The hero of UL men’s basketball team's 71-66 Sun Belt Conference championship game victory over South Alabama entered the transfer portal Tuesday.
Third-year sophomore point guard Themus Fulks might be leaving the Ragin’ Cajuns after one season. Players are still able to return to their previous schools after entering the portal.
Despite a scoring slump down the stretch, Fulks carried the Cajuns offensively in the Sun Belt tournament final to help the his team reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in nine years by scoring 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
Fulks averaged 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists during the season and then had five points, three rebounds and 11 assists in the NCAA tournament loss to Tennessee in Orlando, Florida.
The recent history of regular starters transferring out of the Cajuns program has not produced favorable results on the floor.
Cedric Russell left for Ohio State after averaging 17.2 points and 33.6 minutes a game. In Columbus, he averaged 4.2 points in 12.9 minutes.
Mylik Wilson left for Texas Tech after averaging 12.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 33.7 minutes at UL. In Lubbock two seasons ago, Wilson averaged 2.5 points and 1.7 rebounds in 15.2 minutes, before sitting out all of last season at Houston.
More recently, 6-foot-11 center Theo Akwuba transferred to Ole Miss this past season and averaged 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 block a game in 11.5 minutes a game.
Akwuba averaged 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in 27.9 minutes his first year at UL and then 9.1 points and 7.9 rebounds in 25.6 minutes in Year 2 before transferring.
Fulks did share time with sophomore Michael Thomas at point guard, but averaged 30 minutes a game.
Reasons for wanting to enter the transfer portal vary from player to player. This one is not easily explainable from the outside looking in. Fulks was brought to Lafayette to help the Cajuns finish off games after struggling to do so over the past two seasons.
It proved successful to the tune of a 26-8 season.
There was a suspicious second half in the regular-season home finale against South Alabama when Fulks sat on the end of the bench for most of the half with no report of an injury.
Asked about it in postgame, coach Bob Marlin said it was a matchup decision based on South Alabama’s defensive approach in the second half.
Besides the 23-point game in the Sun Belt final, Fulks only scored double digits (11 points vs. Arkansas State) one other time in the final seven games after reaching double figures 15 times before that stretch.