Big 12 Basketball: Each team’s best acquisition out of 2023 transfer portal

Javian McCollum – 6’2 Point Guard – Oklahoma Sooners

Javian McCollum is yet another player looking to make a splash in the Big 12 with the Oklahoma Sooners after spending the past two seasons in the MAAC with the Siena Saints. He climbed to relevance in 2022-23 by earning All-MAAC honors after his performance, showing his growth from Year 1 to Year 2 in the conference.

McCollum produced career numbers this past year with Siena, posting 15.9 ppg, 3.9 apg, 2.1 apg and 1.1 spg on 35.6 percent shooting from 3-point land. He knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers back on March 2 against Manhattan along with a career-high 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 shooting from deep in a tough 67-66 loss.

He finished eighth in the MAAC in total assists (108), 14th in 3-pointers made (52) and 12th in PER (19.5). He was responsible for producing 420 points in 2022-23, good for ninth-best in the MAAC. As a result of his breakout campaign, he earned third-team All-MAAC honors for his performance.

He brings a nice pedigree of playmaking and shot-making into the fold for a Sooners squad that loses four of its top five scorers from a season ago. He does a tremendous job of creating off the bounce and finishes well in traffic and by getting to the free throw line. He finished second in the MAAC this past season in in free throw percentage (89 percent), fifth in free throws made (105) and 10th in free throw attempts (118).

He’ll look to contribute in a variety of ways to an Oklahoma lineup that returns just three players from last year’s squad. He will be one of six transfers looking to make an impact right away to replace the contributions of Grant Sherfield, Tanner Groves and Jalen Hill.