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College basketball transfer portal: Rutgers star Paul Mulcahy picks Washington over Xavier, Notre Dame – 247Sports
Happy Fourth of July to Mike Hopkins. Rutgers star guard Paul Mulcahy announced Tuesday that he will transfer to Washington. The 6-foot-7, 213-pound point guard averaged 8.3 points, 4.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds for Rutgers this past season while shooting 37% from 3-point range and 72% from the charity stripe. Mulcahy had the seventh-best assist rate (28.4%) during Big Ten play, but he made an emotional, late decision to enter the transfer portal.
It paid off in a big way.
Mulcahy chose Washington after visiting both Xavier and Notre Dame. Programs like West Virginia, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan, Kansas State and Pitt all reached out to Mulcahy when he entered the transfer portal on June 9, per Adam Zagoria. Nebraska also expressed serious interest in Mulcahy, but staying in the Big Ten and willingly playing against Rutgers again was a stumbling block.
Hopkins desperately needed reinforcements after going 16-16 last season. Signature pieces in Washington’s backcourt all departed. Keyon Menifield left for Arkansas, PJ Fuller opted to bounce for Detroit Mercy and Noah Williams is still in the transfer portal.
Mulcahy is a big part of Hopkins’ quest to get old, and he’s the splashiest grab for UW, so far. Mulcahy is the sixth addition for Washington out of the transfer portal in the 2023 cycle, joining Moses Wood (15.3 PPG at Portland), Sahvir Wheeler (7.7 PPG at Kentucky), Anthony Holland (6.8 PPG at Fresno State), Nate Calmesse (17.6 PPG at Lamar) and Wilhelm Breidenbach (3.6 PPG at Nebraska).
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Mulcahy, Wheeler, Holland and Wood will all be fifth-year seniors.
Mulcahy has great length and active hands that should prove worthwhile in Hopkins’ 2-3 zone defense. Mulcahy is a disruptor on defense and a connector on the offensive end. Mulcahy averaged 9.0 points, 5.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game in 2021-22 for a Rutgers squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. It was the best season of Mulcahy’s career. Why? Because he was surrounded by a big knockdown sniper in Ron Harper Jr. Can Washington recreate that with Keion Brooks? That’s the million-dollar question.
Mulcahy will team up with Wheeler to give Washington one of the oldest and most-intriguing point guard rooms in the Pac-12.
Washington becomes just the third Pac-12 program to use all 13 scholarships ahead of the 2023-24 season, joining Arizona and Washington State. Oregon, Stanford and UCLA all have at least two spots to fill.
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With Mulcahy on board, Washington now has one of the most veteran rosters in the league with eight projected scholarship players being juniors, seniors or graduate students. Washington only has four true freshmen or sophomores on the roster. Outside of Utah, every other Pac-12 squad has at least five underclassmen inked for 2023-24. Washington has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Hopkins is banking on some grizzled veterans providing the missing link.
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