Texas found some magic early on last season by jumping out to an 18-4 record before cooling down the stretch. A thrilling win against Arizona State to open the NCAA tournament led to a loss against No. 2 seed Michigan, but regardless of the result, how it happened was enough to take some heat off often-criticized Longhorns coach Rick Barnes.
Texas basketball preview: The Longhorns are loaded in the frontcourt
Freshman big man Myles Turner joins a talented duo of Jonathan Holmes and Cameron Ridley for our No. 15-ranked team, and he hopes that puts the Longhorns over the top.
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One big recruiting victory later, and the expectations for Barnes are sky high. The Longhorns didn't lose much from a year ago -- guard Martez Walker left school following two arrests -- but what they gained is the biggest key to their year.
That would be forward Myles Turner, the second-ranked player in the 2014 recruiting class, according to ESPN. Now it’s about how that addition shakes up the rotations for Barnes and an experienced roster.
A returning starting lineup will have to adjust to Turner's unique skills for a 7-foot, 240 pound shotblocker. He could start at power forward alongside hefty lane clogger Cameron Ridley. The question, then, is whether the Longhorns' leading scorer from a year ago, Jonathan Holmes, comes off the bench or has refined his perimeter skills enough to move to small forward. Turner could come off the bench behind Holmes, too. It's a the best kind of logjam, but one that's solution will go a long way towards determining how good Texas really is this year.
While Barnes can assuredly rotate between Turner, Holmes and Ridley to run out one of the NCAA's best front lines, the perimeter rotation will again feature guards Isaiah Taylor, Javan Felix and Demarcus Holland, all three of whom started last year but come with one big flaw. More on that later.
Projected starting lineup
PG: Isaiah Taylor
SG: Javan Felix
SF: Demarcus Holland
PF: Myles Turner
C: Cameron Ridley
Key bench players: Jonathan Holmes, Jordan Barnett, Connor Lammert, Prince Ibeh, Kendal Yancy, Damarcus Croaker
How Texas could go deep in the tournament: The bigs can play together
There’s a lot of talent in the frontcourt, but the three best players could be fighting for time at two positions. Ridley, a center, uses his muscle down low to shoulder into opponents on offense, while Turner is more comfortable facing the basket. Holmes could possibly be the best offensive threat once again, and while he can play forward to slide Turner to center, then Ridley is the odd man out in some lineups.
Holmes’ development could give Barnes the ability to play him at small forward -- and all three big men at once. The senior’s ball handling skills might be the biggest key here, but so will his ability to stay in front of smaller forwards or even guards. Holmes shot 33 percent from three-point range last year, and even an improvement of a few percentage points will go a long way in spacing the court for Ridley or Turner as they operate in the post.
If the trio can coexist offensively, then this team won’t only be able to dominate the glass and protect the rim, but put three of the best front court scoring threats on the court at once. If and how that can happen is up to Barnes.
How Texas could get sent home early: The guards can’t space the floor
No doubt, Texas will clog the lane on defense and have the ability to crash the glass for offensive rebounds. Offensively, the main worry will continue to be the backcourt’s ability to shoot from distance. As a team, the Longhorns took threes on 26 percent of their attempts last year, making just 32.7 percent of those attempts. Their three starting guards shot around that number, and Ridley isn’t stepping out of the paint -- ever.
Walker, Texas' best three-point shooter last year at 35.3 percent, is gone. Kendal Yancy returns after hitting the same percentage in very few attempts, but otherwise no player shot better than Javan Felix's 34.3 percent.
Felix, Holland, Taylor and freshman swingman Jordan Barnett will have to extend their range to keep defenses from sagging down on the Longhorns’ talented big men, and to open up driving lanes and better pick-and-roll actions for themselves. Should that happen, then it’ll matter less whether Holmes and Turner can do enough to space the floor.
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