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

Jared Bynum – 5’10 Point Guard – Stanford Cardinal

Jared Bynum joins the Stanford Cardinal in the Pac 12 as a graduate transfer following a decorated career with the Providence Friars from 2020-23. The departure of Ed Cooley to Georgetown triggered his move into the transfer portal. He joins the Cardinal looking to inject some of his NCAA Tournament experience into those around him.

Bynum climbed up the ranks while a member of the Friars, earning the Big East Sixth Man of the Year award in 2021-22 after producing 12.2 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.9 rpg and 1.0 spg across 29 appearances (10 starts). Providence finished 27-6 that season and won the conference regular season title.

He proved his worth as a floor general as a starter for the Friars in the Big East this past season. The 5-foot-10 speedy guard finished the 2022-23 season with 10.0 ppg, 4.3 apg and 2.4 rpg on 31.9 percent shooting from 3-point range. He ranked ninth in the conference in assists (125) in leading the Friars offensive attack.

He tied his career-high of 10 assists back on Feb. 11 in a conference clash with St. John’s. Despite shooting 2-for-12 from the floor, he still managed to keep others on the floor involved. He notched his career-high of 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 7-for-8 shooting from 3-point land back on February 6, 2022, in a victory over Georgetown.

Bynum is an explosive floor general that’s shown he can adjust to different styles of play. He’s shown he can play high-major basketball as well, proving himself in the Big East for the past three seasons. Now, he looks to take his game out West where he’ll have an opportunity to boost an underrated Stanford squad.

The Cardinal return eight players from last year’s squad that went 19-14 and Bynum is the lone addition out of the transfer portal. That could bode well given his pedigree for pushing the pace.