UCF’s Brandon Mahan Signs with Bristol Flyers
UCF guard Brandon Mahan signed his first professional contract with the British Basketball League’s (BBL) Bristol Flyers. Mahan’s deal is for one year and he’ll join a Bristol team that went 9-11 last season before being bounced by the London Lions in the first round of the playoffs.
Mahan played three seasons for the Knights and averaged a solid 10.2 poins and 4.2 rebounds per game in 2021-2022. The 6’5” Birmingham, AL native, who also played at Chipola College and Texas A&M, shot just 33% from three last season, but he was asked to carry the offense more and received defensive attention because of it.
The season prior, he shot nearly 44% from beyond the arc and 45% from the field. This is the version of Mahan that the Flyers will be counting on during his stay with the team.
“[Flyers head coach Andre Kapoulas] wants me to be a consistent scorer in this league and be a ’3-and-D’ (three-point shooting and defense) guy on the team,” said Mahan.
It’s certainly a role Mahan is capable of excelling in and Kapoulas knows it. “He’s an outstanding shooter, who can score and create off the dribble” said the Flyers coach “He is also a player with plenty of versatility in his game and can contribute in numerous ways to help our team win games.”
Bristol believes that the former Knight has the athleticism and upside to be a real difference maker in their league. Mahan already made leaps in his game during his short college career.
In his first season, Mahan shot a disappointing 61% from the foul line. Over the last two seasons, he’s essentially been a 90% free throw shooter. A 30% jump in just two seasons. In that same span, he doubled his steals per game from 0.8 in 2019-2020 to 1.6 in his final season 2021-2022.
Brandon Mahan is as prototypical of a “3-and-D” player as there is for the BBL. He should bring some immediate help to a Flyers team that didn’t have a single player shoot over 40% from the three-point line. This former Knight should fit right in on this British ball club and will likely get comfortable quickly on his first assignment overseas.
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