Pac-12 Basketball: 5 most underrated transfers heading into 2022-23

Pac-12 Basketball: 5 most underrated transfers heading into 2022-23 season

Mar 24, 2022; San Antonio, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Frankie Collins (10) brings the ball up court against the Villanova Wildcats in the semifinals of the South regional of the men's college basketball NCAA Tournament at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jalen Gabbidon Yale Bulldogs (Photo by Rachel O’Driscoll/Getty Images) /

2. G Jalen Gabbidon, Colorado

Tad Boyle scored one of the conference’s biggest wins in the transfer portal by grabbing guard Ethan Wright from Princeton. Colorado also snagged Jalen Gabbidon, who will use his defensive tenacity to compete for a rotation role in 2022-23.

Fascinatingly, the wing is another transplant from the Ivy League. Gabbidon has spent his entire collegiate career with the Yale Bulldogs, which includes a missed season in 2017-18 due to injury and a missed season in 2020-21 due to the pandemic.

Tucked between those two years was the 2019-20 campaign when Gabbidon emerged as a defensive star. He recorded 40 steals and took home the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year award. He also showed his 3-and-D potential, hitting 41.4 percent of his threes, though he only averaged 5.9 points per game.

The 6-foot-5 guard demonstrated a better scoring touch this season, averaging 11.3 points per game. He also averaged 1.4 steals per game and earned Second Team All-Ivy League honors while leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament, where Yale lost to Purdue.

Gabbidon has the versatility to play and defend multiple positions and camp out beyond the perimeter on offense when needed. If he can’t edge out Wright and some of Colorado’s returnees for a starting spot, he should still play a big role off the bench.

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