Former Texas SG Elijah Mitrou-Long headed to UNLV

Fewer than two full weeks after announcing his intention to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, former Texas Longhorns guard Elijah Mitrou-Long has found a new home with the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, he announced on Tuesday.

Mitrou-Long will be eligible immediately at UNLV.

During his lone season as an active member of the Longhorns, Mitrou-Long averaged 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game, but more notably, averaged just 17.9 minutes of action per contest, which were hardly half of the 34.4 minutes Mitrou-Long averaged during his final season with Mount St. Mary’s in 2016-17.

Down the stretch, Mitrou-Long’s role regressed even further, as he saw the floor for just 37 total minutes throughout Texas’ NIT title run, and didn’t appear in the game at all during the Longhorns’ 81-66 NIT Championship win over Lipscomb. Rather, the bulk of the backcourt minutes, as was often the case throughout the season, were divided amongst a trio of ball-dominant guards in sophomore Matt Coleman, senior Kerwin Roach II, and freshman Courtney Ramey, as well as sophomore sharpshooter Jase Febres.

Aside from Roach, who has also played his last game as a Longhorn, that entire bunch is expected back in 2019-20, and presumably as Texas’ starting backcourt, which, at best, would have limited Mitrou-Long to a sixth-man role during his senior season.

Rather than travel that route, Mitrou-Long, of course, elected to depart from the program and become a Runnin’ Rebel.