Buffaloes offer UT-Arlington transfer guard Shahada Wells

Since McKinley Wright IV's tenure at Colorado came to an end following the Buffs' NCAA Tournament loss to Florida State Monday, Tad Boyle and his assistants have turned their attention to roster management and scouring the transfer portal for potential reinforcements.

There was some traction on that front Friday night, as UT-Arlington transfer point guard Shahada Wells picked up an offer from CU.

Wells, who transferred to UT-Arlington from Tyler Junior College preceding the 2020-2021 season, put up solid numbers in his first campaign with the Mavericks.

Averaging 16.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, Wells shot 42% from the floor and was an accomplished three-point shooter, posting a 39% make rate (53-of-135) from long range, a team-best for UT-Arlington among players with at least 50 attempts.

Wells started 25 games for the Mavs in total and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.65.

There are some interesting similarities — as well as differences — between Wells and Wright IV.

Below is a comparison of Wells' junior season at UT-Arlington and Wright IV's senior year with the Buffaloes.

As the numbers show, Wells isn't really in the same ballpark whatsoever as Wright IV from a ball distribution and assist wizardry point of view.

However, the two players are the exact same height (6-foot-0), played similar minutes and averaged reasonably similar figures in terms of point per game.

Notably, Wright IV posted a higher overall shooting percentage (48% compared to Wells' 42%) but Wells took the cake when it came to perimeter shooting, something Wright IV never quite mastered in college.

Ultimately, the Buffaloes offering Wells is indicative of Boyle and Co. having some reservations about a complete transfer of responsibilities from Wright IV to redshirt freshman Keeshawn Barthelemy, a former four-star recruit who stepped into position as the logical in-house successor to Wright IV since he arrived in Boulder.

Barthelemy certainly made strides following his redshirt season in 2019-2020 and showed some flashes this past year, however, he averaged 11.4 minutes per game.

He posted a healthy 1.91 assists-to-turnover ratio in his limited time on the court, shooting 35% from the floor and 30% from long range — by no means eye-popping numbers.

Wells looks to be a candidate to plug a hole for a year, allowing Barthelemy to continue to grow to a point where coaches are comfortable in fully giving him the keys to the car at Colorado.

Check out some of Wells' highlights below, notably featuring a 21-point, five-steal performance against Oklahoma State last November as well as a 17-point game he had in early December vs. Arkansas.