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Texas Basketball vs. Grand Canyon: 5 takeaways from steamrolling of Antelopes

By Andrew Miller

FULLERTON, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Trey Drechsel #2 of the Grand Canyon Lopes gets by David Beatty #1 of the La Salle Explorers for a basket in the first half of the game during the Wooden Legacy Tournament at Titan Gym on November 25, 2018 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
FULLERTON, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Trey Drechsel #2 of the Grand Canyon Lopes gets by David Beatty #1 of the La Salle Explorers for a basket in the first half of the game during the Wooden Legacy Tournament at Titan Gym on November 25, 2018 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TX – DECEMBER 9: The Texas Longhorns bench reacts as they defeat the Purdue Boilermakers 72-68 at the Frank Erwin Center on December 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX – DECEMBER 9: The Texas Longhorns bench reacts as they defeat the Purdue Boilermakers 72-68 at the Frank Erwin Center on December 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

1. Highlight reel plays from deep in the rotation

All of the storylines to follow from this game for Texas basketball seemed to come from deep in the rotation here. Grand Canyon couldn’t stop most of the players coming off the bench, even late in the game when Smart went really deep in his rotation.

The premier play from deep in the rotation here came from freshman guard Drayton Whiteside, as he provided a highlight reel play in just his second career game played. On his first career field-goal attempt, Whiteside had one of the better crossovers of the season and put his Grand Canyon defender on his butt. He then nailed the three-point try with his defender sitting on the floor.

https://twitter.com/chrisgb00/status/1074103664959205381

It’s great to see highlight reel plays from a former walk-on like Whiteside. But, Whiteside wasn’t the only player for the Horns deeper off the bench that got the rare opportunity to contribute. Freshman small forward Gerald Liddell and sophomore forward Royce Hamm Jr. got a combined 10 minutes on the floor.

Next. 3 biggest needs to fill in 2019 Texas basketball recruiting class. dark

Texas basketball had to dig deeper to get some added contributions from the rotation than the usual sources, like Ramey and freshman forward Jaxson Hayes. Carrying this momentum from the bench scoring into the key showdown against Providence at the Frank Erwin Center on Dec. 21 is important to claiming a third straight victory.

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