Tag: texas basketball

Texas basketball predicted No. 3 in Big 12 preseason rankings

The Texas Longhorns will look to duplicate some of last season’s successes on the basketball court.

It’s a new day in Texas basketball. The program gets ready to embark on its first full season with head coach Rodney Terry following a Big 12 Tournament title and Elite Eight appearance.

There’s a stability and security we haven’t seen from the program since the days of former head coach Rick Barnes. There’s a proven track record on which Texas can depend.

Terry and company got the job done in big games last season after weathering an early season storm with former head coach Chris Beard. Terry carried the program out of chaos to among college basketball’s elite. Yet after losing several key players, a new challenge stands ahead of Texas.

The Longhorns will take the court without Marcus Carr, Sir’Jabari Rice, Timmy Allen, Arterio Morris and Christian Bishop among others. With that, the team loses the majority of its production from last season.

The team will, however, return its best post scorer in Dylan Disu who shined in the back half of the season. Texas also brings back point guard Tyrese Hunter and key forwards in Brock Cunningham and Dillon Mitchell.

A late portal haul helped the team add more scorers and defensive pieces to the roster. Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas stands as the team’s prized portal addition after leading his squad in back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Abmas averaged 21.9 points and 4.0 assists last season.

Virginia transfer Kadin Shedrick is set to give Texas a defensive post presence. He is joined by UT-Arlington guard transfer Chendall Weaver and UTEP forward addition Ze’Rik Onyema. Expectations should be lower for the latter two players, though their contribution could prove essential.

It’s unclear what to expect from the team. Certainly, it’s unrealistic to expect Texas will move as cohesively as last season where several players were already in place. Nevertheless, the new-look Longhorns have a ton of potential. If last year is any indication, head coach Rodney Terry will maximize their performance and win when it matters.

Texas tips off against Incarnate Word on Nov. 6 with big tests against Louisville and Shaka Smart’s Marquette later in nonconference play.

Five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson cancels visits, is down to two schools

Tre Johnson is down to two schools as the a decision is fast approaching.

Tre Johnson seems to be winding down his recruitment with the five-star guard canceling the remainder of his visits.

The class of 2025 recruit is down to Baylor and Texas, with Johnson cutting programs Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas and Kentucky from his final list. A 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Link Academy (Dallas), Johnson is a consensus five-star recruit and is ranked a top-five player nationally by all four recruiting services.

He is the No. 4 recruit in the nation according to ESPN and for good reason. Johnson is a confident and creative scorer who has the ability to create off the dribble. He has a nice touch on his jump shot.

There is good range to his game and he is effective when posting up.

According to the On3 Prediction Machine, Baylor is the favorite to land Johnson at 38.2 percent. Predictably, it is Texas at second with 33.4 percent.

His father, Richard Johnson, played his college basketball at Baylor and Midwestern State. He is in the Hall of Honor at Midwestern.

Texas lands five-star guard Cam Scott

The Longhorns were able to land one of the top players in the country.

The five-stars are coming in bunches for Texas athletics as a day after the football team landed five-star EDGE Colin Simmons, the basketball team answered with one of their own. Continue reading “Texas lands five-star guard Cam Scott”

Rodney Terry discusses the impact of not being named head coach last year

Rodney Terry was never bothered by the outside noise.

Texas’ basketball season was a roller coaster of headlines throughout the year, as the team seemed poised to make a deep run under head coach Chris Beard. Continue reading “Rodney Terry discusses the impact of not being named head coach last year”

Texas offers five-star forward Cooper Flagg

Texas is pursuing one of the best high school prospects in the country.

Over the past couple days we learned Texas’ basketball team is pursuing one of the most coveted recruits in high school basketball. Continue reading “Texas offers five-star forward Cooper Flagg”

WATCH: Kai Jones puts Victor Wembanyama on poster in NBA Summer League

The former Longhorn posterized the biggest NBA prospect since LeBron James.

On Friday, basketball fans from all over the world tuned in to the NBA Summer League to watch the debut of French prodigy and No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick from the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama.

Deemed one of the best prospects ever, the 7-foot-5 big man can dribble like a guard, shoot the three, and protect the rim at an elite level. However, in what was his first summer league game, he didn’t quite have the showing that he would have liked. Wembanyama’s shot wasn’t falling, and he looked a tad lost at times. He himself admitted after the game that he didn’t really know what he was doing on the court.

Wembanyama finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and five blocks on 2-of-13 shooting. While it would be asinine to look too much into the shaky performance from Wembanyama, one of his low lights of the game was getting dunked on by former Longhorn big man, Kai Jones.

Jones has been in the Hornets organization for the past couple years, but is still earning his spot on the roster and maybe even in the league. He has had a couple stints in the G League, and has played in just 67 games total in the NBA.

If Jones continues to make more highlight reel plays like this, he may help his case in earning a spot with the NBA squad.

When it comes to the game itself, Wembanyama and the spurs got the last laugh winning 76-68.

Texas basketball comes in at No. 20 in CBS Sports’ Top 25

The Longhorns are coming off their best season on the court since 2008.

The Longhorns are coming off their best season on the court since 2008 despite the major distractions from the Chris Beard incident. Continue reading “Texas basketball comes in at No. 20 in CBS Sports’ Top 25”

Former Texas forward Tre Mitchell transfers to Kentucky

The former Longhorn is on the move again.

For what will now be his fourth school in as many years, former Texas forward Tre Mitchell has announced that the will be transferring to Kentucky. Continue reading “Former Texas forward Tre Mitchell transfers to Kentucky”

Dillon Mitchell projected to go in first round of 2024 NBA Draft

The Longhorn forward returns for a second year with the hopes of improving his draft stock.

One of the biggest wins in recruiting for Texas in the 2022 class was landing five-star forward Dillon Mitchell. Continue reading “Dillon Mitchell projected to go in first round of 2024 NBA Draft”