Best Texas players of the last 15 years

[HookEm 2467]

I got to thinking about where Disu and Abmas stack up against our best players at Texas over the last 15 years.  When both of these guys have it going, it is hard for me to remember more dominant players.  

So I decided to make my own ranked list going back to the 2009 season.  Lot of great players at Texas in there.  Where would you say these guys stack up? 

(My ranking is heavily weighted to their peak and not overall career at Texas.)

• Damion James - 2010 All-Big 12 1st Team
• Jordan Hamilton - 2011 All American 2nd Team
• J'Covan Brown - 2012 All-Big 12 1st Team
• Dylan Disu - TBD, 2023 Big 12 Tourney MVP
• Isaiah Taylor - 2016 All-Big 12 1st Team
• Marcus Carr - 2023 All-Big 12 1st Team
• Max Abmas - TBD
• AJ Abrams - 2009 All-Big 12 2nd Team
• Jaxson Hayes - 2019 All-Big 12 2nd Team
• Tristan Thompson - 2011 All-Big 12 2nd Team
• Sir'Jabari Rice - 2023 All-Big 12 3rd Team, 6MOY
• Mo Bamba - 2018 All-Big 12 2nd Team
• Matt Coleman - 2021 Big 12 Tourney MVP, All-Big 12 3rd Team
• Timmy Allen - 2022 All-Big 12 2nd Team
• Jonathan Holmes 2014 All-Big 12 2nd Team
• Andrew Jones - 2021 All-Big 12 2nd Team
• Myles Turner - 2015 All-Big 12 3rd Team, ROY
• Jarrett Allen - 2017 Big 12 All Freshman
• Gary Johnson -2011 All-Big 12 3rd Team
• Avery Bradley - 2010 Big 12 All Freshman
• Jericho Sims - 2021 Big 12 Tourney Team
• Kai Jones - 2021 Big 12 6MOY
• Corey Joseph - 2011 Big 12 All Freshman
• Courtney Ramey - 2021 All-Big 12 3rd Team
• Dogus Balbay - 2011 Big 12 DPOY
• Myck Kabongo - 2012 Big 12 All Freshman
• Prince Ibeh - 2016 Big 12 DPOY
• Sheldon McClellan
• Kerwin Roach 
• Julien Lewis
• Javan Felix

[shadow_operative 15932]

cam ridley needs to be on the list, probably between bamba and rice. he was averaging a double double and 3.5 blk when he broke his foot his senior year. he was on pace to be an all league, maybe 3rd team AA type guy before that injury. 

also i feel really bad for damion james. he was the early front runner for NPOY in 09-10 with Texas being no.1 and Damo averaging a double double and shooting 40% from deep. he could have been a Texas legend had we not completely collapsed. ugh.

Edited February 5 by shadow_operative

[HookEm 2467]

Agree on Ridley. He didn't have any credentials, so I left him off - even though I remember thinking how incredible he was for a time there.  At his peak he was better than a lot on this list.

Also, there was some talk in the other thread about how we shouldn't recruit point guards.  Yes, the environment has changed, but I like seeing guys develop.  And Corey Joseph, Avery Bradley and Myck Kabongo were all on the All-Freshman team. 

I am always surprised when I put together lists like this that Jordan Hamilton is the only All-American in the bunch.  I remember him being good, but not THAT good.

[shadow_operative 15932]

hamilton’s zenith was a game at reed arena where he just dominated khris middleton on both ends of the court. it was his best defensive performance of his career, by far. it showed how good he was when he was at his best. real deal nba size and athleticism with the ability to score from anywhere. to this day i’m surprised that he basically had zero nba career.

Edited February 5 by shadow_operative

[Hookem2147 21345]

It’s a shame Matt Coleman was stuck on some of those stupid Shaka teams because he was a lot better than many people realize.

Probably made a poor decision going pro and not playing under Beard for his final year because I have a feeling he would have been a perfect fit.

[shadow_operative 15932]

before jabari rice, the most recent player from that list who i really loved was isaiah taylor. so depressing how many big time recruits we signed only for them to come and go and barely leave an imprint.

[Braff Zacklin 13636]

I feel like Myck Kabongo should be at the bottom. Many of y'all loved to hate on Javan, but he deserves better than to be ranked below Kabongo. Shit, I'd rank Osetkowski above Myck.

Edited February 5 by Braff Zacklin

[ztejas 43524]

The top group should be Carr, Damion James and Hamilton and I'd be tempted to put Carr 1st simply based on what that team accomplished last season and what they had to go through. He was putting up insane numbers in B12 play before teams started making it their defensive gameplan to take him out of every game - and then Jabari started killing it. 

That team would have done nothing without Carr last season - and Tyrese was routinely awful in the backcourt next to him. 

[HookEm 2467]

Good point on Kabongo. I recall him being pretty frustrating to watch.  

In coming up with my placement on the list, I like to think... who would I rather have on this team:  <Today's Player> or <Historic Player>, while generally trying to compare like positions. 

In the case of Abmas, it is interesting to see how he stacks up against the other guards.  I think our ceiling would be higher with Marcus Carr, given his defense.  But I'm not actually sure I would rather have Taylor or Coleman. Abmas' efficiency is just so much better than the rest of them.  And his defense has been getting better every game.  

• Max Abmas - 17.7 PTS, 2.9 TRB, 4.2 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.449 FG%, 0.399 3P%, 0.896 FT%, 2.4 TO, 18.8 PER, 0.168 WS/40, 25.1 USG%, 0.599 TS%, 6'1, 165

• Marcus Carr - 15.9 PTS, 3.0 TRB, 4.1 AST, 1.6 STL, 0.428 FG%, 0.368 3P%, 0.772 FT%, 1.6 TO, 19.3 PER, 0.174 WS/40, 23.8 USG%, 0.548 TS%, 6'2, 195

• Isaiah Taylor - 15.0 PTS, 2.8 TRB, 5.0 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.420 FG%, 0.311 3P%, 0.811 FT%, 1.8 TO, 21.4 PER, 0.167 WS/40, 27.1 USG%, 0.525 TS%, 6'1, 170

• Matt Coleman - 13.2 PTS, 3.5 TRB, 4.0 AST, 1.2 STL, 0.485 FG%, 0.277 3P%, 0.813 FT%, 2.2 TO, 17.3 PER, 0.155 WS/40, 19.6 USG%, 0.602 TS%, 6-2, 180

• AJ Abrams - 16.6 PTS, 2.2 TRB, 1.3 AST, 1.3 STL, 0.399 FG%, 0.396 3P%, 0.848 FT%, 1.4 TO, ??? PER, 0.125 WS/40, 21.6 USG%, 0.543 TS%, 5'11, 161

[ITHorn 801]

It would have been a blast to watch AJ Abrams in this three point happy era. His peak may have actually been higher given the way these games are called tighter. 

[Blotto 23560]

On 2/5/2024 at 12:28 AM, Braff Zacklin said:

I feel like Myck Kabongo should be at the bottom. Many of y'all loved to hate on Javan, but he deserves better than to be ranked below Kabongo. Shit, I'd rank Osetkowski above Myck.

Hell, I'd add Kerwin Roach to the list over Kabongo as well. Our teams kind of sucked while he was hear, but he stuck around for 4 years and was our leading scorer his last year on campus. 

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/texas/men/2019.html

 

[Braff Zacklin 13636]

1 hour ago, Blotto said:

Hell, I'd add Kerwin Roach to the list over Kabongo as well. Our teams kind of sucked while he was hear, but he stuck around for 4 years and was our leading scorer his last year on campus. 

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/texas/men/2019.html

 

OP included Roach on the list ... a couple of spots below Myck, however.