Syracuse Basketball: Florida State PG, who excels in the mid-range, enters portal

Syracuse basketball has already seen two of its guards head for the transfer portal this off-season, so it's entirely possible that the Orange coaching staff may be on the lookout to bring in another guard ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

The transfer portal opened for business last Monday. 'Cuse sophomore guards/small fowards Justin Taylor and Quadir Copeland are entering the portal.

One media report suggested that Orange coaches have reached out to Mount St. Mary's transfer Dakota Leffew, a senior guard who averaged nearly 18 points per game this past term.

Another intriguing recent portal entrant, per reports, including one from On3 national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw, is Florida State junior point guard Primo Spears. He doesn't shoot the ball well from beyond the arc, but recruiting experts say that he's excellent in the mid-range and creates well for others.

As I mentioned, Syracuse basketball already has seen two guards go "portaling," and we'll also have to see what sophomore point guard Judah Mintz decides to do this off-season.

Syracuse basketball, most likely, will want to pick up another guard via the portal for the next stanza.

In the 2023-24 season for the Seminoles (17-16, 10-10 in the ACC), the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Spears appeared in 24 games, according to ESPN data. He averaged 22.8 minutes, 10.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per contest, while connecting on 39.2 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from 3-point land and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Before joining FSU, Spears suited up for both Georgetown out of the Big East Conference and Duquesne from the Atlantic 10 Conference. He is from Hartford, Conn.

As a member of the 2021 recruiting class, Spears spent his senior year at Mt. Zion Prep in Lanham, Md., where he averaged 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists per affair, per his bio on the Florida State athletics department Web site.

In an article, Jacey Zembal of Rivals.com listed Spears as one of the top-10 players who entered the portal on March 22.

Eric Bossi, 247Sports' national basketball director, also discussed Spears in a recent piece following the news that he has entered the portal. Bossi wrote in part on Spears, "He can get to his spots, has offensive creativity and loves to shoot pull-up jumpers. He also has some legitimate playmaking ability for others. ... He could be great in a sixth man role where he comes off the bench to provide instant offense, but only if he can settle down and become a bit more efficient. A team lacking in bench scoring needing some experience to push them over the edge could be a good fit."