How TCU men’s basketball landed one of the best mid-major guards in portal
AJ Dybantsa, Darius Acuff, Caleb Wilson, Cameron Boozer and Ebuka Okorie.
That’s it, that’s the list of freshmen who averaged more points than new TCU guard Gavin Sykes last season. All five of those players were drafted in Tuesday’s NBA Draft with Dybantsa, Boozer, Wilson and Acuff being top-10 picks.
It’s good company to be in and one of the many reasons the Horned Frogs pursued Sykes so vigorously in the transfer portal. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard averaged 19.4 points while shooting 39% from 3 at Long Beach State.
His size, shooting and multiple years of eligibility remaining checked all the boxes for TCU and the Horned Frogs made sure to do the same for Sykes.
“I was looking for somewhere that was home, I don’t want to have to look for anything else again,” Sykes said. “I was just looking for somewhere where I can eventually play in the NBA, that’s the end goal at the end of the day. Talking to Coach (Jamie) Dixon, they were really honest.
“There’s a lot of fluff and stuff coming out of the portal and I just wanted coaches to be honest. There’s also areas of improvement I got to work on. They were huge on that as well, everything just lined up.”
Sykes had one of the best seasons in program history at Long Beach State. He was voted Big West Freshman of the Year and a second team all-conference selection.
He broke multiple freshman records, including most points in a single-game (39) and points in a season (542), the 24th most by a player in program history.
Sykes cited his work ethic and the coaching staff at Long Beach State for allowing him to flourish so early in his career.
“Being consistent in the gym, that’s the one thing you can control is just being in the gym every day,” Sykes said. “I had confidence in myself and two amazing coaches that supported me a lot, and I was able to do what I did.”
Sykes has already shown he’s a big-time shooter and scorer, which TCU will need as the Horned Frogs replace starting guard Jayden Pierre and knockdown shooter Liutaurus Lelevicius.
Sykes is more than happy to fill that role, but he also thinks playing with more talent will allow him to showcase the other more underrated parts of his game.
“I think that my playmaking is a little better than people think,” Sykes said. “I know last year I was shooting the ball a lot, but being on a team like this and having really good guys like Brock (Harding) and (Xavier Edmonds), those guys really complement my game. It makes it a lot easier and allows me to do other things that may not have been presented last year.”
It would’ve been easy for Sykes to seek out a place that guaranteed him a high volume of shots, but development isn’t just about scoring, it’s also about rounding out your game in case the NBA comes calling.
Sykes will get more than his fair share of touches, but the Horned Frogs return Edmonds, Harding, starting forward Micah Robinson, Tanner Toolson and also signed the No. 1 ranked junior college transfer Trent Lincoln.
The fact that Sykes is so eager to lean into his playmaking is a good sign of the buy-in he’s showing to Dixon and the program. It’s easier to buy in when you’re truly happy with where you’re at.
“I really love it,” Sykes said of Fort Worth. “It feels like a family, a community. Everybody just treats everybody really well even if you don’t know each other and everybody’s been welcoming and it’s been a really good experience so far.”
TCU began summer workouts earlier this month and Sykes has impressed some of his teammates with his approach to the game.
There was one practice where Sykes took over and showed his proficiency of a scorer
“I think yesterday he went on like an 11-0 run straight by himself,” Harding said. “He can really shoot the ball, but that’s not all he can do. He can put the ball on the ground, he can finish at the rim, and he’s trying to learn how to guard, be better on the defensive end and I think he wants to.”
Defense is a non-negotiable for Dixon and it’s a challenge he extends to his guards every season — like he did with Harding and Pierre last season. Despite both being undersized guards TCU was able to produce a top-75 defensive rating out of 365 teams.
Sykes wanted a program that would challenge him to grow on that end of the court, and he found it in Fort Worth, it’s one of the main areas he’s focusing on this off-season.
“I want to be able to prove I can really guard my man, especially in the Big 12,” Sykes said. “It’s basically the best league in the country, so I just want to prove I can compete and really guard and prove to everybody I can be a really solid defender.”
Navigating the transfer portal isn’t just about finding the most talented and productive players, it’s also about finding the right personalities.
Sykes’ game speaks for itself, but it’s his mentality that could be the key to his success in Fort Worth. TCU didn’t just find a scorer, it found a player that fits the culture of the program.
