Texas Basketball Recruiting Notes: Keep Austin Beard

[canadianhorn21 963]

 

[CashMcCoy 3,199]

Great athlete, kinda like a shorter Jericho type player IMO. Would love to see what Beard could do with him.

[Burt Macklin 19,020]

Got dam. Seems like we’re in it for almost every big time transfer out there.
 

Remember that time Shaka clearly didn’t have a PG going into his second year and did basically nothing about it and we were god awful all year because of it? That was fun. 

[Getafix 28,567]

 

TRAVIS BRANHAM:  Oklahoma transfer De’Vion Harmon talks plans moving forward and schools in contact
 

 

Spoiler

Oklahoma transfer De’Vion Harmon talks plans moving forward and schools in contact
TRAVIS BRANHAM

Oklahoma sophomore De’Vion Harmon entered the transfer portal on Thursday afternoon after declaring for the NBA Draft, while maintaining his eligibility, in late March.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound point guard spoke with 247Sports discussing his plans on the NBA and college options, the schools in contact with him today and more.

“Really it’s just keeping every single option open,” Harmon said of his plan. “That’s been the best thing for me, especially right now in this moment. The NBA is always the goal. I definitely want to keep doing that, I’m still training for it but as far as the portal, it’s just going in there and still being able to talk to coach [Porter] Moser and his staff but also being able to talk with everybody else, every other college program that may want me to come play for them. Really it’s just keeping the options open and just going by the day.”

“There’s not set day on any decisions whether that’s staying in the Draft or going to another school to play ball,” he added. “Just going by the day, enjoying the moment and having fun with the process. That’s the best thing that I can do and my parents can do right now.”

When it comes to testing the NBA waters Harmon is not set on whether he will decide to come back after his initial feedback or decide his decision after workouts.

“Obviously, the feedback is definitely in there,” he said of his steps with testing the NBA Draft process. “Definitely want to see about workouts for teams and all of that kind of stuff but that all goes in with taking each day and trying to get more information, trying to figure stuff out, find out different things, see what type of things can go on and what won’t go on. After that, once we get more information then it’ll be easier to make a decision.”

After entering the portal today, Harmon heard from several high major programs including Oregon, Texas, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Indiana and Oklahoma State.

The standout transfer further broke down the message of Oregon, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana with 247Sports.

Indiana: “You know how the Hoosiers are. They called me and they’re supposed to have one of the coaches call me later and that will become a more clear message from them. They just said to come join Trayce Jackson-Davis and be the one-two punch.”

Kentucky: “Theirs was it is Big Blue Nation. ‘You know our history, you know our history with guys in the League, it’s different out here but this is what is going to prepare you for the NBA.’”

Oregon: “to come in there and be the point guard and help them win games and just hoop. Not worry about other stuff or worry about the mistakes I’m going to have, I am going to have bad games but just come in there and just hoop, have fun and enjoy it. If I decide to come back to school and play for them and then go back to be a Top-20 or even lottery pick next year.”

Texas: “That’s home-state, I have a great relationship with coach [Chris] Beard, coach Ulric [Maligi] and coach [Chris] Ogden. Those are the three people on his staff that I am really familiar with and they pretty much said that I have already been gone for two years so if I come back then there is no time to waste. Like coach Beard said, ‘you got to go to the League, that’s what you are going to come here to do and we’re going to win games and win a National Championship and me and you are going to be holding that trophy up on the stage in the last game in the Tournament and we’re going to be listening to One Shining Moment as we are holding up the trophy.”

Harmon’s decision to enter the transfer portal lands him amongst the top available transfers on the market and one of the top to have hit the market this year.

He was the No. 47 overall prospect in the 247Sports 2019 Composite Rankings.

 

 

[closetohumping 17,435]

14 minutes ago, Getafix said:

 

TRAVIS BRANHAM:  Oklahoma transfer De’Vion Harmon talks plans moving forward and schools in contact
 

 

  Hide contents

Oklahoma transfer De’Vion Harmon talks plans moving forward and schools in contact
TRAVIS BRANHAM

Oklahoma sophomore De’Vion Harmon entered the transfer portal on Thursday afternoon after declaring for the NBA Draft, while maintaining his eligibility, in late March.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound point guard spoke with 247Sports discussing his plans on the NBA and college options, the schools in contact with him today and more.

“Really it’s just keeping every single option open,” Harmon said of his plan. “That’s been the best thing for me, especially right now in this moment. The NBA is always the goal. I definitely want to keep doing that, I’m still training for it but as far as the portal, it’s just going in there and still being able to talk to coach [Porter] Moser and his staff but also being able to talk with everybody else, every other college program that may want me to come play for them. Really it’s just keeping the options open and just going by the day.”

“There’s not set day on any decisions whether that’s staying in the Draft or going to another school to play ball,” he added. “Just going by the day, enjoying the moment and having fun with the process. That’s the best thing that I can do and my parents can do right now.”

When it comes to testing the NBA waters Harmon is not set on whether he will decide to come back after his initial feedback or decide his decision after workouts.

“Obviously, the feedback is definitely in there,” he said of his steps with testing the NBA Draft process. “Definitely want to see about workouts for teams and all of that kind of stuff but that all goes in with taking each day and trying to get more information, trying to figure stuff out, find out different things, see what type of things can go on and what won’t go on. After that, once we get more information then it’ll be easier to make a decision.”

After entering the portal today, Harmon heard from several high major programs including Oregon, Texas, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Indiana and Oklahoma State.

The standout transfer further broke down the message of Oregon, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana with 247Sports.

Indiana: “You know how the Hoosiers are. They called me and they’re supposed to have one of the coaches call me later and that will become a more clear message from them. They just said to come join Trayce Jackson-Davis and be the one-two punch.”

Kentucky: “Theirs was it is Big Blue Nation. ‘You know our history, you know our history with guys in the League, it’s different out here but this is what is going to prepare you for the NBA.’”

Oregon: “to come in there and be the point guard and help them win games and just hoop. Not worry about other stuff or worry about the mistakes I’m going to have, I am going to have bad games but just come in there and just hoop, have fun and enjoy it. If I decide to come back to school and play for them and then go back to be a Top-20 or even lottery pick next year.”

Texas: “That’s home-state, I have a great relationship with coach [Chris] Beard, coach Ulric [Maligi] and coach [Chris] Ogden. Those are the three people on his staff that I am really familiar with and they pretty much said that I have already been gone for two years so if I come back then there is no time to waste. Like coach Beard said, ‘you got to go to the League, that’s what you are going to come here to do and we’re going to win games and win a National Championship and me and you are going to be holding that trophy up on the stage in the last game in the Tournament and we’re going to be listening to One Shining Moment as we are holding up the trophy.”

Harmon’s decision to enter the transfer portal lands him amongst the top available transfers on the market and one of the top to have hit the market this year.

He was the No. 47 overall prospect in the 247Sports 2019 Composite Rankings.

 

 

That reads like Texas

[Bevo 13,568]

59 minutes ago, CashMcCoy said:

Great athlete, kinda like a shorter Jericho type player IMO. Would love to see what Beard could do with him.

I think that is what we need. We are very guard heavy at this point. We need big athletes. In the NCAA tourney he averaged 13pts and 10 rebounds.

[texasstrong12 4,668]

8 hours ago, canadianhorn21 said:

 

This is a Tech guy but he also writes at Zagsblog which means he's likely being fed information by Adam Zagoria. So he's actually a good source on this stuff. 

Also, he tweeted that right after he RTed a Zagoria tweet about McClung 

Edited April 16, 2021 by texasstrong12

[Ricky's one-hitter 9,084]

 

 

[texasstrong12 4,668]

Timmy Allen #3. 

 

[Laxtonto 12,078]

1 hour ago, texasstrong12 said:

Timmy Allen #3. 

 

Not a single Texas transfer in the top 100....

[HtownHorn 14,668]

9 minutes ago, Laxtonto said:

Not a single Texas transfer in the top 100....

Young is there, of course, he had to go somewhere else to receive better coaching 1st.

 

Texas has already landed #3 and #22 while in pursuit of #11, #13, #14, and #32.

[Machinator 32,099]

IT

Spoiler

Members of the Texas staff, including Chris Beard, will be meeting with the families of Jericho Sims, Courtney Ramey, and Matt Coleman over the weekend as Texas makes a final push to see which or how many of the three players will return to Texas for another season.

Texas has improving possibilities in the backcourt in the transfer market, so having a much better feel for how things will shake out is needed. While Texas isn’t in a rush to finalize a 2021-2022 roster, the staff does need to know relatively quickly on Coleman and Ramey in order to move forward in the portal in the backcourt.

Oklahoma’s De’Vion Harmon, Rutgers' Jacob Young and Sienna’s Jalen Pickett are in the mix at guard with decisions expected in the next couple of weeks.

In the front court, the decision of Sims plays a key role here. While Timmy Allen will gobble up plenty of quality minutes as a combo forward, the pickings are currently slim on the interior in terms of traditional bigs.

Texas is in the final four for offensively skilled big man Tanner Groves, and versatile 6-8 forward Jacob Groves. But neither are considered strong rebounders and defenders at a high-major level.

Texas is in the final three for Creighton transfer Christian Bishop along with North Carolina and Kansas. Bishop is a 6-7 very athletic power forward, but without the ideal height and face-up ability Texas desires. Robinson is scheduled to announce his decision Saturday.

The Longhorns would absolutely be thrilled if Oklahoma sharp-shooting power forward Brady Manek reconsidered UT and reached back out. North Carolina, Duke, and Stanford are the three under serious consideration right now.

 

[theaveragejon 988]

Jake Young coming back yes? That’s weird yes?

[Horny Bull 2,759]

Christian Bishop just committed to Texas.

[Getafix 28,567]

 

 

[Bevo14 8,303]

5 minutes ago, Horny Bull said:

Christian Bishop just committed to Texas.

Errbody

[Henry Hill 3,156]

What a week.

[Omaha_Horn 7]

11 minutes ago, Bevo14 said:

Errbody

As a Creighton alum this makes me happy - he is a great kid

[Machinator 32,099]

 

[Mason Ramsey 3,373]

Landing Allen and Bishop means we probably don't get the GroBros right?

[UTGrad98 2,271]

Someone give me an updated starting line up and bench rotation! Please and thank you

[texasstrong12 4,668]

Will he follow Terry to Texas? 

 

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1,566]

47 minutes ago, UTGrad98 said:

Someone give me an updated starting line up and bench rotation! Please and thank you

G - Askew 

G - Jones / Cunningham 

G - Febres / Tyson

F - Bishop

F - Allen

[texasstrong12 4,668]

Get this guy. 

 

[Teryor 4,450]

12 minutes ago, BurntOrangeBlooded15 said:

G - Askew 

G - Jones / Cunningham 

G - Febres / Tyson

F - Bishop

F - Allen

Neither Bishop/Allen seem like rim protectors, I'd expect a more traditional starting 5 with Bishop/Allen as switchable wings and a center TBD. 

[texasstrong12 4,668]

Just now, Teryor said:

Neither Bishop/Allen seem like rim protectors, I'd expect a more traditional starting 5 with Bishop/Allen as switchable wings and a center TBD. 

Beard started a 6'7 center at Tech this past season. He tends to play small at the 5. 

[Degenerate Gardner 4,085]

This has been one hell of a week. The portal = chaos but it sure does make college basketball more exciting in April. 

[Rockwell Torrey 1,280]

7 minutes ago, Degenerate Gardner said:

This has been one hell of a week. The portal = chaos but it sure does make college basketball more exciting in April. 

This.  I can’t remember the last time I paid any attention to UT basketball in mid-April.

[rvm96 1,643]

15 minutes ago, Teryor said:

Neither Bishop/Allen seem like rim protectors, I'd expect a more traditional starting 5 with Bishop/Allen as switchable wings and a center TBD. 

Bishop isn't really a wing player from what I've seen of him 

[Machinator 32,099]

https://247sports.com/Player/Terrance-Arceneaux-46103234/

[texasstrong12 4,668]

22 minutes ago, rvm96 said:

Bishop isn't really a wing player from what I've seen of him 

Bishop started every game at the 5 for Creighton. A Sweet 16 team. 

You don't have to be 7'0 to play the position in college basketball. 

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1,566]

40 minutes ago, Teryor said:

Neither Bishop/Allen seem like rim protectors, I'd expect a more traditional starting 5 with Bishop/Allen as switchable wings and a center TBD. 

I agree.  Just going off what we have right now 

[CashMcCoy 3,199]

29 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

Bishop started every game at the 5 for Creighton. A Sweet 16 team. 

You don't have to be 7'0 to play the position in college basketball. 

According to Creighton fans on Reddit, part of his decision to transfer was to not play the 5 anymore.

[texasstrong12 4,668]

12 minutes ago, CashMcCoy said:

According to Creighton fans on Reddit, part of his decision to transfer was to not play the 5 anymore.

Maybe but it probably has more to do with the fact Creighton's basketball coach is an idiot that told his players they needed to "stay on the plantation." 

 

[texifornia 56,864]

7 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

Maybe but it probably has more to do with the fact Creighton's basketball coach is an idiot that told his players they needed to "stay on the plantation." 

 

Rock stupid and generally weird as that was (like, it's not even an old saying or anything), the players actually backed him to return after his suspension - seems like McDermott's a pretty well-liked dude who just made a huge mistake (gobbluth.gif).

[Bevo 13,568]

Brown/Sims at 4 and 5

Bishop at 4

Allen/Tyson/Cunningham at 3

Jones/Ramey/Febres at 2

Coleman/Askew at 1

 

[texasstrong12 4,668]

1 minute ago, texifornia said:

Rock stupid and generally weird as that was (like, it's not even an old saying or anything), the players actually backed him to return after his suspension - seems like McDermott's a pretty well-liked dude who just made a huge mistake (gobbluth.gif).

They may have backed McDermott initially but they're all leaving. Granted, a lot of those guys are going pro but outside of Zegarowski I'm not sure any have NBA value. This still seems like a roster that's bailing on McDermott. 

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31265775/creighton-bluejays-sharpshooter-mitch-ballock-fifth-starter-leave-men-hoops-team

[Pato del Muerto 52,485]

That’s only 11 and includes a guy or two that won’t be here.  Plenty of room for the EWU guys. 

[VinyVango 684]

Simms and Tanner Groves or another 6'8" guy who can defend in the paint and rebound would really round out this roster to compete against bigger squads that bishop and allen might have trouble manning the inside against on offense and defense... even so, I think this team is already scrappy enough to hang with most teams, but some more size with athleticism would really bring it up a notch.

[texasstrong12 4,668]

4 minutes ago, VinyVango said:

Simms and Tanner Groves or another 6'8" guy who can defend in the paint and rebound would really round out this roster to compete against bigger squads that bishop and allen might have trouble manning the inside against on offense and defense... even so, I think this team is already scrappy enough to hang with most teams, but some more size with athleticism would really bring it up a notch.

That's why Bryson Williams is the better option than the Groves brothers. He's much more athletic. 

But either way, it would be good additions. 

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by texasstrong12

[Teryor 4,450]

52 minutes ago, CashMcCoy said:

According to Creighton fans on Reddit, part of his decision to transfer was to not play the 5 anymore.

Here's his dad saying he specifically does not want to play the 5 

[texasstrong12 4,668]

5 minutes ago, Teryor said:

Here's his dad saying he specifically does not want to play the 5 

That’s interesting. Texas is definitely gonna have to add another big then even with Sims. 

If Sims doesn’t return then they probably need to add 2 more. 

[texasstrong12 4,668]

Here were the starting 5s under Beard at Tech. 

Santos-Silva (6'7)

Hoyfield (6'8)

Odiase (6'8)

Smith (6'8)

Maybe this was just the way Beard played because he couldn't land the Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, and Myles Turner types that were on the bigger side. Guess we will find out but Beard never played big at the 5 at Tech .

Edited April 17, 2021 by texasstrong12

[txhorns 2,409]

2 minutes ago, texasstrong12 said:

Here were the starting 5s under Beard at Tech. 

Santos-Silva (6'7)

Hoyfield (6'8)

Odiase (6'8)

Smith (6'8)

Maybe this was just the way Beard played because he couldn't land the Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, and Myles Turner types that were on the bigger side. Guess we will find out but Beard never played big at the 5 at Tech .

Likely a combination of both of those.  Beard seems to like athletic big men just like everyone else but athletic 6'11" guys weren't going to go to Tech.  I would bet he's fine playing a 6'8" guy at the 5 but would prefer a Sims type guy instead.

[Getafix 28,567]

SIAP ... 

 

A 247 poster pointed out this guy hit the portal.

 

 

From Az 247

Jason Scheer:  James Akinjo enters transfer portal

 

Spoiler

 

After having one of the best season in the Pac-12, point guard James Akinjo has entered the transfer portal. He originally declared for the NBA, but is unlikely to be drafted and is entering the portal due in large part to the coaching change.

In his first season at Arizona, Akinjo became the first Wildcat since T.J. McConnell in 2015 to lead the Pac-12 in assists in league play with 117.

In conference games, Akinjo ranked seventh in scoring (15.9), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (43.9), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.39), and fifth in 3-point field goals made per game (2.15). He scored in double figures 15 times in conference play and reached 20 points or more in seven times. He closed the season averaging 21.0 points per game over the last five games despite playing the most minutes per game of any player in the conference (35.56).

"He is definitely an all-conference player," former Arizona head coach Sean Miller said. "I don’t think I have to campaign for him because my peers, the coaches in this league, when they start with Arizona, they start with him. He is our heart and soul and he has had a fantastic season. I tip my hat to him because he did not have a spring or summer and although he was with us for a few months last season, he didn’t have the traditional year, nine-month build up that can really help a young player like him. A lot of what you see he did really started from scratch in September."

Before the season started, Miller predicted that Akinjo would bring a certain toughness to the Wildcats and he happened to be right.

"He’s got an inner toughness that you either have it or you don’t,” Miller said. “He has it. I think he brings a lot of leadership qualities, he brings a toughness to our team. Obviously that position, the point guard, the guard position in college basketball is incredibly important, and I feel really good about who James is.”

Upon being hired, Lloyd knew he would have to work in order to keep the current roster intact.

"Having been a guy that has been a lead recruiter for a lot of years, I know how long it takes to recruit a player, how genuine those relationships have to be," Lloyd said. "I want to get to know them, and I want them to get to know me, and I want them to be excited about staying here so. The re-recruiting deals is gonna start with sitting in my office, talking about families, letting our guards down a little bit and going from there. And then after we kind of get of get to know each other a little bit, then maybe we can start talking specifics, basketball specifics, for sure.”

 

 

[texasstrong12 4,668]

5 minutes ago, txhorns said:

Likely a combination of both of those.  Beard seems to like athletic big men just like everyone else but athletic 6'11" guys weren't going to go to Tech.  I would bet he's fine playing a 6'8" guy at the 5 but would prefer a Sims type guy instead.

That and athletic 6'11 and 7'0 dudes are likely to leave early. 

Somebody like Odiase was a good college player but nobody in the NBA wanted a 6'8 center. The benefit of those smaller 5s is they're normally multi-year players. 

And I should add Owens a 7'0 played a big role in the national title run. 

Edited April 17, 2021 by texasstrong12

[texasstrong12 4,668]

13 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

Whether he started or not, Tariq Owens was Beard’s most impactful center at Tech.  And he was a 6’10 athletic shot blocker who grad transferred there.  Beard wants big guys who will defend, but I’m pretty sure he’d rather they be Anthony Davis than Odiase if given the choice.

This is true but I'm not even sure you would count Owens as a 5. Beard played Owens and Odiase together. 

If you look at the starting 5 they would almost certainly list Odiase as the center and Owens as the F. 

But that's kind of the trend with positionless basketball. I think you're definitely right that Beard wants the freak athletes with size but he may prefer them at the 3 and 4. Funny enough you see that with Anthony Davis playing big minutes at the 4 when he's often the biggest dude on the court. 

Edited April 17, 2021 by texasstrong12

[texifornia 56,864]

https://www.csuvikings.com/sports/m-baskbl/2020-21/bios/oglesby_alec_sw78

[Revolution512 1,487]

Beard wants a shot blocker at the 5. Sims is the obvious win in recruiting. But....big fucking but....he has a plan on how to defend without a shot blocker.

[Revolution512 1,487]

1 hour ago, texasstrong12 said:

Here were the starting 5s under Beard at Tech. 

Santos-Silva (6'7)

Hoyfield (6'8)

Odiase (6'8)

Smith (6'8)

Maybe this was just the way Beard played because he couldn't land the Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, and Myles Turner types that were on the bigger side. Guess we will find out but Beard never played big at the 5 at Tech .

Beard is at Texas now for a reason