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Texas Basketball: 5 takeaways post-South Dakota St NIT win

By Andrew Miller

AUSTIN, TEXAS - JANUARY 19: Kristian Doolittle #21 of the Oklahoma Sooners fights for the ball with Jericho Sims #20 and Elijah Mitrou-Long #55 of the Texas Longhorns during first half action at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JANUARY 19: Kristian Doolittle #21 of the Oklahoma Sooners fights for the ball with Jericho Sims #20 and Elijah Mitrou-Long #55 of the Texas Longhorns during first half action at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 23: Jericho Sims #20 of the Texas Longhorns passes the ball against Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans during the championship game of the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 23, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 23: Jericho Sims #20 of the Texas Longhorns passes the ball against Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans during the championship game of the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 23, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

5. Jericho Sims still has a very high ceiling

Largely thanks to getting pushed out by the presence of two elite big men the last two seasons, sophomore center Jericho Sims was slotted in a backup role pretty much his entire career thus far. Sims is a very talented big himself and could get the chance to finally standout as a permanent starter next season.

The Texas basketball program did get a plethora of big time forwards and centers that rolled through the past five years. A ton of talent also panned out at the NBA level like Jarrett Allen and Myles Turner. The injured Jaxson Hayes could be the next man up in the NBA coming out of this basketball program.

Sims might not carry the same type of NBA potential as a Hayes or Allen, but he definitely could still have a promising future on the Forty Acres. If he does get the green light from Smart to start next season, then anything could be possible. His experience and underrated potency should be considered for a starting spot in the frontcourt.

However, the show that Sims put on here for the Horns was good to see. He posted just four points on a perfect two field goal tries. But, he did rack up six rebounds and two blocks without getting into the same type of foul trouble that Hayes usually does. There were a lot of promising signs that Sims showed here that could easily fly under the radar.

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