/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49179585/usa-today-9133284.0.jpg)
According to this tweet and other reports, Xavier has been granted permission to talk to University of New Mexico grad transfer guard Cullen Neal. Neal will be immediately eligible on transfer and has two years of eligibility remaining, making him something of an anamoly in the transfer market.
Neal is an interesting case as a player. He's a 6'5" combo guard who is a career 35% shooter from deep. He has solid ball distribution numbers and was New Mexico's Mr. Basketball his senior year in high school.
On the flip side, he's only a career 37% shooter from inside the arc, and his ball security has been questionable at best. He's most comfortable at point guard, which would kind of create a logjam situation.
Neal already has visits schedule to a couple of SEC schools, but he plans to schedule a couple more before making a decision. Interestingly, his dad is currently his coach, but Neal's relationship with the UNM fans has soured to the point that his dad had to ask for a moritorium on death threats to his Cullen's twitter this year.
Ah, college sports, bringing out the best in everyone.
Xavier is currently at the scholarship limit, so the interest in Neal would seem to indicate that someone is on the way out. The logical conclusion would be LAJ, since the two play the same position. It should be noted that Neal's career has been beset with some bad luck in terms of injury and illness, so he could still have some upside as a second-unit point guard. Would you be pleased to see him added at Larry's expense this summer?