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Youngstown State transfer Gabe Dynes commits to USC

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•about 19 hours•

griffin_mcveigh

USC Trojans head coach Eric Musselman cheers after the game against the Chattanooga Mocs at Galen Center
USC Trojans head coach Eric Musselman cheers after the game against the Chattanooga Mocs at Galen Center. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)

USC has made a splash in the NCAA transfer portal, landing a big-time center. Eric Musselman will bring Youngstown State‘s Gabe Dynes to Los Angeles ahead of the 2024-2025 season, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. It’s another offseason of working the portal for the Trojans, landing their latest target on Saturday.

“NEWS: Youngstown State transfer Gabe Dynes, a 7-foot-3 center, has committed to USC and Eric Musselman, his agent Adam Papas told @On3sports,” Tipton said via X.

Dynes spent two seasons at Youngstown State. The experience is certainly there, playing in 61 games and starting 11 of them. He averaged 5.5 points and 5.0 rebounds during his time with the Penguins, adding 2.7 blocks as well. The total number of blocks standout even more, leading college basketball with 104 during the 2023-2024 season.

The stat Musselman and his staff might be most interested in, at least from an offensive perspective, may be Dynes’ shooting efficiency. He’s made over 70% of his field goal attempts over two years with 3.5 shots per game.

Being 7-3, 190 pounds certainly helps in that category. Even with the Big Ten being one of the premier conferences in college basketball, not too many opposing centers are going to have a similar frame and build to directly match up against Dynes.

Two other programs were involved in Dynes’ recruitment, according to his On3 database profile. Another Big Ten program, Northwestern, was interested in keeping the center in the Midwest. And then there was Vanderbilt, hoping to bring the now-former Youngstown State product to the SEC.

Additionally, Tipton reported on March 27 that Dynes has Zoom meetings set up with Mississippi State and Oklahoma State. Neither were able to get him on campus though, never appearing to be a real player in the portal recruitment.

Visits were made to both Evanston and Nashville in late March. Dynes does not have a recorded visit to see USC but based on his photo with Musselman, he did get out West at some point. There might even be a hint as to what number he will wear for the Trojans moving forward.

Dynes was not ranked coming out of high school, being a native of Independence. Two years later, he is set to play power conference college basketball. USC is hoping his play at high-level defensive play and efficient offensive production Youngstown State can translate well in the Big Ten.