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Texas Basketball Recruiting Notes: A Clean Shave


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4 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

It's more like Terry played vets this past season to win and get the HC job. Musselman played several true freshmen a ton of minutes and lost several more games because of it.

Lulz, give me a coach that prioritizes winning over developing one and dones. In rare cases both can happen, but it takes a special freshman to do it. That's why teams that let freshmen run the show tend to get beaten by less talented mid-majors with veterans in March.

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18 hours ago, Schulz2.0 said:

The narrative is that Texas under Terry won't develop 5 star talent because of Morris and Mitchell. Terry prioritized, rightly, playing experienced players. Musselman played several freshman heavy minutes, including Anthony Black who'll likely be a lottery pick.

Whoever came up with that narrative is foolish. How many freshmen were going to take minutes away from Carr, Hunter or Rice. As far as Mitchell, he had no game and you had Disu, Bishop and Allen who were established. Also, kids show the greatest development after their freshman year offseason and before their soph year. Kids have to understand that they need to develop and put in the work to do so. Some schools are forced to play freshmen out of necessity. 

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5 minutes ago, realgreggym said:

Whoever came up with that narrative is foolish. How many freshmen were going to take minutes away from Carr, Hunter or Rice. As far as Mitchell, he had no game and you had Disu, Bishop and Allen who were established. Also, kids show the greatest development after their freshman year offseason and before their soph year. Kids have to understand that they need to develop and put in the work to do so. Some schools are forced to play freshmen out of necessity. 

Whoever came up with the narrative isn't necessarily "foolish"...it is anyone who buys into it that are the fools.

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1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

Lulz, give me a coach that prioritizes winning over developing one and dones. In rare cases both can happen, but it takes a special freshman to do it. That's why teams that let freshmen run the show tend to get beaten by less talented mid-majors with veterans in March.

Someone on here (Derka, for sure) will remember far better than I, but I believe Barnes once said his job at Texas was to get players ready for pro ball. I remember thinking that was a strange statement, in and of itself, but I don't know the context surrounding it. I do know he left Austin not that long afterwards, and I wasn't sad about that. 

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48 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

They should, but the vast majority don't have that perspective.

College is not necessarily the best place to 'develop.' College coaches want to win and that is their job. The extent that meshes with developing and producing NBA players can go hand in hand, but sometimes it doesn't. It's not football. 

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1 hour ago, longhornmatt said:

He and Devin Askew will be known as the Clank Brothers.  

He shot almost 50% from the field and 40% from three at Tech. He ain’t the clanker, Askew is. We just never saw it because Beard wouldn’t play him as a freshman. 

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1 hour ago, Js1 said:

He shot almost 50% from the field and 40% from three at Tech. He ain’t the clanker, Askew is. We just never saw it because Beard wouldn’t play him as a freshman. 

I think you're also forgetting Askew was terrified to shoot. So many open shots/lanes to the hoop, and he always looked to pass. Got to a point where we started yelling at him to shoot when he touched the ball, and he wouldn't even look at the basket. 

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1 hour ago, Ghost of Frank Erwin said:

I think you're also forgetting Askew was terrified to shoot. So many open shots/lanes to the hoop, and he always looked to pass. Got to a point where we started yelling at him to shoot when he touched the ball, and he wouldn't even look at the basket. 

No doubt, but he's been in college 3 years and has proven he's a bit a clanker 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well as I hoped (expected) Hunter moves us (or at least me) into the backslapping stage of Terry's first class of his own.  Disu was the most important piece for me, as I think this extra year is gonna reap real NBA dividends for him assuming he stays healthy.  I was a little surprised Hunter was testing the NBA waters, but figured honest evaluations would bring him back home. I can still dream of Mitchell returning, but right now I think backslapping and good bourbon is the order of the day.

I am very curious to see what sort of kids  Terry can reel in this next recruiting cycle.  The main thing I thought after we hired Terry was that both the good and bad news would be that we would get a very quick at his recruiting ability because of the portal.  We survived this cycle pretty damn well, especially considering everything Terry said to recruits the whole season was as an interim, without any actually ability to promise anything past the end of the season. 

Really hope this is the beginning of something great, or at least really, really good.  But right now I am pretty damn happy with step one, a solid group of guys to start with.

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https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-longhorns/news/texas-releases-ron-holland-from-his-letter-of-intent-reportedly-visiting-with-the-g-league/

Ron Holland officially released from his NLI. Reportedly going to visit the G League.

Spoiler

Texas releases Ron Holland from his letter of intent, reportedly visiting with the G-League

Joe Cook

about 6 hours

Duncanville (Texas) forward and Five-Star Plus+ prospect Ron Holland was released from his national letter of intent on Tuesday, according to a program spokesman. Holland, who signed with Texas as part of its 2023 class, announced his intention to re-open his recruitment on April 28.

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported on Tuesday that Holland plans to visit the NBA’s G-League Ignite program in Las Vegas. Rothstein was first to break the news of Texas releasing Holland from his LOI.

On April 28, Holland said the following: “I want to take this time to thank head coach (Rodney Terry) and the entire Texas coaching staff for their consideration, I would also like to thank Longhorn Nation for all their love and support. While this has been a difficult process, I have decided to decommit from (the) University of Texas and re-open my recruitment. Texas will remain one of my top schools of choice.”

His one-time classmate, AJ Johnson, also elected to go the professional route, signing with the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL in April.

Texas is without a 2023 signee or commitment.

Holland, a 6-foot-8, 195-pounder, was ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect, the No. 2 small forward, and the No. 1 player in Texas in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

Holland originally chose Texas over Arkansas and UCLA. Per On3’s Keegan Pope, the Razorbacks, the Australian NBL, and the G-League program have emerged as contenders for Holland’s services.

 

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29 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

GH said he still thinks it's Arky

Yeah, it seems clear to me that he ends up at Arkansas.  The G League visit is just optics on his part.  He could have visited them at any point before Texas had released him from his NLI.

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Looks like there is at least some interest in Texas from North Carolina G Caleb Love.  Jumped to Michigan in portal then decided not to, so he's in play.  He would be a nice final piece to the puzzle.  It us, Gonzaga and Arizona according to the Bleacher Report https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10077154-report-caleb-love-linked-to-texas-arizona-gonzaga-after-decommitting-from-michigan

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24 minutes ago, horn4life said:

Looks like there is at least some interest in Texas from North Carolina G Caleb Love.  Jumped to Michigan in portal then decided not to, so he's in play.  He would be a nice final piece to the puzzle.  It us, Gonzaga and Arizona according to the Bleacher Report https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10077154-report-caleb-love-linked-to-texas-arizona-gonzaga-after-decommitting-from-michigan

Caleb Love would be an absolute luxury, but Terry has been quoted saying they're looking for a long 3/4 with range to create more space and optionality in the offense. Both Love and Spencer (mentioned above) are 6'4 guards that skew toward distribution as opposed to length. Either would make for an insane backcourt, and we'd be thrilled, but Terry is right imo. We should be portal fishing for a guy that makes the whole offense harder to defend, instead of a guy that's hard to defend. 

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55 minutes ago, horn4life said:

Looks like there is at least some interest in Texas from North Carolina G Caleb Love.  Jumped to Michigan in portal then decided not to, so he's in play.  He would be a nice final piece to the puzzle.  It us, Gonzaga and Arizona according to the Bleacher Report https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10077154-report-caleb-love-linked-to-texas-arizona-gonzaga-after-decommitting-from-michigan

"Decided not to" = got rejected by Michigan's admissions office

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1 hour ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Caleb Love would be an absolute luxury, but Terry has been quoted saying they're looking for a long 3/4 with range to create more space and optionality in the offense. Both Love and Spencer (mentioned above) are 6'4 guards that skew toward distribution as opposed to length. Either would make for an insane backcourt, and we'd be thrilled, but Terry is right imo. We should be portal fishing for a guy that makes the whole offense harder to defend, instead of a guy that's hard to defend. 

Hunter, Abmas, Love/Spencer, Disu, and Shedrick would be incredibly tough to defend and would bury you from the FT line as everyone in that rotation shoots 75%+. There isn't a wing available that could make for a more diverse offensive attack than those 5 guys. Kaluma is not a fit because he's not a wing, he's an undersized 4. The kid from Tennessee would be a great fit, but he's staying in the draft because guys with his skillset and athleticism get drafted.

1 hour ago, horn4life said:

Looks like there is at least some interest in Texas from North Carolina G Caleb Love.  Jumped to Michigan in portal then decided not to, so he's in play.  He would be a nice final piece to the puzzle.  It us, Gonzaga and Arizona according to the Bleacher Report https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10077154-report-caleb-love-linked-to-texas-arizona-gonzaga-after-decommitting-from-michigan

Gerry said today that Texas leads for Love as of today. 

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12 minutes ago, VinyVango said:

I caught a glimpse of Spencer this past year but can't recall how he was as a defender.... Anyone know how his defense is?

Gets his hands on a lot of balls, and his advanced defensive metrics at Rutgers were positive.

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7 hours ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Caleb Love would be an absolute luxury, but Terry has been quoted saying they're looking for a long 3/4 with range to create more space and optionality in the offense. Both Love and Spencer (mentioned above) are 6'4 guards that skew toward distribution as opposed to length. Either would make for an insane backcourt, and we'd be thrilled, but Terry is right imo. We should be portal fishing for a guy that makes the whole offense harder to defend, instead of a guy that's hard to defend. 

 

6 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Hunter, Abmas, Love/Spencer, Disu, and Shedrick would be incredibly tough to defend and would bury you from the FT line as everyone in that rotation shoots 75%+. There isn't a wing available that could make for a more diverse offensive attack than those 5 guys. Kaluma is not a fit because he's not a wing, he's an undersized 4. The kid from Tennessee would be a great fit, but he's staying in the draft because guys with his skillset and athleticism get drafted.

Gerry said today that Texas leads for Love as of today. 

If I am remembering correctly from 2 nights ahi’s late night deep dive, Love’s 3-point shooing percentage is okay to weak, but his overall FG % is downright embarrassing. Yep, I was remembering correctly. 
 

IMG_2415.jpeg

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His FT percentage is quite good.  You would think that would translate to better shooting touch overall, but it doesn't always go that way.  I don't know if I see the point of another shooting guard who can't shoot.   

Edited by RabidM
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What we honestly are looking for now is kids that can take some minutes to help keep the starters healthier over the course of the season.  Now catastrophic injuries fuck everything, but having and extra kid to put into the mix to help supply at least somewhat dependable depth is the prescription I think Terry is looking for.  We are not likely to pull any real potential greatness at this point in the portal. If we did it would likely be a head case, or Holland in the best case scenario, who might be a head case, who knows.

But one more, just one more would help as the key to keeping your players healthy over the course of a long season is the ability and WILLINGNESS to sit them to keep them rested.  Otherwise they may play through slightly nagging injuries that aggravate into something more.  Rest, especially at the end of the season looking toward tournament time is crucial, and depth is the only way to get there.  Plus as a coach the best thing you can do is get your new or transfer players more court time to gain experience so they can indeed spell or replace starters. But you need warm bodies.  

One more quality warm body would be helpful.  It not install some height scanners set at 6'4" in all the workout facilities on Campus and find a kid.  Give Brock Cunningham $10,000 to find the guy and he will find us some scrapper already on campus! (I can dream can't I?)

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All of the guys we are looking at are more than just a warm body. It would be someone who could start at the 3 and move Cunningham or Weaver to the bench.  It would be more of a talent upgrade than just a strategy for keeping people healthy.

If we strike out on Love, Kaluma, Spencer or Phillips, then sure get a couple of solid glue guys who would be happy playing 10-15 mpg. 

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All of the guys we are looking at are more than just a warm body. It would be someone who could start at the 3 and move Cunningham or Weaver to the bench.  It would be more of a talent upgrade than just a strategy for keeping people healthy.
If we strike out on Love, Kaluma, Spencer or Phillips, then sure get a couple of solid glue guys who would be happy playing 10-15 mpg. 

Cunningham and weaver off the bench would be the start of a good keep the pressure on lineup
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Boys if you are not back slapping happy with the roster of TERRY'S team, then you just cannot be made to be happy.

What I would be very curious to know is what the coaches and players have known about Hunter and Mitchell during the portal recruiting period.  I would also like to know how Terry's "family" style of recruiting played in the heads of the two returning players?  One of my concerns about Terry's recruiting style was how well it would hold up in the changed landscape of the transfer portal. It's still a concern, but not as much of a concern.  I also wonder what Beard may have said to the incoming freshmen who decided not to come, and if that differed what what Terry told them?  Basically I would love to know the true behind the scenes machinations, and what factors were or were not important to the players on the current roster.

Do not get me wrong, I think that Terry's style up until the portal is exactly the recruiting style I would want for my kid.  As I think parents and players know the guy truly cares about the kids in his care.  And I think the "in his care" part is genuine, and something a lot of coaches do not really care about beyond the court.  But like I said out the outset of this recruiting adventure, I felt Terry started off with a disadvantage being the interim coach label for nearly all of the recruiting season.  I also knew that good or bad, we were going to find our pretty damn fast whether Terry was going to be able to get the kids he needed to be tournament competitive in the coming season.  Then heap on the fact that 4 of the players who were presumed to be on the roster all were looking at leaving the program made recruiting even more complicated for Terry.

Like I said I wish I knew the behind the scenes story, but you have to love the team Terry has put together.  I can't help but think that as the head coach with a real contract, and a solid season next year, recruiting could be even better next year. Especially if this team can make another run in the NCAA's!  To quote an old Austin band Timbuk 3, "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!"

In fact I think "I gotta wear shades" would be a good slogan for this year's team!

 

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