Tag: Chris Beard

Texas cracks the top schools for five-star PF Ronald Holland

Texas is squarely in the mix for another elite talent.

Chris Beard is in hot pursuit of one of the top players in the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Five-star power forward Ronald Holland announced his top options for his recruitment. Texas made the cut along with Arkansas, Kentucky, UCLA and the NBA G League.

Holland ranks as the No. 1 player in the state of Texas and the No. 9 overall prospect in the nation for the 2023 class. 247Sports’ Brandon Jenkins spoke highly of Holland’s skill set in his scouting report.

Holland has a high motor to go along with good mobility, length, and agility. He runs the floor and changes ends well. Holland is both very active and versatile defensively. He is capable of impacting the game in a number of ways, but his ability to crash the glass maybe his biggest strength. He has worked on his shooting mechanics as they have progressed since his arrival in high school. He needs to continue to develop in that area of his game. A young prospect for his class, Holland’s upside will be based upon his mindset and dedication in improving his craft.

The Duncanville product is expected to make a visit to Texas in Sept. to take part in a huge recruiting weekend with Alabama football coming to town.

Texas is squarely in the mix for another elite talent after signing two five-stars in its 2022 signing class.

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LOOK: Texas basketballā€™s new jersey numbers revealed

A look at Texas’ new jersey numbers for the 2022-23 season.

Chris Beard had a busy offseason putting together his roster for the 2022-23 season. After winning Texas’ first NCAA tournament game since 2014, the Horns had to retool using the transfer portal and the 2022 recruiting cycle.

Landing Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter, the 2021-22 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, was a huge offseason splash for Texas. Sir’Jabari Rice brings in experience and solid defense from New Mexico State.

The Longhorns’ freshman class includes the five-star duo of Arterio Morris and Dillon Mitchell along with Rowan Brumbaugh and Alex Anamekwe. The talented group of newcomers hope to provide a shot in the arm for Texas’ basketball program.

Texas announced the new numbers for this year’s team on Tuesday morning. Returnees Marcus Carr and Dylan Disu are changing numbers from a season ago. Timmy Allen will rock No. 0 again this season.

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Predicting Texas’ starting five after the Tyrese Hunter commitment

Texas’ starting five will be very interesting next season.

After several years of disappointing March Madness appearances under Shaka Smart, the Longhorns exercised their demons and advanced to the second round under Chris Beard.

The former Texas Tech coach is looking to build on his success that he had in his first season as the Texas head coach, and he seems to be acquiring even more talent than he was last year. Prior to this past season, Beard was able to build up Texas’ roster by bringing in elite transfers such as Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr.

This offseason, Beard not only brought in one of the top transfers in Tyrese Hunter, who won Big 12 Freshman of the Year, but was also able to bring in a strong recruiting class. The class is headlined by five-stars Arterio Morris and Dillon Mitchell who are both expected to provide majors boosts to the roster.

However, even with all this new accumulated talent and returning talent, the Longhorns are still poised to be a shooting deficient team that lacks a big man. The lack of big man remains true even if Dylan Disu chooses to return, as he is going through the NBA draft process. They will have talented individuals, but whether or not all of these players can mesh is yet to be seen. Beard might have to go against his instinct and have a much quicker offense in order to make up for the lack of shooting and size.

Here is what I think the starting five will look like, using just the players currently on the roster.

Chris Beard ranks as the No. 15 coach in college basketball

Texas has a good one.

Texas basketball appears to be one of the teams on the rise in the sport, and it helps to have a head coach like Chris Beard at the helm.

After successful stints at Arkansas Little Rock and Texas Tech, Beard took the job at Texas and led the program to their first NCAA tournament win since 2015.

Beard has key players such as Marcus Carr coming back, a couple of five-stars in Arterio Morris and Dillon Mitchell arriving to campus, and landed one of the best transfers in Tyrese Hunter. The Longhorns are believed to be poised for a deep run.

247Sports ranked the top 25 coaches in college basketball right now, and Beard came in at No. 15. Here is what they said about the second-year coach at Texas.

Chris Beard just knows what it takes to win. Heā€™s risen up the ranks. From guiding Arkansas Little Rock to an upset win over Purdue in the 2016 NCAA Tournament to leading Texas Tech to the national championship game in 2019, Beard has already put together an awesome resume. Beard is in the process of building a major contender in Texas. The Longhorns have key veterans returning in Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr combined with jaw-dropping freshmen Dillon Mitchell and Arterio Morris. Beard has built an NCAA Tournament team in each of the last five seasons. Itā€™s only a matter of time until Beard has a Final Four contender at Texas.

Beard and company are poised for success this next season, but will have a lot of work to do this offseason to make up for the lack of shooting and the fact that they do not have a big man.

Texas lands Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tyrese Hunter

The 2021-22 Big 12 Freshman of the Year is taking his talents to Austin.

Chris Beard has made another big splash in the transfer portal with the addition of dynamic point guard Tyrese Hunter. Continue reading “Texas lands Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tyrese Hunter”

Texas Basketball: Five-star forward Ron Holland announces top schools

The Longhorns are one of the finalists for five-star Ron Holland.

Chris Beard and company have a chance to add their first member of the 2023 recruiting class. Continue reading “Texas Basketball: Five-star forward Ron Holland announces top schools”

Texas basketball’s two biggest holes on the roster ahead of 2022

Texas basketball still has some holes to fill.

Although the college basketball season is still a ways away, it seems that the Longhorns are really struggling to finish their roster construction for year two under Chris Beard.

While they are close to have a complete roster in terms of numbers, they are not close to having a roster that addresses all of their weaknesses from this past season.

As we saw during their second round loss to Purdue in the most recent March Madness tournament, and practically all season, the Longhorns struggled with guarding bigger players and shooting from beyond the arc.

They will likely be looking to the transfer portal to fill the remaining roster spots, but even with their strong No. 6 recruiting class and players like Marcus Carr and Timmy Allen returning, this team still might have the same issues in 2022.

Beard is recruiting players that best fit his system, which is important, but it seems that Texas has missed out on a couple opportunities to land players that can fit the system while also addressing a need.

Let’s take a look at the two biggest holes currently on the roster starting with someone who can consistently drill a three ball.

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Texas Basketball: Horns rank No. 17 in 247Sports’ way-too-early top 25

The Big 12 conference is set up for another strong season on the basketball court.

The college basketball season may feel like it is far away but it is never too early to look ahead.

With the May 1 NBA draft deadline now behind us, 247Sports’ Kevin Flaherty released his early projection of his top 25 rankings for the 2022-23 season.

Flaherty has Texas in the No. 17 slot after an up and down season that ended with a loss to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Chris Beard’s 2022-23 roster looks like it will have a great mix of experience and young talent. Leading scorers Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr return for the Longhorns and will be joined by a freshman class featuring five-stars Arterio Morris and Dillon Mitchell.

Here is a look at the full top 25:

  1. Arkansas
  2. Kentucky
  3. Houston
  4. North Carolina
  5. Baylor
  6. Gonzaga
  7. Duke
  8. Kansas
  9. UCLA
  10. TCU
  11. Tennessee
  12. Arizona
  13. Michigan
  14. Creighton
  15. Iowa
  16. Auburn
  17. Texas
  18. Villanova
  19. Alabama
  20. Illinois
  21. Texas Tech
  22. Indiana
  23. Michigan State
  24. Saint Louis
  25. San Diego State

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Texas lands 2022 three-star power forward Alex Anamekwe

Chris Beard and Texas have made a late addition to the 2022 class with three-star power forward Alex Anamekwe from McKinney.

Chris Beard and Texas have made a late addition to the 2022 class with three-star power forward Alex Anamekwe from McKinney.

Anamekwe joins Texas’ talented class of the five-star duo Arterio Morris, Dillion Mitchell and four-star Rowan Brumbaugh.

247Sports ranks the 6-foot-6 power forward as the No. 15 prospect in the state of Texas and No. 194 nationally.

With Anamekew’s commitment, Texas now has the No. 6 overall class in the 2022 cycle, good for the second-best class in the Big 12 behind the Kansas Jayhawks.

Texas’ 2022-23 roster is starting to take shape, the Longhorns return leading scorers, Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr, along with big-man Christian Bishop. Coach Beard is still eyeing a few players in the transfer portal to put the finishing touches on the team going forward.

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