SMU transfer guard Zhuric Phelps commits to Texas A&M basketball

The Texas A&M basketball staff dipped into the transfer portal and added a second-team All-AAC point guard when SMU junior Zhuric Phelps announced his commitment to the Aggies today.

Phelps will be a senior next fall with one year of eligibility remaining as he’s set to join the Aggies for the 2024-2025 season.

At Duncanville High School, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound point man led the Panthers to a 6A state championship in 2021 and earned tournament MVP honors on his way to being named the coveted Mr. Basketball in Texas.

The four-star playmaker stayed home and took his talents to SMU, where he played 92 games with 62 starts in three seasons with the Mustangs.

In his final two years as the starting point guard, Phelps averaged nearly 16 points a game and excelled in many aspects. He leaves SMU with 1137 points scored, 158 steals, which ranks seventh in school history, and 1.7 steals/game, which places him No. 7 all-time in the SMU record books. His steal rate of .068 from last season is greater than Wade Taylor IV’s team-leading .056 at A&M. His 89 assists in 2024 would have placed him second on the A&M behind only Taylor. His 120 free throws made last year more than doubled any SMU teammate, and that total would only fall short of Taylor’s massive total of 161 made free shots.

You can view his highlights below.

Phelps is a very fluid and flexible athlete, and he excels at driving the lane and pulling up for mid-range jumpers in the paint. He welcomes contact and likes to shoot on contact, which is why he went to the foul line 162 times in 2023-2024.

He’s a very quick, explosive athlete and used his skill set defensively as one of the best pick-pockets in the AAC last season with a whopping 63 steals. He is also a very capable assist man and gets others involved. He’s also a solid rebounder for a point guard at 4.1 boards per contest, which is a priority in a Buzz Williams team. If there is one glaring weakness, it’s his low 3-point accuracy rate (21.6%). However, that’s a small component of his game. He attempted only 139 shots behind the arc, compared to Taylor’s 302 attempts last season.

A&M is looking to replace long-time guard standout Tyrece Radford, who expended his college eligibility and is transitioning to professional ball.

Phelps becomes the third transfer to commit to the Aggies following recent announcements by C.J. Wilcher and Pharrel Payne.

The portal season is still in full swing, so stay tuned to TexAgs for the latest offseason basketball news as next year’s roster comes into focus.