Xavier didn’t have to dig too deeply into the transfer portal this offseason, despite a coaching change. Their most significant addition via the transfer market was graduate transfer Souley Boum, a 6’3 scorer out of Oakland, CA who averaged 19.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game at UTEP last season.
Boum let it fly at UTEP over the past two seasons, making over 60 three pointers in each year, and he also took 203 free throw attempts in 2021-22. He shot just under 39% from three two seasons ago, a shade under 37% last year, and was over 80% at the free throw line in each season. Boum had eight games in which he took ten (or more) free throws last season.
The footage above comes from UTEP’s only game against a high major opponent last year — and what a high major it was: national champion Kansas.
This was a tough spot for Boum, as he was the focal point of Kansas’ defense on the Jayhawks’ home floor. As a result, Boum shot 5-19 from the field, 2-10 from deep, and 6-6 at the free throw line in an 18 point, three rebound, three assist night. Still, he showed good wiggle off the bounce and got to the rim with some consistency in this one.
Xavier could use some scoring punch in the backcourt, and will hope that Boum (who had 18 games of 20+ points last season) can help.
In the video above, I pulled as many makes and misses as I could include from this game.
To see Boum at his best, below is a reel of him scoring 32 points against Florida Atlantic.'
You can read more about him in our Xavier preview, which will be out this weekend.
Video: Incoming Xavier Transfer Souley Boum vs. Kansas