Delaware guard Ithiel Horton sets transfer decision date

Delaware transfer Ithiel Horton took visits to Pitt and Arkansas this week, and shortly after, he announced that he would be focusing solely on those two schools and making a decision in early July. On Friday, the timeline for Horton's decision became clearer, as he told Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog that he will announce his destination next Wednesday.

In addition to Pitt and Arkansas, Horton heard from George Washington, Marquette, Miami, Minnesota, Northwestern, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Xavier after entering the transfer portal. The 6’3”, 200-pound guard also gave serious consideration to Virginia Tech before trimming his list of schools down to two on Monday.

During his freshman season at Delaware, Horton averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game and shot 40.9 percent from three-point range. Among Blue Hens players who put up 50 or more three-point shots in the 2018-19 season, he ranked first on the team in accuracy. For comparison, no player on Pitt’s roster who shot 50 or more three-pointers last season was able to convert on 40 percent. Jared Wilson-Frame came closest by shooting 39.5 percent on 248 shots.

It is currently unclear if either Pitt or Arkansas has an edge in the race to sign Horton, but Pitt has struggled to recruit against SEC schools in recent months. In May, Pitt was a finalist to land former Virginia Tech power forward Khadim Sy, but he committed to Ole Miss. Jeff Capel and his staff were subsequently in the mix for Ole Miss decommit Rodney Howard, but they lost him to Georgia. And most recently, Pitt was considered a serious contender for Villanova transfer Jahvon Quinerly, but he then decided on Alabama in June.

Wherever Horton decides to play, he will have to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules. However, he will have three years of eligibility remaining after that and could take on the role of Xavier Johnson if he decides to declare for the 2020 NBA draft.