SMU's new transfer addition Zach Nutall, last season's Southland Conference Player of the Year, spoke to The HillTopics about the future of SMU basketball, playing alongside a former AAU teammate and much more.
It doesn't take long for anyone to feel Zach Nutall's energy or recognize the enthusiasm in his voice. It becomes apparent in seconds that Nutall already is a fired-up member of the SMU men's basketball team.
He's yet to play a minute in an SMU uniform. He's yet to have a practice at Moody Coliseum -- or even have shootaround at Crum Basketball Center.
None of that matters.
Chat with Nutall for a few seconds and notice that the Sam Houston State transfer is beyond excited about what the future holds. He has immediate expectations. Some may even call them lofty goals -- and he's OK with that.
"Let's buckle up, and let's get ready to go!" Nutall told The HillTopics.
On April 2, Nutall, the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year, announced his plans to transfer to SMU. A 6-3 guard, Nutall led the Southland in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per games. He also averaged 5.7 rebounds a game and shot 44% from the field.
SMU officially announced Nutall as a Mustang Thursday afternoon. His first priority as the new team member: Bring back the winning culture.
SMU finished 11-6 last season but fell in the first round of the NIT to Boise State. The Mustangs haven't made the NCAA Tournament since the 2016-17 season, when the team won a school-record 30 games.
"I think it's already there," Nutall said of the culture, "but when you bring in a player like me -- someone with a great heart and who desires to grow, learn and laugh with teammates -- I think that's what winning is. I'm just ready to get started."
Nutall was on the Sam Houston State team that opened last season against SMU, and while his team took a loss, he proved himself to be a silent killer on the court. On Nov. 25, in a game where Kendric Davis scored a then-career-high 33 points in a win, Nutall put on a spectacular show of his own.
Nutall scored a game-high 36 points in 29 minutes of play. He shot 52% from the floor and also made 50% from the 3-point line, connecting on 6 of 12 shots.
"Zach is a proven winner, one of the best scorers in the country, and of the highest character," SMU head coach Tim Jankovich said via release. "He was the Player of the Year in the Southland and part of three winning teams at Sam Houston State.
"We witnessed firsthand his scoring acumen when he scored 36 points in Moody. His experience and ability will make an immediate impact for our program."
Recruited to SMU by assistant coach Yaphett King, Nutall is a scorer who had 14 games where he scored 20 points or more. He also had four 30-point games for the Bearkats.
That included the night before Thanksgiving, where Nutall served the Mustangs for more than half of Sam Houston State's points. While casual SMU fans celebrated the win, Jankovich and the rest of the coaching staff never forgot Nutall's talent.
And neither did Davis, an old AAU teammate of Nutall's. Both played AAU ball for Texas PRO back in the day. In fact, when Nutall first announced he'd be entering the transfer portal, he said it was Davis who became the biggest recruiter for SMU.
"Kendric is a great player. That's my brother," Nutall said. "At the end of the day, when you go to a college campus and become what Kendric has become on the SMU campus and what I had become at Sam Houston, you realize that you are the best recruiter. People trust you; you're the guy who puts blood, sweat and tears into the program.
"We talk maybe three or four times a day, whether it's for only five minutes or 20. We've talked about all of this; we know the damage we can do."
Nutall is from Bryan, Texas. Davis is from Houston, a little more than 90 minutes away. The two, Nutall said, have known about each other since freshman year of high school. They didn't formally meet until the end of their sophomore seasons, when they played AAU ball.
Since then, Nutall and Davis have met twice on the basketball court in NCAA competition. Sam Houston State played TCU when Davis was a freshman there during the 2018-19 season.
Davis now is testing the NBA waters, but leaving the option to return to SMU, after a junior season where he led the AAC in scoring and assists, averaging 19 points and 7.6 assists per game. If Nutall gets his way -- and he likes his chances, although nothing is set in stone -- he'll have the opportunity to team up with Davis for one more season.
And if that happens, look for the Mustangs to feature one of the most anticipated duos of the 2021-22 season.
"We're going to let Kendric enjoy his process right now," Nutall said. "I mean, at the end of the day, he's worked his butt off to put himself into that opportunity.
"But if he comes back, this will be a great opportunity for all of us to grow our team next year."
Nutall will be immediately eligible at the start of the 2021 season. He will join a new-look SMU roster that includes grad transfer twins Michael and Marcus Weathers, as well as 2021 guard signees Jalen Smith and Zhuric Phelps.
And that doesn't include several members of the current roster -- if all goes as planned, Davis included.
"To me, it wasn't about playing at a Power 5 school," Nutall said. "It was about a great fit that would allow me to have fun and play the game of basketball to where I may be a pro.
"I think coming in and playing alongside great players like KD and being around great coaches like Coach Jank, Coach King, Coach [John] Cooper and Coach [Jay] Duncan, it was the right move for me."
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