Jump to content

Texas Basketball 2022-23

shadow_operative

By shadow_operative
in Basketball

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 2.7k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Hookem2147
Hookem2147

Really, really, really, really good article from The Athletic:  

atomheartbevo
atomheartbevo
SL Xpress
SL Xpress

Chris Beard is ridiculous. He's like my dream coach in terms of off the court. He's a marketing godsend.   

Posted Images

Hornstrader

Hornstrader 179

Posted
Posted

Writer on The Athletic had his way too early 2023 Mock Draft today.

Of potential 1st Round local interest he had:

8. Keyonte George - Baylor to Washington

12,Anthony Black - Arkansas to Cleveland

13. Gradey Dick - Kansas to Portland

14 Dillon Mitchell to New Orleans

30.Tyrese Hunter to Indiana

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 46001

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, ztejas said:

Wolff is enjoying a level of celebrity not seen by other MLS coaches. Unless it's a coach that was already famous. 

I was surprised to see his kid step up as quickly as he did.  It just sorta smelled like nepotism, but no, the guy has skills.  My kid's club team played the Austin FC U17 squad a few months ago, and held their own, but Wolff's son is clearly on a whole 'nother level.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ztejas

ztejas 43524

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

I was surprised to see his kid step up as quickly as he did.  It just sorta smelled like nepotism, but no, the guy has skills.  My kid's club team played the Austin FC U17 squad a few months ago, and held their own, but Wolff's son is clearly on a whole 'nother level.

He's legit. He got a national team U19 call up. He'll be in Europe in 2-3 years.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted

That’s exciting! Illinois has experienced as much turnover as anyone considered to be a top 20 team, including a couple of former Big 12 stars in Shannon and Mayer. I love this matchup! Crazy that Texas hasn’t participated in this event since 2012. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ignatius

Ignatius 4017

Posted
Posted
On 7/8/2022 at 12:48 AM, Pancho said:

Why is the Gonzaga game on a Wednesday?  That sucks.

Yeah that really sucks. Given the amount of latitude we probably have in working with TV on November games, you’d think they’d have tried to work it around a football weekend. A Friday night Gonzaga/Saturday TCU weekend would have been a lot of fun…

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Delta Charlie

Delta Charlie 150

Posted
Posted

I got an email from the AD telling me I had made the cut to order season tickets.  I thought about it for 5 seconds and pulled the trigger on two.  Donation requirement was $250/seat.  I may or may not keep them after this year, but I thought I'd give it a shot to be in there for the first season of the Moody. Not a bad seat in the house. Plus, the team will actually be pretty damn good.  Gonzaga, Creighton, KU, BU, Tech are all games that should be rocking in new arena.  

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted
22 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Gonzaga, Tenn, Illinois, Creighton and whoever we get in the Pac 12 challenge.  But only 2 marquee Moody matchups for opening season - Gonzaga and Creighton.  

 

I feel like that's normal. About 2 - maybe 3 at most - marquee home game matchups for any basketball program. Lots of neutral site games. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hookem2147

Hookem2147 21345

Posted
Posted

Big 12 will be loaded (as usual) this year. We want to challenge ourselves in non-conference play obviously but you definitely don't want to overdo it just to try to put butts in the seats. This schedule feels like a pretty good balance.

In shocking news, BWG is making fun of the schedule on twitter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Hookem2147 said:

In shocking news, BWG is making fun of the schedule on twitter.

 

I don't understand the merit. Three conference tie in games with the Big East, Pac 12, and SEC, plus Gonzaga and Illinois. I'd agree that many of the others are putrid, but who cares? 9 home games. Possibly 10 if the Northern Arizona game on the 21st is actually played in Austin instead of UTRGV's home arena (not sure I completely get what's going on there).  Can't do that without paying some people to not do a return trip.  There's only one listed away game, against Tennessee. Playing in the AAC in Dallas and MSG in NYC. 

Kansas State should be the only weak link in another grueling Big 12 home and home. We might not ever get a juggernaut schedule under Beard, and I'm okay with that. On the other hand, if he lifts the program up to where they're competing for a #1 seed each year, maybe we do. I'm looking at a few big basketball schools and what their non con schedule looks like, and I don't see a lot of difference, other than maybe the low end of UT's schedule is REALLY on the low end. 

Once again, BWG posts about Texas as if he should be running the program, and what he would do, rather than adjusting to what he expects based on what Beard is likely to do. Which is fine, but it just means he'll be banging his head against that wall some more. Oh, and posting about it, of course.

Edited by SL Xpress
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hookem2147

Hookem2147 21345

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, SL Xpress said:

Possibly 10 if the Northern Arizona game on the 21st is actually played in Austin instead of UTRGV's home arena (not sure I completely get what's going on there).

I think it's one of those things where they want to play a game in South Texas to allow fans down there to attend. It's a part of the state that oftentimes gets ignored but has a strong Texas presence. Baseball did something similar this year where they played @ UTRGV (which they hadn't done in forever).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

I think it's one of those things where they want to play a game in South Texas to allow fans down there to attend. It's a part of the state that oftentimes gets ignored but has a strong Texas presence. Baseball did something similar this year where they played @ UTRGV (which they hadn't done in forever).

Well, good for those folks, I guess. From a personal perspective I’d prefer they add a game at Toyota Center to play in front of potential recruits, especially since they have a game in Dallas. South Texas is certainly an important region, but there won’t be too many basketball players coming from there. 

In any case, thanks for the reply. Still strikes me as odd, but no biggie. 

Edited by SL Xpress
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 46001

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, SL Xpress said:

Once again, BWG posts about Texas as if he should be running the program, and what he would do, rather than adjusting to what he expects based on what Beard is likely to do. Which is fine, but it just means he'll be banging his head against that wall some more. Oh, and posting about it, of course.

Most young "contrarians" eventually grow out of it.

BWG may prove the exception.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
realgreggym

realgreggym 836

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Delta Charlie said:

I got an email from the AD telling me I had made the cut to order season tickets.  I thought about it for 5 seconds and pulled the trigger on two.  Donation requirement was $250/seat.  I may or may not keep them after this year, but I thought I'd give it a shot to be in there for the first season of the Moody. Not a bad seat in the house. Plus, the team will actually be pretty damn good.  Gonzaga, Creighton, KU, BU, Tech are all games that should be rocking in new arena.  

Congrats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Delta Charlie said:

I got an email from the AD telling me I had made the cut to order season tickets.  I thought about it for 5 seconds and pulled the trigger on two.  Donation requirement was $250/seat.  I may or may not keep them after this year, but I thought I'd give it a shot to be in there for the first season of the Moody. Not a bad seat in the house. Plus, the team will actually be pretty damn good.  Gonzaga, Creighton, KU, BU, Tech are all games that should be rocking in new arena.  

 

I honestly feel like a ton of the games are going to be rocking. 

Students 3/4 around the arena. Student bodies drive energy in games.

Season ticket holders having to give a separate donation for basketball. I know this means an extra financial burden on many longtime loyal season ticket holders, but it was one of the biggest problems in the FEC. With people actually donating money for their seats - rather than as a throw in for suite/club donations for football, with the donation counting the same towards basketball tickets - there are going to be a lot more people actually attending games as season ticket holders, and fewer people selling tickets to opposing fans for the big games to recoup some of their costs (because the premium basketball tickets were throw ins anyway based on their football donation). 

Every seat is a great seat.

All the seats are closer to the court. Less cavernous building. Which means a lot more noise. 

My assumption is it's going to be a cluster fuck on some level in terms of running the thing in the first year. And Moody won't make Texas a basketball school. But at least we won't have the FEC and the dead weight Longhorn Foundation ticket policy holding back the program and the home court environment, either. I'm sure Texas Tech fans are going to show up in support of their team again, but it won't be the embarrassing 50%+ it was last year. 

I'm convicted you're going to have a fantastic time with your basketball season tickets.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, ztejas said:

 

This is the seating map for this show. 

Screenshot_20220721-184907.thumb.png.5e00e199d26d5f18672629bdd6de088f.png

Is none of the upper level open for basketball? That can't be right. 

It’s not a city ordinance or fire marshal order or anything. I’m assuming at some point they could open it up. From what we’ve been told it’s pretty automated to open and close those seats. Doesn’t take long. But yeah, they’re trying to create a more intimate environment, at least to start. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
shadow_operative

shadow_operative 15932

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, SL Xpress said:

 

I honestly feel like a ton of the games are going to be rocking. 

Students 3/4 around the arena. Student bodies drive energy in games.

Season ticket holders having to give a separate donation for basketball. I know this means an extra financial burden on many longtime loyal season ticket holders, but it was one of the biggest problems in the FEC. With people actually donating money for their seats - rather than as a throw in for suite/club donations for football, with the donation counting the same towards basketball tickets - there are going to be a lot more people actually attending games as season ticket holders, and fewer people selling tickets to opposing fans for the big games to recoup some of their costs (because the premium basketball tickets were throw ins anyway based on their football donation). 

Every seat is a great seat.

All the seats are closer to the court. Less cavernous building. Which means a lot more noise. 

My assumption is it's going to be a cluster fuck on some level in terms of running the thing in the first year. And Moody won't make Texas a basketball school. But at least we won't have the FEC and the dead weight Longhorn Foundation ticket policy holding back the program and the home court environment, either. I'm sure Texas Tech fans are going to show up in support of their team again, but it won't be the embarrassing 50%+ it was last year. 

I'm convicted you're going to have a fantastic time with your basketball season tickets.

ive been going to games at the FEC all my life, and not only has never Texas struggled mightily to ever get "home cooking" from the officials (it really only happened during true sellouts with raucous crowds), but i often found that the opposing team would seemingly do a better job of getting calls than we ever did. i would love to see this dynamic completely change in the moody center. our fans have never put pressure on the officials. i hope that's about to change. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

ive been going to games at the FEC all my life, and not only has never Texas struggled mightily to ever get "home cooking" from the officials (it really only happened during true sellouts with raucous crowds), but i often found that the opposing team would seemingly do a better job of getting calls than we ever did. i would love to see this dynamic completely change in the moody center. our fans have never put pressure on the officials. i hope that's about to change. 

 

I just do not believe there's something genetically different about the students who attend UT versus other schools. I watch the raucous atmosphere for the volleyball team in Gregory. It is by far the loudest, most intimidating crowd I watch on TV, and I watch a lot of women's collegiate volleyball games. To me the real key is Chris Beard. Having a coach that personally invested in the students is critical. The thing is, the program/head coach has now been given tools to make this successful in ways that weren't available before. Heck, just last year Beard promises every student will get in to the Texas Tech game because that's what the administration told him, only to find out Texas Tech fans had found the backdoor for the held back tickets and purchased them already. Which, if you followed the internet you knew, because they didn't exactly make it a secret. That's a terrible gaffe. 

The students are going to be right on the court. They can stand up to their heart's content, and the way the seating is arranged they shouldn't be blocking the views of the people behind them. They're no longer doing that whole convoluted system that favored organizations, which was in place for decades. From what I've been told, it's going to be a lot of general seating for the students, so get there early so you can get a good seat. You know Beard is going to single out the most passionate fans and feature them in some way on social media. And the thing I love about Beard is that he's never negative, even if sometimes he's full of shit. It doesn't do anyone any good to call out fans when you're trying to build something. Sure, call the fans out if you're Duke or Kansas. But at schools that don't have a rich history and sellout every game, that makes no sense. You're just going to end up insulting people. Better to talk about how amazing the fans were, even if they weren't. The people who pay attention to what Beard says feel like there's an expectation being set, and so they tend to live up to it. Much better than telling everyone how much they suck and how they have to do better. It's not compelling and it's counter productive. Which Beard gets better than just about any coach I've seen. 

I feel like there was already a difference last year, albeit incremental, rather than transformative. I feel quite confident this year at Moody is going to be night and day from what we've experienced before. I'm expecting it.

  • Hook 'Em 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fletch

Fletch 5800

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, SL Xpress said:

 

I just do not believe there's something genetically different about the students who attend UT versus other schools. I watch the raucous atmosphere for the volleyball team in Gregory. It is by far the loudest, most intimidating crowd I watch on TV, and I watch a lot of women's collegiate volleyball games. To me the real key is Chris Beard. Having a coach that personally invested in the students is critical. The thing is, the program/head coach has now been given tools to make this successful in ways that weren't available before. Heck, just last year Beard promises every student will get in to the Texas Tech game because that's what the administration told him, only to find out Texas Tech fans had found the backdoor for the held back tickets and purchased them already. Which, if you followed the internet you knew, because they didn't exactly make it a secret. That's a terrible gaffe. 

The students are going to be right on the court. They can stand up to their heart's content, and the way the seating is arranged they shouldn't be blocking the views of the people behind them. They're no longer doing that whole convoluted system that favored organizations, which was in place for decades. From what I've been told, it's going to be a lot of general seating for the students, so get there early so you can get a good seat. You know Beard is going to single out the most passionate fans and feature them in some way on social media. And the thing I love about Beard is that he's never negative, even if sometimes he's full of shit. It doesn't do anyone any good to call out fans when you're trying to build something. Sure, call the fans out if you're Duke or Kansas. But at schools that don't have a rich history and sellout every game, that makes no sense. You're just going to end up insulting people. Better to talk about how amazing the fans were, even if they weren't. The people who pay attention to what Beard says feel like there's an expectation being set, and so they tend to live up to it. Much better than telling everyone how much they suck and how they have to do better. It's not compelling and it's counter productive. Which Beard gets better than just about any coach I've seen. 

I feel like there was already a difference last year, albeit incremental, rather than transformative. I feel quite confident this year at Moody is going to be night and day from what we've experienced before. I'm expecting it.

Yeah students are students. Give em booze and let em loose….

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
KingBobo81

KingBobo81 535

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Pancho said:

Beard article in The Athletic about what Texas will look like in year 2, if anyone has a subscription. 

Spoiler

By the time Texas men’s basketball plays its first home game, said home will have hosted quite a few notable visitors. Kevin Hart and Kendrick Lamar. The Killers and Florence and the Machine. Post Malone and Panic! at the Disco and Michael Bublé. James Taylor and Roger Waters, for devotees of a certain age.

Harry Styles is around for five nights, in fact, and absolutely not overstaying his welcome at the Moody Center, the new $388 million epicenter of cool on campus. Sign of the times, indeed.

“The first place that any musician would want to play,” Chris Beard says, “and the last place any basketball opponent would want to come play Texas in.”

That’s the idea, anyway, which leaves it to the Longhorns’ coach and his players to hold up their end. Texas lured Beard back to his alma mater with a heap of money and equally outsize expectations, which Beard welcomed — “We came here to win championships,” he reiterates over the phone in early July — and tried to meet by assembling a FrankenTeam of coveted transfers and holdover veterans. Mileage may vary on what 22 wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance amount to. It was, in Beard’s estimation, “a solid base.”

“Other places we’ve been, sometimes we’ve just nailed it,” Beard says. “Then other times it takes a little bit of time.”

So Year 2 awaits, with a similar roster construct — holdovers, notable transfers and some intriguing newcomers — and an important distinction that half the roster has now actually played for Beard. The experience is true experience. Do the new arena and new practice facility and semi-new roster all coalesce into a massive step forward in 2022-23? Well, Beard broke down each of his 12 scholarship players for The Athletic, in an effort to begin to answer that.

The returners

Timmy Allen, 6-6, Sr.

2021-22 numbers: 12.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg

As transfers go, Timmy Allen delivered about as well as can be expected, leading Texas with 4.7 Win Shares and going straight from All-Pac-12 performer to All-Big 12 performer. He’s the sort of player who allows you to see the future. Consider, if you will, the metronomic production over the course of Allen’s entire career.

• Points per 100 possessions, per season: 25.1, 28.8, 29.0, 25.8

• Rebounds per 100 possessions, per season: 10.5, 12.1, 10.8, 13.7

• Assists per 100 possessions, per season: 5.0, 4.9, 6.6, 4.5

A spike here and there, but Allen has generally always been the same guy. Not a lot of what’s-the-next-step narrative here. To borrow a verbal crutch from Digger Phelps’ in-studio college basketball analyst days: Timmy Allen just has to be Timmy Allen. “The biggest thing for Timmy,” Beard says, “is winning.”

So why would we talk about Allen adding to his offensive repertoire and hoisting more 3-point shots? Because that’s what we’re talking about. Allen took 304 shots last season and just 15 of them were 3s. He’s hit 26.7 percent of his long-range looks over four seasons. “Timmy’s been really working hard on his shot,” Beard says. “I think he’ll expand out and probably shoot as many 3s as he has in his college career this year.”

He’s never shot more than 41 in a single season to date, so maybe that’s why Texas can abide this approach. Allen likely won’t abuse the privilege. He’ll be, for the most part, who he’s always been.

Christian Bishop, 6-7, Sr.

2021-22 numbers: 7.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 60 percent shooting

The standard preseason swing through Austin last fall led to at least a few conclusions, one of which was as clear as any other: Texas would play Christian Bishop on the perimeter and let him handle the ball in various ways, and Christian Bishop was very excited about the chance to showcase his abilities away from the rim. Then he took eight jump shots. Total. All season. Six of them were 3s, and he made two. Not, in itself, representative of Bishop expanding his game and convincing people his range and general bounciness can compensate for a relative lack of size as a modern big.

Beard, though, bristles at the idea that jump shots alone define Bishop’s progress. “Anybody that saw us play, yourself included, you understand that C.B. was playing a lot on the perimeter as a facilitator, as a face-up guy,” the Longhorns coach says. “It wasn’t just all ball screens. I think we accomplished a lot of things there, but we still have some work to do.”

It’s probably fair to say both things are true. Bishop for sure was very good at the things he’s always been very good at — moving and finishing. Nearly three-quarters of his shot attempts near the rim were not off post-ups, per Synergy, and he converted to the tune of 1.347 PPP on those opportunities, good for the 86th percentile nationally. There’s value in Bishop very simply continuing to offer that. (And rebounding, which he provided at a career-best 11.2 boards per 40 minutes.) It’s more difficult to prove Beard right by quantifying his comfort as a facilitator and a face-up guy, given the lack of jump shot looks and a career-low 1.5 assists per 40 minutes. But there apparently will be one very easy way to do so in 2022-23.

“I don’t think it’s some kind of earth-shattering secret,” Beard says. “I don’t mind the first opponent of our season knowing this if you print it. We look for C.B. to shoot 3-point shots this year. He’s worked extremely hard. He’s a real threat out there. He’s making shots consistently in practice and drill work.”

If that is true — if a guy with four 3s made in four college seasons can knock down clean looks from beyond the arc, on top of being a verifiable pain in screen-and-roll actions — Texas’ offense has a promising new dimension. As big an “if” as imaginable, for sure. But intriguing to track nevertheless.

Marcus Carr, 6-2, Sr.

2021-22 numbers: 11.4 ppg, 3.4 apg, 1.9 rpg

Woe to those who insinuate things did not go altogether as planned for Marcus Carr last year in Austin. A whole lot of I-got-my-guy’s-back-flavored woe, delivered by the head coach. “The first thing with Marcus that can’t be ignored is winning,” Beard says. “Marcus had us in every game. He did what he said he was going to do. He came to Texas to win, and we won.”

This is empirically true. After zero NCAA Tournament appearances in four previous college seasons, Carr came to Texas to do what he hadn’t done before. And Texas reached the field of 68 and finished 15th in KenPom.com’s final team ratings for 2021-22. Done and done, in that regard. And yet it feels like Texas and Marcus Carr are on a third date after a long string of unsuccessful online matchmaking: They like each other, and they’re very invested in making this work, even if they haven’t quite figured each other out yet.

Because it’s also empirically true that Carr had the second-lowest PPP of any Texas rotation regular (0.849, 46th percentile nationally). His assist rate (23.0 percent) was a career low … but so was his usage rate (22.4 percent). His shots went in at more or less the same rate they always have, and he was undaunted with a hand in his face (1.174 PPP on guarded jumpers). But Carr also hoisted 127 less shots than he had the year before at Minnesota, in basically the same amount of total minutes. Was he supposed to run the show and create for others? Was he supposed to take over as a primary scorer? Was the answer to both “yes,” and was it left to Carr to figure out which role to assume depending on time and score and situation?

Tyrese Hunter’s arrival out of the transfer portal could provide Carr some clarity. If Hunter is a true point guard — as we’ll discuss here in a little bit — then maybe Carr has less thinking to do. “The plan this year is for Marcus to be the best version of Marcus,” Beard says. “He’s the classic 2020s major college NBA guard. He can play the point. He can score the ball if you need it. When we were at our best is when we always found that balance, but we asked Marcus to do so many things. A couple games I asked him to never miss a shot. Unfortunately, he couldn’t control that. I asked him if he could talk to the officials in the Purdue game about helping us out, and he couldn’t get that done. But other than that, Marcus did everything I asked him to do.”

 

Brock Cunningham, 6-6, Sr.

2021-22 numbers: 2.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg

• Chris Beard summertime take on Brock Cunningham No. 1: “He’s had as good an offseason as anyone I’ve ever coached.”

• Chris Beard summertime take on Brock Cunningham No. 2: “He kind of quietly had one of the sneakiest seasons in college basketball last year.”

• Chris Beard summertime take on Brock Cunningham No. 3: “When I think of Bob Seger, I think of rock and roll, but he also has some pretty good slow songs, too. You know what I mean? So when you think of Brock, you think of offensive rebounds, diving into the student-section bleachers, but he’s also a really good 3-point shooter. Good passer, good post feeder. He can guard four different positions. So, yeah, I’m a Brock guy. I can’t wait to take the floor with Brock.”

In conclusion? The head coach is saying the Austin native has done enough to merit more time and a more significant role in his fourth season with the program. This brings us to extrapolation — college basketball’s most dangerous game.

Cunningham did shoot 48.5 percent from 2-point range, 47.8 percent from 3 and 81.3 percent from the free-throw line last season. He was the only Texas rotation regular to average better than 1.0 PPP, per Synergy Sports. He was, on a per-100 possession basis, a double-double performer. He also played 11.7 minutes per game and finished 2.8 percent of the team’s overall offensive possessions in 2021-22. To assert that Cunningham can be similarly efficient in, say, double the minutes? It’s an educated guess by Beard. Old certainly wins in college basketball, and Cunningham is old. He has the striver’s mentality to make this all happen. But it’s still a guess, for now.

Dylan Disu, 6-9, Sr.

2021-22 numbers: 3.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg

An oft-overlooked key to improving during an offseason is actually having an offseason. Dylan Disu did not have an offseason in 2021. A bone fracture suffered in his knee near the end of his sophomore season at Vanderbilt, and the ensuing surgery to repair it, guaranteed that. A transfer to Texas did not wondrously accelerate the healing process, so the SEC’s leading rebounder one year became the guy who didn’t debut until mid-December and only averaged 10.9 minutes in 26 appearances in 2021-22.

The upshot: This offseason, Disu actually has an offseason. “He’s as healthy as I’ve ever seen him,” Beard says. “He’s moving better than I’ve ever seen him.”

This is still a touch relative; Beard only has seen the post-surgery version of Disu. But the winter-to-winter difference Beard expects to see in Disu has him analogizing it to bringing aboard an entirely new player. “Offensively, he’s slowing down a little bit, and everything seems to be a little bit more fluid,” Beard says. “Defensively, it helps to have an offseason under you. I think he’ll be back to where everybody kind of remembers him as a college player. And I think that’ll translate to him being a pro prospect, because he’s a talented guy.”

Gavin Perryman, 6-1, Redshirt freshman

Not a whole lot to go on when you’re the one scholarship player with time spent in Austin, but no on-floor track record after opting to redshirt the 2021-22 season. Two Perryman high school numbers are intriguing, though: He had 90 blocks as a 6-1 guard in his final season with Jesuit Dallas High School, and he shot 45.8 percent from 3-point range that year.

The latter, for Texas’ purposes, clearly matters more. Beard flatly refers to Perryman as a “scholarship shooter.” “He’s got that Texas legacy,” Beard says. “His dad was a great player for Tom Penders. Gavin can really shoot the ball, which always gives you a chance to get on the floor.”

The transfers

Tyrese Hunter, 6-0, Soph.

2021-22 numbers: 11.0 ppg, 4.9 apg, 3.5 rpg

Texas hit that portal and signed the Big 12 Freshman of the Year — ergo a player with three seasons of eligibility remaining — who also happened to be a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award as the nation’s top defender. This is a fairly ideal outcome, if you’re Texas, for both the near- and long-term. “The first day he was in Austin,” Beard says of Hunter, “he made our team better, before he had any idea of what we were trying to get done out there, just because of the way he plays defense. Our practice went up 10 percent the first day he took the floor because of how competitive he is on defense.”

The variable for 2022-23 is fit. Hunter and Carr almost assuredly will start and play heavy minutes alongside each other. But this may not be as redundant as it seems. Hunter’s 0.747 PPP as a freshman ranked in the 22nd percentile nationally, per Synergy. (So: not great.) He was an average spot-up threat, with an adjusted field goal rate of 39.8 percent on his jump shots. Meanwhile, however you interpret Carr’s numbers from last year, he’s still the player who averaged 17.4 points per game over two seasons at Minnesota. A world in which Hunter is primarily a point guard and Carr is primarily a scoring threat isn’t difficult to imagine.

Is there flexibility? Of course. That’s the reason to have Hunter and Carr on the same roster in the first place. Both can score and create for others. It’s not binary. But as a philosophical starting point, Hunter at the one and Carr at the two might simplify things for both players.

“Tyrese is definitely a point guard,” Beard says. “He can run a team. He can see things, he can pass the ball places other people can’t. He anticipates, he’s got a quickness to him, a change of direction. He can shoot the ball, he can score the ball, but he definitely, I think, naturally is a point guard. Because it’s where his IQ is at.”

Sir’Jabari Rice, 6-4, Sr.

2021-22 numbers: 11.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.1 apg

By way of introduction: In 111 career games at New Mexico State, Sir’Jabari Rice scored 1,106 points. His per-40 minute averages across four seasons: 16.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists. He posted effective field goal percentages of 56.2 as a sophomore and 56.3 as a junior, respectively, before assuming more of a distributor’s role as a senior … which led to a career-best assist percentage (18.4). For those who do not obsess over WAC box scores each morning, this may prompt a two-part question: Why have I not heard of Sir’Jabari Rice, and why did Texas pursue him so diligently when he appeared in the transfer portal?

To answer the first part: Who can say? Your level of WAC-ness is between you and your maker. But Beard can answer the second inquiry, at least. “He might not have been the sexiest name in those portal lists, but to me he was the top player in that portal,” he says. “I don’t know if there was a guy as good as him or better at his position. I’m a big believer in Rice and I have no problem putting it out there. Stamp my name on that one.”

Bouquet-tossing aside, the addition makes sense for Texas and its roster construction. Rice played for Chris Jans, a coach cut from the same cloth as Beard, and has experience in an era when experience wins championships. He infuses size into the backcourt. He can initiate offense or knock down a shot when one presents itself. (Rice averaged 1.118 PPP on catch-and-shoot looks in 2021-22, per Synergy, rating in the 72nd percentile nationally.) And he can match up at three or four positions defensively without putting the Longhorns in a bind, providing some lineup flexibility. “Rice guards,” Beard says. “It’s important to him. We could go outside and play two-on-two and he’s going to guard.”

Rice won’t be tasked with alpha-guard responsibility offensively, if everything goes to plan. But he’s the kind of high-floor option that’s very nice to have if the plan goes haywire.

The unknowns

Alex Anamekwe, 6-6, freshman

Tim Jankovich’s retirement is Texas’ gain. Anamekwe had signed with SMU but backed out once Jankovich called it a career. Beard and Co. then entered the mix, having watched Anamekwe’s high school team frequently during his senior season and familiarizing themselves with a three-star recruit rated the 15th-best prospect in Texas, per 247Sports. “We immediately knew who he was,” Beard says. “We’re just really excited to add what we think is an elite athlete and kind of a positionless basketball player that can play all over the floor.”

How soon that happens is the rub. Just last year, a higher-profile wing prospect arrived in Austin and, by midyear, Jaylon Tyson had transferred out. No one is saying Anamekwe is going anywhere, of course. But he could battle some pretty stiff headwinds to crack the rotation, given Texas’ roster composition.

Rowan Brumbaugh, 6-4, freshman

Beard talks about Brumbaugh with a measured giddiness. It’s clear Texas’ coach is infatuated with the approach of the four-star, consensus top 100-prospect. “I love guys that basketball is just their life,” Beard says, “and that’s Rowan.”

But there’s also an acknowledgment of reality. Texas has a lot of guards. Texas has a lot of guards who have played a lot of college basketball, and particularly a lot more experience running a college basketball team than Brumbaugh currently has. “I think he’s going to be a special player, especially when you start thinking about the future,” Beard says. “He’s a point guard. He’s got great size, and he’s just one of those guys never count out. I mean, he could get on the floor early. But certainly as we have these conversations in future years, Rowan will be the first guy we’re talking about one day.”

Dillon Mitchell, 6-9, freshman

He’s a five-star recruit. He was the nation’s No. 5 prospect. He debuted as the No. 14 pick in the first 2023 NBA Draft mock posted by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie. While his fellow incoming freshmen might have some roster roadblocks to navigate, there will be no one in Dillon Mitchell’s way. Because there isn’t anyone on Texas’ roster with the combination of size and talent and maturity and self-assurance that Dillon Mitchell has from Day 1.

“He knows who he is,” Beard says. “He understands what he can do. And that’s a lot of things. I’m not going to say he understands what he can’t do because there’s not really anything he can’t do. But I think he understands his strengths and his weaknesses. He plays off his strengths, and he works really hard on things he needs to. But he is a legitimate guy that can bring the ball up the floor, that can shoot a 3, that can drive it, and on the other end he can guard four positions.”

So let the imagination run wild for now. Mitchell should be able to slot in at any wing or frontcourt spot and play alongside any of Texas’ other pieces. His overall polish, thanks to Monteverde (Fla.) Academy serving as essentially a basketball finishing school, raises the ceiling a little more still. “We’re not teaching him how to jump to the ball the first day at practice,” Beard says. “He understands that.”

No one can predict how five-star arrivals affect the vibe of a group — Texas certainly has experienced the entire spectrum of that dynamic over the years — but Mitchell’s personality evidently should allay all concerns. At least if you’re going off the scouting report from an overly excited head coach, anyway.

“He walks around like he’s the most humble guy in the locker room,” Beard says. “If I wasn’t mistaken, I think he plays hard every day and then he cleans up the locker room every day before he goes home. He’s special. His attitude makes him special. You’re around him for five minutes, you know he’s going somewhere.”

Arterio Morris, 6-3, freshman

Morris was a consensus top 20 national prospect and a McDonald’s All-American, with the size and skill set to give Texas another combo-guard option.

Morris was arrested on June 2 for assault causing bodily injury to a family member, according to Frisco, Texas, police records, after an incident involving an ex-girlfriend. According to the arrest report, Morris arrived at the ex-girlfriend’s home to “have a conversation,” attempted to wake her up and allegedly grabbed her sports bra causing an “approximately 3-inch-long abrasion on the right side of her neck.” Morris was released on $3,500 bond the next day, according to Denton County records. Morris has been charged with misdemeanor assault. Texas’ Title IX office has begun an investigation into the matter.

Texas released this statement on Morris’ status: “We were made aware of the allegations involving Arterio Morris and provided all information we had regarding this situation that occurred outside of the city of Austin to our campus Title IX office. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and cooperate with the University and legal process, which remains ongoing.”

 

  • Hook 'Em 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted
39 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Allen and Bishop putting up more 3's is slightly scary to think about, but obviously if they can hit them at a respectable clip it is going to help open things up offensively. 

I don't believe for one second Allen and Bishop hoisting up threes is going to be any kind of key to the success of this season. Dillon Mitchell, either. 

Thank you for posting that, @KingBobo81 I am starved for that kind of content about the team. The writer bemusedly let Beard say his piece, while not completely buying in to what Beard was cookin'. 

Gerry Hamilton has some writeups on Inside Texas regarding summer workouts, but I do not have a subscription, and won't be getting one any time soon, either. If anyone chooses to post anything Gerry has to say about the team, that's going to be the best information available. He's always going to be circumspect in what he says publicly, but it's still going to be more on the ball than anyone else.

Beard's ideal is a positionless team, where everyone can dribble, pass, shoot, and can defend 1 through 5. That's what he's trying to recruit for the most part, and that's what he's selling players on. He talked up last year's team regarding their 3 point shooting, and I've already heard him do it in other places prior to this article. I don't know if he can simply manifest a better 3 point shooting team through sheer will, but if he can, it's for sure going to happen. 

I think my main thing in the beginning of the season is I want to see a lot less hesitancy. I don't want to see players dribble the ball to the free throw line then pick up their dribble because they have no idea what to do. I mean, once or twice a game, sure. But not a couple of times every possession. I'd also like to see Texas initiate some kind of offensive game plan with more than 10 seconds to go on the shot clock. I feel like a lot of improvement is going to be made in terms of finding shots in the motion offense simply from players having been doing it for an entire season. At least that's my hope.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Delta Charlie

Delta Charlie 150

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, ztejas said:

 

This is the seating map for this show. 

Screenshot_20220721-184907.thumb.png.5e00e199d26d5f18672629bdd6de088f.png

Is none of the upper level open for basketball? That can't be right. 

For basketball, none of the upper level seats will be open.  The large white panels will be brought down to cover them up. Only the lower level and club seats will be used for the games.  I suppose eventually, those seats might be opened up for hoops if we were to host some NCAA games, but for now, only lower level seats are available.  I also suppose they could open up the upper level for select games, but a strategy for the sales of those seats would have to be figured out to keep them in Texas fans' hands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
KingBobo81

KingBobo81 535

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, SL Xpress said:

I don't believe for one second Allen and Bishop hoisting up threes is going to be any kind of key to the success of this season.

Yeah, I almost spit my drink out reading those parts. Unless they have been spending the summer with Steph Curry, this happening can't lead to good things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SL Xpress

SL Xpress 7517

Posted
Posted
44 minutes ago, KingBobo81 said:

Yeah, I almost spit my drink out reading those parts. Unless they have been spending the summer with Steph Curry, this happening can't lead to good things.

It's just a part of Beard's narrative. Honestly, he should have PJ Tucker come in every off season to talk to players about the importance of the 3 point shot to his NBA career, and how much work he put into making it an effective part of his arsenal. 

I do wonder a bit about Cunningham. So often he'll be open but immediately pass the ball like it's a hot potato. I bet he takes more of those shots this season. After watching that workout video they posted on the twitter feed, he should think about ripping off his basketball jersey first, Hulk-like, to give the folks at home a bit of a show. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...