Florida transfer Zyon Pullin hit with three-game NCAA suspension for playing in PIT, per report

Basketball

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Image Credit: UC Riverside

Florida Gators head basketball coach Todd Golden completed a substantial overhaul of his team’s roster this offseason — to such a degree that analytic experts believe will set the Gators up for success in 2023-24. The final piece of the puzzle was UC Riverside guard Zyon Pullin, who committed to Florida out of the transfer portal.

Pullin, the top backcourt player remaining in the portal at the time he signed, was rated as a four-star talent and the No. 79 overall prospect available this cycle, per 247Sports. The goal for the Gators was to get him on the court as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that will not be the case.

The NCAA on Friday smacked Pullin with a three-game suspension for participating in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this offseason, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. The PIT is a well-known pre-draft camp that is exclusive to college seniors, like the Senior Bowl for football. As it is recognized by the NBA with hundreds of league representatives in attendance, players cannot participate and return to college without violating NCAA rules.

“We are very excited to welcome Zyon into our program here at Florida,” Golden said in a statement after his signing. “He’s a very talented, mature young man who’s won a lot of games in college and been very productive along the way. He has great positional size and plays with great pace and tempo. He will be a great asset to our team this year.”

The fifth player the Gators have added out of the portal this offseason, Pullin (6-foot-4, 195 pounds) posted career-highs of 18.3 points and 48.6% shooting along with 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 39.4% accuracy from 3-point range in his fourth season with the Highlanders. He projects as a point guard for UF, though he will certainly share those duties and need some time to grow fully into that permanent position.

Though he clearly explored NBA Draft waters, Pullin chose to remain in school and ultimately chose Florida over a stacked offer list that included Gonzaga, LSU, Michigan and Xavier. He has one year of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Gators open the 2023-24 season hosting North Florida, Bethune-Cookman and Stetson. Pullin will be cleared before Florida faces Florida State and Purdue, its two most important games through the first few weeks of the campaign.