On Tuesday when the transfer portal officially opened up, perhaps the most interesting SDSU player to enter in was Pharaoh Compton. The 6’7″ 230 lb forward spent his first two seasons as an Aztec and showed a ton of promise.
In his first season he averaged 5.4 points, hitting 64% of his shots, while grabbing 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 fouls per game. On average Pharaoh played around 13.3 minutes per game as a freshman.
Maybe the most memorable Pharaoh Compton moment came that season in 2025 vs New Mexico in Viejas Arena. With the team creating some distance against the Lobos late in the 1st half, Compton got out on the break and finished with a thunderous one hand slam over UNM’s Nelly Junior Joseph.
From there he flashed his SDSU jersey in an uproar and everyone knew this was the kind of emotional spark plug that the team could definitely feed off of, when the moment called for it.
In his second year as a sophomore this past season Pharaoh averaged 7.5 points, hitting a whopping 72% of his shots, while grabbing 2.8 rebounds and again 2.4 fouls per game. On average Pharoah played around 13.8 minutes per game.
By the simple stats it was accurate to say that Compton just didn’t make that huge of leap up from year 1 to year 2. But the larger question is why?
The biggest sign of improvement were his free throws, which climbed from being a 38% shooter to a 62% shooter. A big time factor for someone who goes up in and around the paint most of his touches. And that leads to the other big stat line, his overall field goal percentage.
Pharaoh is a phenomenal finisher in the fast break and around the bucket. His 72% mark to end the year, but at one point he was among the top in the nation in field goal percentage.
The rhetoric was that his early foul trouble cost himself valuable minutes on the court through the season. Not going to get an argument here about that. But in his last 5 games for SDSU towards the end of the regular season and then into the conference tournament, Compton played sparingly at 6, 13, 15, 7, and then down to 9 minutes in the Championship game.
But here is the kicker: In 4 of those 5 Compton only had one foul each game—minus the semifinals victory over New Mexico in which he had four. So what gives?
A complete head-scratcher for those of us wondering if he was missing defensive assignments or if something else was going on. For a talented young player with decent size on the court in these matchups, the thought prevails that his physical nature and emotional effort could’ve spirited the team for easy baskets in transition.
But yet here we are. Talking about perhaps a player that is either ready to say goodbye or perhaps this is part of the negotiations with SDSU. The front-court plans to look drastically different with all former experienced players gone—Magoon Gwath and Miles Heide in the portal and Jeremiah Oden to graduation.
For many the belief was that Compton and good friend from Las Vegas, Taj DeGourville have been package deal when it comes to their recruitment and playing destinations. Perhaps that stance has softened up a bit as the NIL/Portal opportunities develop over time. DeGourville remains a member of the SDSU program, for now.
The market should be an interesting one for Compton. Though not the biggest forward on the block, he has shown some toughness to finish at the rim. But his game may have been lacking a bit, especially when it comes to that of rebounding and defensive focus.
But let’s be real, Compton is young. Missing out on his junior & senior seasons where a player truly begins to come into his own, might be a miss for many teams that don’t pick up on his availability. Showing more of a mid range or knocking down a 3-pointer with some regulatory might improve his stock, but there was a lack of displaying that on the court this year.
At this point there have been no flashy social media postings, no graphics, no visible self-promotion that he is on the market and in the portal. Perhaps he chooses not to conduct his exodus from the mesa in that manor—perhaps the door is still open to return back to SDSU.
Nothing is for certain in these next two weeks until the 21st when the portal closes.
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