Syracuse Basketball Gaining Steam With Graduate Transfer Grant Mullins

We now know the top three possible destinations for former Columbia Lions guard Grant Mullins, and the Syracuse Orange ranks at the top of the list. His visit to the university and with the program wrapped up on Friday. Mullins is also considering offers from the Michigan Wolverines and the California Golden Bears. He’ll make his next official visit on Monday with a trip to Berkeley.

Mullins set career highs last season with 13.1 points, four rebounds and a little over three assists per game. In March, he was given one more year of eligibility by the NCAA after missing the entire 2014-15 season due to injury. That almost immediately generated interest from several schools and fueled a decision by Mullins to transfer as a graduate. Initially, the Vanderbilt Commodores and Stanford Cardinal were also part of the discussion, but both have fallen off of his list since then.

Last season, Mullins showed no signs of the head and neck injuries that have plagued his career and demonstrated his ability as a threat from long range on offense. NCAA rules typically don’t allow athletes to compete for more than four years during their first five years on campus, but Ivy League rules require that the four years of play occur during the athlete’s first four years. He has to transfer due to the fact that his fifth year of eligibility can only be obtained at an institution that isn’t among the Ivy League schools.

Syracuse offers the best option if it’s in Mullins’ thought process to play in the best conference in college basketball. His visit seemed to go well. We’ll see if it was enough to convince him to run with Jim Boeheim and the Orange next season.