Texas Basketball: 3 reasons to pursue Oregon transfer C Francis Okoro

3. Uncertain depth beyond Jericho Sims

On the discussion of depth in the frontcourt rotation, the Longhorns aren’t going to be sporting much next season among proven commodities beyond rising senior center Jericho Sims. And once Sims went down with an injury last season, Texas did struggle for a bit to find an answer to replace that production.

Last season, Sims was on his best pace yet before a back injury held him out for what would be the rest of the year. He averaged 9.7 points per game, 8.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game, while shooting 65.8 percent from the field. Sims also managed a team-best box plus/minus rating of 7.8 and .190 win shares per 40 minutes.

It does almost seem guaranteed that Sims will come back for his senior season. The season-ending injury he suffered earlier in the calendar year diminished a lot of the rise in his draft stock that he would’ve seen down the stretch in a decent potential Big 12 Tournament or NCAA Tournament run with the Longhorns.

Behind Sims at the center position (or at the four if Smart doesn’t want to touch a small ball rotation), Texas has younger players like rising sophomore Kai Jones, senior Royce Hamm Jr., sophomore Will Baker, and sophomore Brock Cunningham. But none of those aforementioned names were able to make a huge impact over the bulk of the 2019-20 season.