Transfer Portal Bio Blast: Jaron Pierre Jr.

The NCAA Tournament is still ongoing, but the transfer portal waits for no one. With six outgoing seniors/graduates and one outgoing transfer, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats will have to reload through the portal once again this offseason.

Tulane freshman forward Kam Williams is already on board. Who could be next?

6-foot-6 Jacksonville State guard Jaron Pierre Jr. is in the portal with one year of college eligibility remaining. Kentucky’s interest first went public on Tuesday and members of the coaching staff met with him Wednesday night in Texas. UK snuck in a visit with Pierre right before the recruiting dead period went into effect at midnight.

Searching for his fifth school in six seasons as a college player, Pierre has also received interest from SMU and Ole Miss. KSR’s Transfer Portal Bio Blast is taking a closer look at the college basketball free agent. Pierre, who is also testing the NBA Draft waters, is considered a top 50 portal prospect in the country.

[KSR’s Kentucky MBB Transfer Portal Tracker]

3 (technically 4?) colleges in 5 seasons

Out of St. Augustine (LA) High in New Orleans, Pierre was a mostly unranked high school recruit. He led St. Augustine to a 31-2 overall record and a spot in the state title game as a senior, earning First-Team All-State honors while averaging 27 points per game. Pierre also ran cross country before dedicating himself to basketball in college.

Pierre began his college career with two seasons at Southern Miss. He was a steady contributor as both a freshman and sophomore with sporadic runs of playing in the starting five. His freshman campaign came during the 2020-21 season, which was a free year eligibility-wise in the eyes of the NCAA due to the pandemic. Pierre averaged 8.8 points in 24.5 minutes per outing as a rookie. That jumped to 9.9 points in 27.5 minutes per contest in year two but on worse efficiency. He shot just 34.2 percent from the field as a sophomore.

After his two-year stint at Southern Miss, Pierre jumped to Wichita State for the 2022-23 season. In 31 games played, 22 as a starter, he posted 10.6 points in 28.1 minutes per outing on slightly better efficiency (39 percent overall). After mostly coming off the bench in his first two months with the Shockers, he was elevated to a starting role to finish the season.

Pierre hopped back into the portal after his lone season with Wichita State. However, he did not play for any school during the 2023-24 season. Pierre announced his transfer from the Shockers in April 2023 and did not commit to Jacksonville State until May 2024. During that time, he redshirted the entire 2023-24 season while at Grambling State. Add the redshirt to his free year as a freshman, and Pierre was allowed two more seasons upon his arrival at Jax State in the 2024 offseason.

Breakout season at Jacksonville State

Pierre developed into a high-volume shotmaker in his first and only season with Jacksonville State. As a ball-dominant guard with the Gamecocks, he was able to score at will while significantly improving his efficiency. Across his first three seasons of college ball, he posted an effective field goal percentage of 45.9. Pierre bumped that number up to 50.6 percent at Jacksonville State on his way to scoring more points (777) than anyone else in all of Division I. His 21.6 points per game average was among the nation’s top marks and he did so on good shooting splits of 42.4/38.2/81.0.

As the leader of a Jacksonville State squad that finished 23-13 with a 12-6 mark in Conference USA, Pierre was ultimately named the CUSA Player of the Year. Along with his 21.6 points per contest, he also contributed 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists. The most impressive part of his scoring bump was how he did so while playing a heavy load of minutes. Starting all 36 games for the Gamecocks, Pierre averaged 37.6 minutes per contest. He played at least 38 minutes 22 times, at least 39 minutes 17 times, and the full 40 minutes nine times. There was even a double-overtime win against Florida International that saw him on the floor for 46 out of 50 possible minutes. Fatigue is not part of his makeup.

Pierre dropped a career-high 36 points on Middle Tennessee back in February. He finished with six games of at least 30 points and produced just one single-digit scoring game when he went for nine points in a win over Liberty. Against Georgia Tech in the NIT, he popped off for 30 points on 11-18 shooting. Pierre finished the season with four double-doubles; three coming off rebounds and one from assists.

Advanced Stat Profile: Jaron Pierre Jr.

As a stocky 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard, Pierre has the ability to score from anywhere. At Jacksonville State, he took a ton of shots (17.4 FGA/G) and ranked among the highest in the country in the percentage of shots taken by a single player. He can create his own looks from a few feet beyond the three-point line to right at the rim, and everywhere in between. The role he had with the Gamecocks would look different if he were to choose Kentucky from a usage perspective.

Stat	Finish	Ranking
Minutes percentage	94.8	3rd nationally
Points per game	21.6	4th nationally
Percentage of shots taken	32.1	36th nationally
Fouls called/fouls drawn per 40 mins	1.7/4.2	92nd/500th nationally

The first three college seasons for Pierre were inefficient with more turnovers than assists. After a one-year break, he flipped that narrative on his head in the CUSA. A 36-game sample size with over 1,300 minutes played for the Gamecocks is large enough to believe it will carry over though, especially if he were to play in the SEC where he wouldn’t have nearly as much offensive responsibility.