Univerity of
Texas (23)
by Joshua Riddell
Projected Starters
G
6-1
PT%
55.66
G
PTE
12.14
6-2
PT%
71.76
G
PT%
53.24
6-9
PT%
55.15
C
6-9
PT%
53.46
HS100 AC/AA
3-AC
Damarcus Holland
PTE
6.27
6-3
F
Isaiah Taylor
HS100 AC/AA
Kendal Yancy
JR
NBA
52
SR
NBA
JR
PTE
7.62
HS100 AC/AA
PTE
10.51
HS100 AC/AA
2-AC
NBA
PTE
13.99
HS100 AC/AA
14
NBA
Connor Lammert
Cameron Ridley
NBA
SR
SR
Bench Rotation
G
5-11
PT%
53.16
C
PTE
8.44
6-10
PT%
26.40
F
G
HS100 AC/AA
80
Prince Ibeh
PTE
2.16
6-8
PT%
34.38
Javan Felix
HS100 AC/AA
62
Shaquille Cleare
PTE
0.93
HS100 AC/AA
34
6-3 Eric Davis
PT%
0.00
PTE
0.00
HS100 AC/AA
47
SR
NBA
SR
NBA
58
JR
NBA
FR
NBA
The Rick Barnes chapter in
Texas basketball history has finally
come to a close after 17 seasons, 16
NCAA Tournament appearances,
one Final Four appearance, and
a 69 percent overall winning
percentage. The Longhorns
made the move of the off-season,
convincing Shaka Smart to leave
VCU and take the next step in his
own career.
Smart inherits a talented,
veteran roster and a program used
to postseason appearances, with a
baseline expectation of advancing
to the Sweet 16. Wrestling the
Big 12 conference title away from
Kansas, or winning the conference
tournament for the first time,
would be a bigger accomplishment
for Smart in his first season.
There are players who will fit
perfectly into Smart’s game plan,
starting with point guard Isaiah
Taylor. After flirting with the NBA
draft, Taylor returned to Texas and
will be the first line of defense in
Smart’s pressure system. His feet
move quickly and with tireless
energy, making him a constant pest
to the ball-handler, slowing the
opposing attack, forcing turnovers,
and causing them to use valuable
time in the shot clock just to
advance the ball.
Taylor should thrive in Smart’s
NBA-style offense, running
through more ball screens to get
into the paint—something Smart’s
VCU team ran considerably more
than Texas last year. Taylor has the
ability to get into the paint and find
shooters, and should have a variety
of option to partner with in the
pick-and-roll.
Big man Cameron Ridley rolls
hard to the rim every time, making
himself available for easy dunks
if the defense doesn’t rotate over;
while Connor Lammert provides a
6-foot-9 forward who isn’t afraid to
shoot from long distance. Lammert
needs to refine his shot to realize
his ceiling as a stretch 4, hitting
only 29 percent of his 88 3-point
attempts last year, but should find
plenty of open looks in Smart’s
offense.
Their freshman class doesn’t
appear to be loaded with elite
BBALLBREAKDOWN | 48