Fulks elevates his game against ranked foes, delivering clutch performances and earning national acclaim for his scoring and playmaking prowess.
Guard Themus Fulks rises to the occasion against ranked opponents, and he has earned praise from national college basketball insiders.
Fulks poured in 21 points and dropped seven assists in UCF's 88-80 upset victory against No. 11 Texas Tech last Saturday. His performance brought his averages against top-25 matchups to 18.8 points, three rebounds and 5.8 assists.
Jon Rothstein, a college basketball insider for CBS Sports, posted on X after Fulks' performance, reminding viewers that he is a great talent.
"Themus Fulks. You should have bought stock long time ago," Rothstein posted.
Fulks was a significant factor in the Knights' upset against the Red Raiders. He made timely turnaround floaters and nailed a three-pointer to counter guard Christian Anderson.
Coach Johnny Dawkins spoke about his point guard being their leader and influencing how UCF plays.
"I think our leadership starts with Themus, our point guard," Dawkins said. "He sets the tone out there for us [on] what we want to do both offensively and defensively. I thought his ability to — whether it's in a timeout or whether it's on the floor, time and score situations, just his composure has been really good from a point guard position."
Fulks also helped center John Bol set a new career-high with 14 points. His passes out of the pick-and-roll were put in spots where only Bol could catch them, making it difficult for defenders to steal the ball.
Bol's involvement in the offense fueled his activity on the boards, as he had 10 rebounds and contributed to his team's success.
"Themus driving every time, like, just us playing as a team, us playing together, that just gives me juice a lot," Bol said. "Like, it gets me going. I'm like, 'Man, I want to fight for my brother right next to me.' You feel me? So, I'm going to go the extra mile. I'm going to go get that board so we can do something else with it."
Fulks recorded 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in UCF's upset against then-No. 17 Kansas. The Milwaukee transfer had his best game as a Knight against No. 1 Arizona, dropping a career-high 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting with five rebounds and eight assists.
He struggled in the loss against then-No. 9 Iowa State with eight points, five assists and six turnovers.
Fulks has shown in three of the four matches against top-25 teams that he can help lead his team to an upset victory. His leadership, scoring and playmaking have earned him praise from college basketball analysts.
Fulks' light hasn't dimmed yet, as UCF travels to the Fertitta Center to play No. 10 Houston on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on FS1. The 6-foot-2 guard will have another chance at continuing his dominance against ranked opponents.