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.

Four Texas players listed on CBS Sports’ most impactful basketball transfers

CBS Sports recently ranked the most impactful college basketball transfers for the 2021 season.

Newly hired head coach Chris Beard had a monster offseason for Texas basketball. Continue reading “Four Texas players listed on CBS Sports’ most impactful basketball transfers”

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:

Texas Basketball: Predicting the starting five for the 2021-22 season

Here’s a way-too-early prediction of Texas basketball’s starting five next season.

Texas head coach Chris Beard has been on a roll despite the short amount of time that he’s been in Austin. Although the Longhorns lost a few players including Kai Jones (NBA draft) on top of Royce Hamm and Donovan Williams transferring to UNLV, Beard has gotten plenty more in return.

He’s assembled what looks like an elite coaching staff and has acquired plenty of talent in the process through the portal and recruiting. It also helps to have a player like Andrew Jones return for another season and lead this group of new faces.

It’s still too early to confirm who will be on the Forty Acres next season, but it looks like the starting five will feature several new names. Key players Greg Brown, Courtney Ramey, Matt Coleman III and Jericho Sims are still undecided on their futures at the moment.

Over the last two weeks, Texas acquired Timmy Allen, Devin Askew, Christian Bishop and Jaylon Tyson. Here’s who I predict could be a part of Texas’ starting five for the 2021-22 season under Beard. If Sims chooses to not return to Texas, Tyson would likely find his way into a starting role.

Texas Basketball: Chris Beard lands another transfer, former Utah standout

Texas Longhorns basketball lands highly sought-after forward Timmy Allen from Utah.

The rich keep getting richer. Tuesday was a monster day for Texas basketball under new head coach Chris Beard.

Scoring leader Andrew Jones announced that he would return for one more season and Texas landed Kentucky transfer Devin Askew. On Tuesday night, the good news continued to roll in as Beard landed another highly sought-after player from the transfer portal in former Utah standout Timmy Allen.

While many assumed this would be a rebuilding year for the Longhorns, Beard’s presence in Austin is already making a big impact. Allen announced his commitment to Texas via Twitter.

Allen played three seasons at Utah and was one of the top players in the conference. The 6-foot-6, 198-pound playmaker was a two-time All-Pac 12 player the last two years and was on the All-Pac 12 team his freshman season, starting 82 of his 85 career games.

He averaged 15.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Allen shot 47.9% from the field, 49.9% from three-point range and 74% from the free-throw line.

With Kai Jones leaving for the upcoming 2021 NBA draft, along with Greg Brown and Jericho Sims’ futures in the air, the Longhorns were in desperate need of points on the outside, inside, rebounds and starting experience. With Timmy Allen, they got all of it in one player.