Tag: Texas basketball recruiting

Texas basketball lands commitment from four-star PF Nic Codie

Texas lands a big commitment from four-star Nic Codie.

Texas basketball keeps getting better. Continue reading “Texas basketball lands commitment from four-star PF Nic Codie”

College Basketball: Five-star PF Ron Holland decommits from Texas

The loss of Ron Holland leaves Texas without a single player in its 2023 recruiting class.

Another tough blow for Rodney Terry and Texas basketball as 2023 five-star power forward Ron Holland announced his decommitment from the program on Friday.

Holland committed to Texas before Chris Beard was let go for an alleged domestic violence incident in January. He chose the Longhorns over the likes of Arkansas, UCLA and Kentucky.

“I want to take this time to thank head coach RT and the entire Texas coaching staff for their consideration, I would also like to thank the Longhorn Nation for all their love and support, While this has been a difficult process, I have decided to decommit from University of Texas and re-open my recruitment. Texas will still be one of my top schools of choice.”

The Duncanville product is ranked as the No. 1 product in the state of Texas and the No. 6 overall player in the cycle.

The loss of Holland leaves Texas without a single player in its 2023 recruiting class. Fellow five-star AJ Johnson opted to sign a pro contract in Australia over playing college ball.

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Virginia transfer F Kadin Shedrick commits to Texas

Kadin Shedrick becomes Texas head coach Rodney Terry’s first transfer portal commitment.

Virginia forward Kadin Shedrick announced his commitment to Texas on Sunday night.

Shedrick becomes the first addition to Rodney Terry’s 2023-24 roster from the transfer portal. His announcement snaps a long offseason drought to bring in a player from elsewhere.

The Virginia player averaged 6.2 points and 3.8 rebounds for his team last season. Not surprisingly, the player who hails from Virginia head coach Tony Bennett’s system is known as an excellent defensive player. Albeit, he does bring an element Texas desperately needs in next year’s squad: Height.

At 6-foot-11, Shedrick would have been the tallest player on last year’s squad. He joins 6-foot-9 forward Dylan Disu on the front line for Texas. The Longhorns will hope to get rim protection from the veteran transfer, or at least good enough defense that prevents opponents from getting to the basket.

As for next season’s roster, the Longhorns are in need of two more impact scoring guards and the return of guard Tyrese Hunter and forward Dillon Mitchell. Keep an eye on Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas who is considering the Longhorns as his recruitment comes to a close.

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Texas forward Dylan Disu announces return for another season

Dylan Disu is coming back!

Texas forward Dylan Disu is returning for another season of Texas basketball. He took to Twitter on Sunday to let fans know his intention to come back.

The announcement is colossal news for the basketball program who has had a conspicuously uneventful offseason in the transfer portal. Disu’s return is the type of news the program might need to spark action on that front.

The Pflugerville product looked like a future NBA player last season, particularly in the Big 12 Tournament and NCAA Tournament. Disu was near automatic in mid-range and rescued the team from offensive lulls late in the season.

With his return, Texas now has a go-to scorer with solid shooting range for a post player. Now new head coach Rodney Terry will look to build around him for the 2023 season.

For now, Disu is joined by veteran forward Brock Cunningham, returning reserve players Gavin Perryman and Alex Anamekwe, and highly regarded forward Ron Holland. The team will look to add veteran guards and post presences with what remains of the transfer portal.

Texas hoops stifles panic meter with positive transfer portal news

The ‘Horns are in serious contention for big time portal players.

It’s been a wild last few days on the Forty Acres. The suspense surprisingly isn’t coming from Texas football. Continue reading “Texas hoops stifles panic meter with positive transfer portal news”

Texas F Dillon Mitchell declares for NBA Draft, retains eligibility

Texas basketball is going to look a lot different next season.

Texas forward Dillon Mitchell made big news on Wednesday. The big time player declared for the NBA Draft.

While the news is suboptimal for the Longhorns next season, Mitchell still appears open to returning to the team. The talented forward posted to social media announcing that while he declares for the draft, he still maintains eligibility.

There aren’t many players from the team’s Elite Eight roster that intend to return for next season. Not long ago, Rowan Brumbaugh announced his transfer to play basketball at Georgetown. Arterio Morris let the public know he would enter the transfer portal as well.

Forward Brock Cunningham is one of the few set to return to the team. There’s a possibility that NCAA Tournament scoring hero Dylan Disu returns as could Tyrese Hunter and Mitchell if they are turned down by NBA teams.

Frankly, Texas needs all four of those possible returnees and as many as 6 transfers to field a team comparable to last season’s squad. After striking out on multiple early targets, new head coach Rodney Terry needs to start winning some of his portal recruitments quickly.

Texas will hold out hope that Mitchell, Disu and Hunter return to the team next season.

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Texas, UConn, Indiana to play in Empire Classic hoops series

Texas could face UConn, the 2023 NCAA Champions early next season.

The Texas basketball schedule appears to be ramping up next season. After a respectable schedule saw the Longhorns face Gonzaga, Creighton, and Illinois, the team is already set to play high profile games next season.

Earlier this week, we learned that Texas would reunite with former head coach Shaka Smart and the Marquette Golden Eagles in the Big 12-Big East Battle. Smart pulled off a surprising AP National Coach of the Year bid this season after helping his team to a No. 2 seed. Marquette fell to the Michigan State Spartans in the Round of 32.

Now it appears the Longhorns will join UConn, Indiana, and Louisville in New York for the Empire Classic in early November. The early season series gives Texas the opportunity to face two of the top coaches in college basketball, UConn’s Danny Hurley and Indiana’s Mike Woodson.

The low stakes series of games gives Texas head coach Rodney Terry and company a chance to simulate tournament style basketball with their new look team. The games kick off Nov. 19 toward the start of next season.

CBS Sports ranks the top basketball players in the transfer portal

The college basketball transfer portal is loaded with talent.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry has plenty of positions to fill following multiple departures from his Elite Eight roster. Fortunately for Terry, the transfer portal is not short on talented players looking for a change of scenery.

The Longhorns’ most pressing needs are well known. Texas needs scoring guards to replace the production Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice gave the team last year. In addition, they’ll need more height than the past two teams to combat the length of teams such as Purdue and Tennessee have had of late.

On Wednesday, CBS Sports gave an idea of some of the better players Texas could target in the portal. Here’s a look at their top 10 transfers for the 2023 offseason thus far.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry claims a big role in roster construction

“I recruited three starters on this roster. Don’t get it twisted.”

Texas head coach Rodney Terry proved he can coach this season. His track record of recruiting stands up to scrutiny. Now, he is tasked with rebuilding a team through the transfer portal. Terry believes he can make it happen.

In an interview in Houston over Final Four weekend, Terry aimed to set the record straight on his involvement in building the Texas roster.

Chris (Beard) was a great coach. But he didn’t put this roster together by himself. We did. I’m not one to pat myself on the back, but I recruited three starters on this roster, don’t get it twisted.

Terry wasn’t in any way trying to discredit Beard as a head coach. He drove his point home by stating that recruiting is a team effort. Moving forward it will still be a team effort. Albeit, he pushed back against the notion that he cannot recruit the portal.

Despite his track record, he’ll face the new test of recruiting players to his program, not a program led by Rick Barnes or Chris Beard. If his confidence in his ability of building the program is any indication, Texas is in good hands.

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Looking at a potential best-case lineup for Texas basketball next year

Texas could be primed for a massive portal haul. We project a possible lineup for the team.

The Texas Longhorns basketball program could be one player away from a trip back to the Elite Eight. What if I told you that player is a portal transfer from Northern Colorado?

On Thursday night, we learned that Texas had contacted 6-foot-6 Northern Colorado guard Dalton Knecht and shared their interest in bringing over the athletic talent.

Knecht averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds over the last season. He commands a list of suitors that includes Texas, Arkansas, Gonzaga, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and UCLA.

The largely unknown talent scores in a handful of ways. Knecht connects on step back long range baskets like former BYU star Jimmer Fredette and throws down highlight dunks like Mac McClung. And while it’s often unlikely that a team is one transfer away from contention, the mid-major star might fit that billing for Texas.

Here’s a look at a potential best-case lineup for Texas.