Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
What would an NBA team look like if it was only composed of former Texas Longhorns currently in the NBA? Here is our starting five.
Recently Longhorns Wire released their all NFL offensive and defensive teams using only Longhorns currently in the NFL. The offensive teams and defensive posts can be found using the links below.
Continue reading “An NBA team composed of only Texas Longhorns”
2021 PF KJ Adams has announced his top 10 with UT making the cut. Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech join Texas as Big 12 teams.
2021 power forward KJ Adams has announced his top 10 with Texas making the cut. Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech join the Longhorns as Big 12 teams.
Continue reading “Four-star power forward from Westlake announces top 10”
Texas has offered 2021 four-star forward Jordan Nesbitt. The Longhorns are the seventh power program to offer the St. Louis native.
Texas has offered 2021 four-star forward Jordan Nesbitt. The Longhorns are the seventh power program to offer the St. Louis native.
Continue reading “Texas offers 2021 four-star small forward from St. Louis”
Texas has offered 2021 prospect D’Marco Dunn from Tuscon, Arizona. The three-star shooting guard has picked up his first Big 12 offer.
Texas has offered 2021 prospect D’Marco Dunn from Tuscon, Arizona. The three-star shooting guard has picked up his first Big 12 offer.
Continue reading “The Longhorns offer 2021 three-star guard from Arizona”
With the addition of five-star Greg Brown, UT has jumped six spots in the Rothstein 45, coming in at No. 15. Back in March, UT was No. 21.
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports has released his top 45 teams going into the 2020-2021 college basketball season. Back in March, the Longhorns sat within the top 25 at No. 21, behind four other Big 12 schools.
With the addition of five-star forward Greg Brown, Texas has jumped six spots in the standings, coming in at No. 15. Leaping West Virginia (No. 16) and Texas Tech (No. 17), the Longhorns now only sit behind Baylor (No. 3) and Kansas (No. 4) in the Big 12.
Here is how the college basketball insider thinks Texas’ lineup will look next season:
15. Texas
G Matt Coleman
G Courtney Ramey
G Andrew Jones
F Kai Jones
F Greg BrownKey Losses: None
Key Newcomers: Greg Brown
Projected Bench: Kamaka Hepa, Jase Febres, Will Baker, Brock Cunningham, Royce Hamm, Gerald Liddell, Donovan Williams, Jericho Sims
Three key returning starters for the Longhorns will be the starting guards of Matt Coleman, Courtney Ramey, and Andrew Jones. Averaging a combined 35.1 points per game last season, the guards will be expected to carry the load game in and game out once again.
Brown will be the missing factor that can elevate Texas to a new level next season. His athleticism mixed with his raw basketball talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball, will be the reason the Longhorns compete in the Big 12.
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ESPN has projected UT as a four seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament Bracketology. This would be UT’s highest seed in the tournament since 2011.
Picking up five-star forward Greg Brown has built up hype for this upcoming basketball season, with Texas expected to be better than usual. Bringing back 100% of their production to go along with Brown and Shaka Smart is expected to have his best team ever in Austin.
Even ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is buying into the hype around this Longhorns team, ranking them as high as a four seed in his 2021 NCAA Tournament Bracketology. This would be Texas’ highest seed in the tournament ever under Smart and the highest since the 2011 tournament.
Playing in the West region, Gonzaga reigns as the No. 1 overall seed. Wisconsin, Big 12 rival Texas Tech, and Oregon round out the top five.
Here is the full region:
Outside of the west, five other Big 12 schools are projected to make the NCAA tournament, including Baylor being a one-seed in the South region. With those first and second-round games projected to be in Dallas, the Bears would have a huge home-court advantage against their opponents.
Kansas is once again expected to be a top team in the country, being a two-seed in the Midwest region. The Jayhawks are joined by Oklahoma State in their region but on the opposite side of the bracket. The Cowboys are projected to be nine-seed. This would be the first time Oklahoma State made the NCAA Tournament since 2017.
To round out the conference, West Virginia and Oklahoma will represent the Big 12 in the East region. The Mountaineers will be a three-seed, while the Sooners will be a nine-seed. The two were both expected to make the 2019 NCAA Tournament but was canceled due to the coronavirus.
As a whole, the Big 12 is going to have a rebound type season in college basketball. While the conference may have the same amount of teams in the NCAA Tournament, a couple schools outside of Kansas and Baylor will be highly seeded.
Thanks to the commitment of Greg Brown, Texas will hopefully be one of those highly seeded teams. Last season, finishing third in the Big 12 (as the Longhorns did) put you in an elimination game in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. In 2020-2021, finishing third in the conference could have you as a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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Despite coming back to Texas for the 2020-2021 season, 247Sports have put Smart on their list for potential head coach hires at Wake Forest.
Shaka Smart has been on the hot seat for the past couple of seasons, needing to make the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns were on pace to make the big dance in 2020, but the coronavirus shut down the season, not letting it play out.
Shortly after the season was canceled, athletic director Chris Del Conte announced Smart would be back for the 2020-2021 season. It will be his sixth season in Austin, needing to make the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in his tenure.
Despite all of this, 247Sports have put Smart as the first name of their list for potential head coach hires at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons fired Danny Manning after losing seasons in five of his six years. His one winning season saw them losing in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Here is what 247Sports had to say about the potential hire:
It’s 2014 all over again, as Shaka Smart is once again being linked to the Wake Forest Basketball head coaching position. Is it still a dream hire for Demon Deacon fans? It might be tough to find a more qualified candidate. Smart has made the NCAA Tournament seven of his 11 years coaching, and led VCU to the Final Four in 2011. Of course, he’s still the coach at Texas, a massive school with an astronomical athletics budget and a sizable contract buy-out that goes along with that. The friendship between incoming Wake Forest athletic director John Currie and Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte could potentially bridge that gap, however. Del Conte has already announced that Smart will return for the 2020-21 season, and the Longhorns played reasonably well down the stretch last season.
If Del Conte was not willing to pay the buyout back in March, there is no reason he would do it today. Especially if it meant Smart was going to be coaching elsewhere. Texas would then be left without a head coach during an awkward time in the sports world.
While he is on the hot seat and needs to perform, Smart will be staying in Austin, Smart should be in place for the 2020-2021 season. Returning all of their talent next season, the Longhorns are set to have a good season. Possibly the best team Smart has assembled during his time as head coach.
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Texas will open the 2020-2021 season against Louisiana. Scheduled to play November 10, the game will be played at the Frank Erwin Center.
According to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com, Texas will open the 2020-2021 season against Louisiana. Scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 10, the game will be held at the Frank Erwin Center. It will be the fifth consecutive season the Longhorns will begin in Austin.
This will be the fifth time the programs have played each other but the first since the 1999-2000 season. Despite a 2-2 record in the series, Texas has won the past two games, 1987 and 1999. The Ragin Cajuns snagged victories in 1972 and 1980.
Source: Texas will open the 20-21 college basketball season against Louisiana on November 10th in Austin.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 24, 2020
Under Shaka Smart, the Longhorns are 4-1 in season openers. All but one have been against non-power conference schools, including Incarnate Word, Northwestern State, Eastern Illinois and Northern Colorado. The one loss came in his first season, playing against Washington in China.
Texas’ non-conference schedule is slowly rolling out. The Longhorns are scheduled to face Gonzaga and Villanova at home and take part in the Maui Invitational.
With Greg Brown committing on Friday, the Longhorns’ expectations for the 2020-2021 season have gone up. Even with another tough nonconference schedule, Texas will be expected to perform next season.
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Texas has landed a huge recruit in the 2020 cycle, with five-star forward Greg Brown announcing he will be staying home and attending UT.
Texas has landed a huge recruit in the 2020 cycle, with five-star forward Greg Brown announcing he will be staying home and attending the University of Texas. Coming out of Austin, not only is this a huge in-state get for the Longhorns but getting such a highly rated recruit within your own city is a big win for Texas.
Brown chose Texas instead of the professional route and playing on the new NBA G-League team. After five-star guard Jalen Green announced he would be turning professional instead of going to college, Brown’s name was immediately rumored to be next. Reportedly offered just over $400,000 to play professionally, Brown decided he would go the college route and play for Shaka Smart.
2020 prospect Greg Brown has committed to Texas, he announced.
5-star recruit.
Big get for Shaka Smart.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 24, 2020
Jerry Meyer of 247Sports describes Brown as “long and freakily athletic” and he “runs like the wind.” The perfect description for Smart’s quick-paced system, Brown will have the opportunity to run up and down the court and be a major piece around Texas’ star guards.
With the commitment of Brown, here is how Texas’ starting lineup could next season:
Brown will now be the only unfamiliar face playing for Texas next season. Every other player on the roster next season will be returning players, something that is valuable in college basketball.
Big 12 basketball had a down season in 2019-2020 and is expecting a big rebound year. Kansas and Baylor are expected to play at an elite level, while teams such as Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia are expected to return to top 25 status throughout the entire season.
Brown will be able to bring the Longhorns into the conversation at the top of the Big 12 conversation. Winning five out of their last six to end the season in 2019-2020, Texas comes into the 2020-2021 season with a great chance to contend for a conference championship.
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UT is once again trying to pull players from this transfer portal. According to CBS Sports, UT has reached out to Francis Okoro of Oregon.
Shaka Smart is once again trying to pull players from this transfer portal, this time from out west. According to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com, the Longhorns have reached out to Francis Okoro, who has spent two seasons at Oregon. 15 other schools including Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Purdue, Seton Hall, and Texas A&M have also reached out.
The junior forward from Nigeria has seen decent minutes during his time in Eugene but has failed to make a huge impact. In the 2019-2020 season, he played in 29 games while averaging 17 minutes. Okoro was able to produce an average of 3.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks.
Oregon transfer Francis Okoro tells me he's receiving interest from the following programs:
Illinois
Saint Louis
Purdue
Texas
Texas A&M
San Diego State
Drake
Houston
Marquette
Oklahoma
Seton Hall
Illinois State
Missouri
Southern Illinois
Northwestern
Western Kentucky— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 21, 2020
Listed at 6-9 and 235 pounds, Okoro is a big body forward is a physical athlete who has a solid presence inside the three-point arc offensively and defensively.
His best game of his career came in 2019 when he posted a career-high 12 points on 5-6 shooting and added another career-high with 17 rebounds against Montana.
With Greg Brown set to commit on Friday, the Longhorns going after Okoro could be an in case of emergency plan. The five-star forward from Austin is expected to choose between Texas, Memphis, and going professional.
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