Texas Basketball: What to watch for against Eastern Illinois

1. The five freshmen

Of course most of the intrigue, specifically for an early season game against a mid-major, will be toward the freshmen. Smart brought in the eighth ranked class in the nation and four ESPN Top 100 players.

This Texas basketball team does not have any bona fide stars, but they do have tremendous depth as they go 12 or 13 guys deep. This is a plus as guys will have the opportunity to compete for minutes, but it can be seen as a negative as there is a good chance some guys will get lost at the end of the bench. The good thing with Smart is you can earn your minutes in practice.

Nonetheless, we should see a good amount of freshman minutes tonight against this Eastern Illinois squad.

Tall center Hayes has already seen high praise from Smart as he said Hayes “won’t be a secret for much longer.” Hayes has the highest ceiling of all five guys, and should be an immediate rotation player as the Horns lack a true center. He won’t do much on the offensive end in year one, but his length and athleticism will allow him to be an impact defender and strong rebounder.

The only back court man in the class is Missouri native Ramey. He is the perfect player for Smart. A guy with a high motor that gets after it on both ends of the floor. Ramey may struggle to get minutes early with the guard depth of the Longhorns, but his basketball IQ paired with his athleticism and defensive ability will allow him to rack up minutes sooner rather than later.

Liddell was the most highly touted of the bunch and is a guy with tremendous upside. At 6-foot-7, Liddell will step in and be an immediate impact on-ball defender. He will be a problem for opposing teams if and when Smart runs his patented havoc press. Liddell is a good finisher at the rim and can take defenders off the dribble, but his jump shot is a work in progress.

Finally, the two power forwards of the class are Alaskan native Hepa and Austin native Cunningham.

Hepa is a very intriguing player, and a guy we could see Smart turning to early. He has a strong knowledge of the game and is a crafty offensive player that picks and chooses his spots very carefully. He can knock down the open three, but will not be a go-to offensive option in his first season. Hepa should provide solid minutes off the bench this year.

Cunningham was the lowest rated player out of the group and a guy who could struggle to get minutes this season. At 6-foot-6, he is a bit undersized to play the four and could very will wind up as a wing player for Smart.

Cunningham does one thing better than most and that is play aggressive. He is not afraid to stick his nose in a fray and will always be the first one you see on the floor. His offensive game is predicated on muscling his way to the rim, but that will be tough to do at this level. Cunningham did have 10 points in the Texas Basketball Tip-Off scrimmage, but expect his value to come more as a practice player this season.