Longhorns Country

Transfer Portal Player Rankings: Longhorns G Max Abmas No. 1 in Nation?

If Oral Roberts transfer guard Max Abmas can recreate his production from past seasons, the Texas Longhorns will be a near lock to make another appearance in March Madness.
Zach Dimmitt|
Transfer Portal Player Rankings: Longhorns G Max Abmas No. 1 in Nation?
Transfer Portal Player Rankings: Longhorns G Max Abmas No. 1 in Nation?

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Longhorns made up for some of their losses in the backcourt by securing a signature from one of the most accomplished guards in college basketball.

Former Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas decided to use his final year of eligibility to play for coach Rodney Terry and the Longhorns this upcoming season, as he announced in April that he'd be transferring to Texas. Abmas was one of the most sought-after players in the portal this offseason. But considering he's the NCAA's active career scoring leader (2,561), where does he rank among both committed and non-committed transfers for 2023?

On Wednesday, CBS Sports released its transfer rankings of the top-50 players in college basketball that have or will join a new team via the portal for the upcoming season.

Abmas nearly made the cut as the top transfer in the nation, but instead slotted in at No. 2 behind former Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson, who Abmas and the Longhorns will have to worry about at least two times next season when they face the Kansas Jayhawks.

Here's what CBS Sports had to say about Abmas' No. 2 ranking:

Abmas ranks No. 16 all-time for made 3-pointers and is a career 38.8% shooter on 8.8 attempts per game. The 6-1 guard won Summit League Player of the Year twice and also has experience playing beyond the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Even amid an uptick in competition in the Big 12, it is easy to envision Abmas raining 3-pointers as the first or second scoring option for Texas. He has defensive limitations but has plenty of offensive firepower to be a positive addition to the starting lineup of a Longhorns squad that is losing leading scorer Marcus Carr from its backcourt.

Abmas averaged 21.9 points (ninth in the nation), 4.4 rebounds and four assists this past season while shooting 43.6 percent from the field. He blew up on the national stage in March Madness after leading Oral Roberts to the Sweet 16 during the 2020-21 season, averaging 26.6 points per game during those three games in the NCAA Tournament.

If he can reach similar heights next season, the Longhorns will be a near lock to make another appearance in March Madness.

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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