missouri Tigers (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Xavier Pinson | Guard | 6’2″ | Senior

Transferred from Missouri to LSU

2020-21 stats: 13.6 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game

Similar to Cameron Thomas, Javonte Smart is a guard that believed that it was time for him to move on to the NBA after LSU’s 86-78 defeat at the hands of Michigan in the NCAA Tournament. Smart was the Tigers’ third-leading scorer a season ago behind Cameron Thomas and Trendon Watford (who also exited LSU’s program to pursue an NBA career).

Luckily for LSU fans, Will Wade successfully snagged a quality transfer in Xavier Pinson, who played three seasons at Missouri before electing to give it a go at another SEC school. Despite finishing the 2020-21 season on a sour note (he netted just 2 points in 18 minutes of action against Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament), I don’t think that any rational college basketball fan would consider Pinson’s junior campaign a failure.

The Chicago, Illinois native averaged 13.6 points per game on 38.6% shooting from the field while also dishing out 2.9 assists. Pinson had several superb offensive performances last year, but his remarkable 36-point explosion against TCU was by far his most memorable offensive showing in 2020-21. Whenever I sit down and watch Pinson play, I am always impressed by his willingness to complete quick and assertive crossovers that make it easy for him to get to his favorite spots on the floor.

You can choose to watch the ball if you want to as you are matching up against Pinson, but once he promptly snaps it over to his other hand, I can promise you that that the possibility of him freezing you on the perimeter will skyrocket. His ability to jump off either foot in the paint and reach the same height in the air explains why he doesn’t have a problem being creative with his finishes and laying the ball in cleanly while operating in the half-court.

Having said all that, Pinson does experience problems in transition when he prematurely makes up his mind while he is attacking the basket. Every now and then, Pinson decides that he doesn’t want to keep his options open, which then leads to silly turnovers and low percentage shots at the rim. It can be frustrating to watch Pinson barrel into defenders in the paint and throw up wild shots or get whistled for charges, instead of euro-stepping or spinning around those defenders and making the next best play available.

Believe me when I say that Pinson is too good of an offensive player to make foolish errors that will cause his team to miss out on opportunities to come away with points on the offensive end. Like Adam Miller, Pinson will be able to play freely at LSU, but he still must work on keeping all of his options open as a driver and limiting his turnovers in 2021-22 (he averaged 2.9 last season).

dark. Next. Preseason top-25 power rankings for 2021-22

As long as he focuses on improving that aspect of his game in year 4, I have a strong feeling that he’ll be able to help LSU pick up where they left off last season.

Home/SEC