While Texas did make the NCAA tournament in head coach Rodney Terry's first season at the helm, most people wouldn't consider their season to be a success. From the outside looking in, their roster looked absolutely stacked. Elite upperclassmen paired with a few highly touted recruits; it looked like Texas may have had the recipe for success. Despite the talent they bolstered, the Longhorns didn't have the season they may have hoped for. However, instead of getting down on themselves once the season ended, the program charged horns first into the transfer portal. As of today, they have landed three portal jumpers who I believe will make a major impact at Texas next season. All three of Jayson Kent, Julian Larry, and Tramon Mark are heading into their senior seasons prepared to make a difference in Austin. Here's what Texas fans can expect to see from each of their newly acquired pieces.
Tramon Mark - 6'6" 185lbs - Combo Guard/Wing
16.2ppg / 1.8apg / 4.3rpg / 1.2spg / .8bpg / 48FG% / 36.4 3P% / 80.4FT%
Tramon Mark was the top scorer on an Arkansas team that struggled this season, going 16-17 on the year. He played well, but I'm not certain what to make of his game or how he'll fit on this Texas roster. He played all over the place at Arkansas, playing minutes at both guard positions and the three over the course of the season. While this does show off his versatility as a player, it also leaves questions about a long-term consistent role at Texas. No matter what position he plays, he has proven that he's a high usage player who prefers when the ball is in his hands. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because when he's doing the things that he is good at he is a very impactful offensive option. So, what are the things that he's good at?
I would argue that Mark's playstyle fits the best at the three. His premier offensive trait is his rim pressure, and his most questionable scoring trait is his shooting. Therefore, having him play a position where he can focus on his strengths and limit his weaknesses would be his best-case scenario. He's an excellent scorer around the rim. He is able to score from below the rim using an impressive display of post-moves for a non-forward. He has a nasty step-through that I wish he would utilize more. He's also able to score above the rim using his floaty athleticism and impressive wingspan. A lot of times he can looked rushed and confused on offense, but when he really focuses on getting his points around the rim he turns into a very fluid player.
Like I said, there are definitely questions about his shooting. He shot well this year from both the three and mid-range, but I'm not certain this past season wasn't an outlier. He wasn't a great shooter in his three years at Houston, so a one season sample size shouldn't make him a bonafide deep-threat. He has questionable mechanics to say the least, jumping very far into the floor on his shots and kind of jerking his body and arms through the air when he goes up for the jumper. He really likes his mid-range pull-ups, and to his credit he's been making them at a solid clip. However, taking as many mid-range shots as he does doesn't normally result in winning basketball, so I'd like to see him convert some of these shots into threes.
Finally, he is a solid defender. You would hope any guy who spent three years at Houston is capable of pulling their weight on the defensive end. As I mentioned, he has very long arms, and he uses this physical trait to make an impact on defense. He's also a good lateral mover, and as long as he isn't guarding someone significantly bigger than he is he can usually hold his own. That is where the question lies for him as a small forward, because he will likely be matching up against a lot of guys who are bigger than he is. At that point you just have to hope that he has the speed and agility advantage.
All in all, I'm still not positive where I would have Mark positionally on next year's Texas team. That being said, I do believe that Rodney Terry will put him in the best possible situation to succeed. He has shown a trend of growth over his four years of college ball, and if this trend continues, he could be one of the better players in the conference next season. He'll have a two-way impact for the Longhorns, which is always nice, and I do think he'll fit better here than he did at Arkansas. Expect Mark to play a different style for Terry than he did for Musselman while still maintaining his sparkplug offensive abilities.
Jayson Kent - 6'8" 205lbs - Forward
13.5ppg / 8.1rpg / .6apg / .7spg / .5bpg / 63.9FG% / 36.6 3P% / 83.7FT%
Jayson Kent is a super interesting pickup for Texas, as I figured he would be following head coach Josh Schertz to Saint Louis. At Indiana State, Kent played incredibly efficient basketball while surrounded by several elite playmakers. Now he'll be joining a roster that is less polished and more up in the air, and we shall see if he can keep up the level of play that we're used to seeing from him. He's purely an off-ball player, but he knows his role and he plays it to the best of his abilities. He's a strong, athletic, average-sized forward with excellent feel for inside scoring and the ability to space the floor. He's an elite rebounder, who picks up over two offensive rebounds per game. He was possibly the best role-player in the MVC this year, and I'm incredibly curious to see how that translates to a higher level at Texas.
Like I said, Kent is a serious inside scoring threat. I wouldn't say he has a deep bag of post-moves, but when he finds himself inside, he's incredibly difficult to stop. All he really needs is a little bit of space and a good look at that backboard and he's making the shot. How he gets to his spots inside is the real question. This past year he showed that he was an elite cutter and scored a ton of his points off of these cuts. His ability to knock down the three forced defenders to guard up on him, allowing him to blow by them off-ball. He's also an elite roll man. He rolls at the right time and to the right spot, and this past season the excellent playmakers at Indiana State found him more often than not. That raises the question, will Kent be playing with any elite passers this year? Indiana State teammate Julian Larry will be moving to Texas with Kent, and he's a solid passer who knows how Kent plays. Losing the passing of Robbie Avila and Isaiah Swope will be tough, but I think Kent and Larry will be fine.
Kent isn't a defender that you write home about, but he is a capable one. He's not some sort of shot-blocking aficionado, as his athleticism does seem to translate better to the offensive end. However, he is a super strong guy with a solid frame who is very difficult to push around. Even guys who are bigger than him struggle to impose their will when he's guarding them. Don't expect any game breaking defense from him but know that he will usually be in the right spot at the right time and that he will give his best effort on every possession.
Other strengths include rebounding and connective passing. I already mentioned his rebounding, but I think it's worth a second look. He rebounds better than most guys his size, and a lot of this is due to his strength when boxing out. That's why he picks up a few offensive rebounds each game, which usually result in put-backs. I don't expect his rebounding numbers to be as good against bigger opponents this season, but I do think he will still make an impact under the rim. His connective passing is something a lot of people will look over, but I think it's a valuable trait. He isn't a flashy passer, but he does make the correct read more often than not. If he isn't in a position to score, he's going to keep moving the ball and keep the offense from going stagnate. This is really important to keep an offense engaged, and it's something Kent will continue to do at Texas.
Overall, Texas fans can expect Jayson Kent to be a model role player. This is a guy that you want your younger players to learn from. He's going to go out there every night, give his best effort, and play the best version of his game. He's the type of guy that you'll probably never get frustrated with. It's players like Kent that will win you basketball games by doing the little things.
Julian Larry - 6'3" 185lbs - Combo Guard
11ppg / 4.8apg / 2.8rpg / 1.5spg / 52.5FG% / 46.2 3P% / 78FT%
Like Kent, Julian Larry is a very polished player who will make an impact for Texas right away. As a guard, he's flashier than someone like Kent, but he's also a guy who plays within his means. He's a super-fast and athletic guard who puts a ton of pressure on the rim and knocks down the outside shot at an efficient clip. He's also a very good passer who makes the correct read while also throwing in a flashy dime here and there. I think he will likely play the starting point for Texas this season because of that passing acumen, and I'm curious to see how he does with more usage as a lead guard for the Longhorns. While he did start this season for Indiana State, he shared a ton of the workload with guards Isaiah Swope and Ryan Conwell. This season we will likely see him as the clear lead guard, which I think will actually make him look even better.
Larry's most valuable offensive trait is his ability to attack the rim. He manages to look calm, cool, and collected while moving at breakneck speeds on his drives. He has a tight handle and elite acceleration, making him a nightmare to stop when he decides to attack the hoop. Once he gets there, he's an excellent finisher. He's incredibly crafty at the rim, and every now and then he'll shock you with his athleticism, rise up, and catch a poster. These traits aren't limited to the half-court game either. He's fantastic in transition, probably even better than he is on drawn up sets. Nobody on the floor is faster than him, so once he gets a head of steam in transition he's not going to be stopped. On top of all of that, Larry is also a 46% three-point shooter. He can knock down these shots in a multitude of ways, acting as both an off and on-ball shooter. This ability to knock down deep shots at a high clip forces defenders to play him close, allowing him to blow right by them whenever he wants to. As far as scoring is concerned, I'm not worried about his ability to translate to higher-level hoops.
Defensively, Larry is very solid. That speed and athleticism allows him to make an impact on the defensive end. He is a smaller guy, but he doesn't have a weak frame. He stays with his matchups, and he doesn't get pushed around if he finds himself inside the paint. He's excellent at jumping passing lanes, immediately transitioning into his full-speed transition game. He doesn't necessarily wow you as a defender, but he's never going to be a liability on that end of the floor.
Finally, I mentioned his passing and playmaking, but considering he will carry a bigger workload this season I think it's worth talking more about. Larry averaged 4.8 assists per game this season, which is a really impressive number. He did average 2.1 turnovers a night, but that's still a solid assist-to-turnover ratio. He's great at hitting his cutters and rollers, and like I said, he will throw a flashy pass every now and then. At Indiana State he was blessed to be surrounded by a ton of guys who were always moving and always looking for the best position to score. I would hope that there will be guys like that at Texas other than Kent, but we can't know for sure. If Rodney Terry can ensure that his system moves like a well-oiled machine instead of a handful of rigid gears, Larry will be just fine as a playmaker.
I think Larry could be the X-Factor on this Texas team. I don't think we saw him reach his ceiling at Indiana State, and I predict that his usage rate will open new doors for him as a Longhorn. If the skills that worked for him in the past are able to translate, and he adds some more pieces to his game, expect a big jump from Julian Larry.
That's that Longhorn fans. I really do think that next year's team has the potential of being even better than this past year's group, even if the big names aren't there. Terry will have one more year of coaching under his belt, and he will surely be excited to keep moving the program in a positive direction. I highly doubt that his portal work is done, as the roster is still looking pretty thin as of today. As far as these three players are concerned, I think the coaching staff hit their first look at the portal out of the park.