Tag: Texas Basketball roster

College basketball analyst Jay Bilas gives his thoughts on Texas hoops

Jay Bilas speaks highly of Texas basketball ahead of their season opener.

While many thought that Steve Sarkisian would lead the football team to glory in his first season on the Forty Acres, the hype and expectations for Chris Beard and the basketball program seem to be a tad more realistic.

Beard hit the ground at an Usain Bolt paced sprint in Austin, as he went out and landed some of the top transfers in college basketball to form what looks to be a super team capable of winning it all.

After consistently disappointing and being unable to advance in the NCAA Tournament, the expectations for Texas’ basketball program are now as high as ever.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas wrote exclusive content for ESPN about the top teams in the country and everything you need know about the upcoming season. He not only mentioned the Longhorns, he raved about their potential.

Here is what he had to say about Beard’s squad:

Chris Beard was the best hire of the season, and he chose to return to his alma mater in Austin. Beard wasted no time stocking the Longhorn cupboard with new talent, grabbing the best haul of transfers of the recruiting season. Guards Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey return to form a fiery, experienced backcourt, but the addition of transfers Marcus Carr (Minnesota), Timmy Allen (Utah), Dylan Disu (Vanderbilt), Tre Mitchell (UMass), Christian Bishop (Creighton) and Devin Askew (Kentucky) make this team special. Seven players on this roster averaged double-figures last season. If the transfers are willing to sacrifice and defend, Texas can beat anybody.

Texas’ season gets one tune up game when they play Houston Baptist on Nov. 9 in the season opener, but will quickly be tested when they have to take on No. 1 Gonzaga in just their second game.

The pursuit of a dream season starts today for Texas.

WATCH: Tristen Licón goes from grad assistant to Texas basketball player

One open gym changed this graduate assistant’s life.

In what seems to be straight out of a Disney movie, Tristen Licón is changing his dream in the most bizarre fashion possible.

It is not often that someone is ready to move on to a different chapter in their life, but ends up getting the opportunity of a lifetime that completely changes the ending of the story that they thought was done.

As told by KTSM’s Colin Deaver, Licón’s career is anything but done. The graduate transfer point guard is in the midst of living what seems to be a fever dream.

Licón starred at Sul Ross State, a Division III school in Alpine, Texas where he was the program’s second all-time leading scorer with 1,579 points. He averaged 15.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists on his way to being named a two-time American Southwest Conference (ASC) all-league selection, two-time D3hoops.com All-South Region second-team selection, and a four-time ASC West All-Division selection.

After finishing his four seasons at Sul Ross State, Licón decided to reach out to Texas head coach Chris Beard for a graduate assistant role, which he later was offered and accepted. Licón was intrigued to learn about coaching, and everything he would be able to learn as graduate assistant.

After about two months into the job, players from the team invited him to join in on a open gym, in which he stunned them with his playing ability to the point that the players raved to Beard about the grad assistant’s ability to ball.

Thanks to the COVID-19 season, Licón has one more season of eligibility. His play from the open gym, that was initially just for fun, allowed him to become a member of the Texas Longhorns basketball team as a player.

The Longhorns are starting the season ranked No. 5 in the country, and play their first game against Houston Baptist on Nov. 9.

Texas Basketball: Projecting the starting five

The Longhorns are going to look much different in 2021.

Texas’ basketball program was in utter turmoil after their third consecutive opening round loss in the NCAA Tournament. The shocking loss to Abilene Christian last March saw the end of the Shaka Smart era in which literally nothing besides a meaningless Big 12 Championship was accomplished.

Smart was unable to replicate the success he once had while at VCU. However, there is a new coach in charge for Texas now in Chris Beard. The first-year head coach wasted no time attracting legit talent to Austin via the transfer portal. While at Texas Tech, Beard led the Red Raiders to a National Championship game appearance (2019) and Elite Eight appearance (2018), both of which were the first time in school history.

Beard and the Longhorns are now done constructing the roster, and it is safe to say the starting five can be predicted. The only difference that has shaken up the roster is transfer Marcus Carr joining the squad, as a player of his caliber will find himself starting right away.

While there are a few players from last season that will see more significant playing time with the likes of Brock Cunningham and Jase Febres, it is unlikely that they find their way into the starting rotation. However, Beard was using up to nine players during the tournament, so the more depth pieces the better.

Let’s take a look who I believe could be the sixth man and starting five for Chris Beard in 2021. Obviously this is opinion based and arguments are welcomed.

Updated look at Texas basketball’s roster under Chris Beard

Chris Beard was tasked with a total rebuild. Now, there are eight players on the 2021-2022 roster.

Chris Beard made a couple of things clear during his introductory press conference. First, the only expectation at the University of Texas is winning on a consistent basis.

“We fear no one,” Beard said. “We don’t think we’re better than anybody. We’re going to have that University of Texas swagger and confidence, but we’re going to have that humbleness to win at the highest level as well.”

Second, the former Texas Tech man was adamant there was not going to be a rebuilding season in his first year on the Forty Acres. Beard faced the challenge of attempting to build a new roster after Texas’ round of 64 exit in the NCAA Tournament.

Four players have announced they will return. Brock Cunningham, Jase Febres, Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey will play for Beard this upcoming season.

Two major decisions loom as well. Greg Brown and Jericho Sims are still flirting with the NBA and have yet to announce their future plans.

The transfer portal has been hit hard. The Longhorns have already brought in four players from different schools. To add a flare to the rivalry with Texas Tech, Beard even brought along four-star forward Jaylon Tyson with him.

Nine players are on the roster for the 2021-2022 season. You can see them all here: