With the decision for Damonic Williams looming, it got me thinking of how casually it felt like we breezed right on by just an awesome transfer portal haul for Rodney Terry and team.
March Madness has concluded, but it feels like the excitement around the Longhorns men's basketball program is heating up and it's only getting hotter.
Hey coach.....
Well done.
As a recap, the coaching staff just went bananas in the transfer portal landing 5(!) really quality guys. Some of them are going to be instant contributors, some are going to be rotational, and one probably needs some development before playing meaningful minutes.
Let's do a quick review of the transfer commitments...
PG - Julian Larry, Senior (Indiana State)
PG - Jordan Pope, Junior (Oregon State)
SG - Tramon Mark, Senior (Arkansas)
SF/PF - Malik Presley, Sophomore (Vanderbilt)
PF - Jayson Kent, Senior (Indiana State)
With the departure of 8(!) players that were on scholarship, the Horns needed to find a way to supplement the talented youth that remained on the roster. They did just that by bringing in not only experienced, but also talented transfers. The consistent theme that we've seen from Rodney Terry is that he can do some WORK in the portal. Now granted, there is some improvement to be made as it relates to being a great recruiter, but as far as the portal is concerned he's one of the best in the country (so far).
So when we look at the transfers added and scholarship guys that are still rostered, the breakdown looks like this:
PG - Jordan Pope, Junior *
PG - Julian Larry, Senior
SG - Chendall Weaver, Junior
SG - Tre Johnson, Freshman *
SG - Tramon Mark, Senior *
SG/SF - Malik Presley, Sophomore
SF - Devon Pryor, Sophomore
F - Jayson Kent, Senior *
PF - Zerik Onyema, Senior
PF - Nic Codie, Freshman
C - Kadin Shedrick, Senior *
* = projected starter
Now don't freak-out because I have Chendall Weaver coming off the bench, but he is the ultimate energy guy and embraced his role last season while playing some of his best basketball down the stretch. A good sixth man is irreplaceable. You can also just switch Tre Johnson for Weaver, but for now this is how I see it unfolding after deliberating over the weekend.
At first glance, this roster looks pretty salty, with the only glaring issue being depth in the front court (which they need to probably get going on, and soon). The starting 5 has the makeup of a very dynamic offense, and a fairly good defense. You can't replace Tyrese Hunter's on-ball defense, as he was probably the best on-ball defender Texas had since Demarcus Holland. BUT if you can mask this hypothetical defensive inefficiency with a lineup that has quite the offensive firepower, so be it. Another thing that you'll probably notice is that this particular starting 5 is bigger than what the Horns have had over the last few years. From PG-C, it would go...6'2, 6'6, 6'6, 6'8, 6'11 assuming that nothing changes.
Yes please.
So what else needs to be done?
Well the obvious thing, needs to be establishing some additional depth in the front court. Other than that, it's hard to say until you get all of the guys on campus. What I would LIKE to see, is the Longhorns play with much more of a consistent offensive identity moving forward. I firmly believe that they now have the pieces in place to do that, so let's hope this offseason can give us some more glimpses into how Rodney Terry and staff wants to structure this team moving forward. This team has a lot of shooting on the floor, and can create a bunch of mismatches. My prediction is that the days where we watch primary ball handlers dribble the air out of the ball until 5 seconds left in the shot clock only to take a terrible shot/wasted possession, are over.
With all of the good that Terry and staff have done this offseason, there are some questions that are still bouncing around my head...
The answers to these questions will of course come in time, but just to let you know where my (and I'm sure many of your) head is at.
Let's see how it plays out...
Thanks for reading!
March Madness has concluded, but it feels like the excitement around the Longhorns men's basketball program is heating up and it's only getting hotter.
Hey coach.....
Well done.
As a recap, the coaching staff just went bananas in the transfer portal landing 5(!) really quality guys. Some of them are going to be instant contributors, some are going to be rotational, and one probably needs some development before playing meaningful minutes.
Let's do a quick review of the transfer commitments...
PG - Julian Larry, Senior (Indiana State)
PG - Jordan Pope, Junior (Oregon State)
SG - Tramon Mark, Senior (Arkansas)
SF/PF - Malik Presley, Sophomore (Vanderbilt)
PF - Jayson Kent, Senior (Indiana State)
With the departure of 8(!) players that were on scholarship, the Horns needed to find a way to supplement the talented youth that remained on the roster. They did just that by bringing in not only experienced, but also talented transfers. The consistent theme that we've seen from Rodney Terry is that he can do some WORK in the portal. Now granted, there is some improvement to be made as it relates to being a great recruiter, but as far as the portal is concerned he's one of the best in the country (so far).
So when we look at the transfers added and scholarship guys that are still rostered, the breakdown looks like this:
PG - Jordan Pope, Junior *
PG - Julian Larry, Senior
SG - Chendall Weaver, Junior
SG - Tre Johnson, Freshman *
SG - Tramon Mark, Senior *
SG/SF - Malik Presley, Sophomore
SF - Devon Pryor, Sophomore
F - Jayson Kent, Senior *
PF - Zerik Onyema, Senior
PF - Nic Codie, Freshman
C - Kadin Shedrick, Senior *
* = projected starter
Now don't freak-out because I have Chendall Weaver coming off the bench, but he is the ultimate energy guy and embraced his role last season while playing some of his best basketball down the stretch. A good sixth man is irreplaceable. You can also just switch Tre Johnson for Weaver, but for now this is how I see it unfolding after deliberating over the weekend.
At first glance, this roster looks pretty salty, with the only glaring issue being depth in the front court (which they need to probably get going on, and soon). The starting 5 has the makeup of a very dynamic offense, and a fairly good defense. You can't replace Tyrese Hunter's on-ball defense, as he was probably the best on-ball defender Texas had since Demarcus Holland. BUT if you can mask this hypothetical defensive inefficiency with a lineup that has quite the offensive firepower, so be it. Another thing that you'll probably notice is that this particular starting 5 is bigger than what the Horns have had over the last few years. From PG-C, it would go...6'2, 6'6, 6'6, 6'8, 6'11 assuming that nothing changes.
Yes please.
So what else needs to be done?
Well the obvious thing, needs to be establishing some additional depth in the front court. Other than that, it's hard to say until you get all of the guys on campus. What I would LIKE to see, is the Longhorns play with much more of a consistent offensive identity moving forward. I firmly believe that they now have the pieces in place to do that, so let's hope this offseason can give us some more glimpses into how Rodney Terry and staff wants to structure this team moving forward. This team has a lot of shooting on the floor, and can create a bunch of mismatches. My prediction is that the days where we watch primary ball handlers dribble the air out of the ball until 5 seconds left in the shot clock only to take a terrible shot/wasted possession, are over.
With all of the good that Terry and staff have done this offseason, there are some questions that are still bouncing around my head...
- .500 is unacceptable in conference play. How do we rectify that going into the SEC next year?
- Why is high school talent continuing to leave before stepping on campus?
- What is the bar for this program in terms of the NCAA tournament? Is it the Sweet 16? What do we consider a "successful season"?
- What kind of identity does RT want these teams to have? Does it vary based on personnel? It should...
The answers to these questions will of course come in time, but just to let you know where my (and I'm sure many of your) head is at.
Let's see how it plays out...
Thanks for reading!
Last edited:
