Texas Basketball: 3 players who must step up in fall practice

Texas basketball will have a vociferous 2020-21 season ahead, but head coach Shaka Smart will need a few players to step up in preseason practice.

Earlier this week, the NCAA approved the official Nov. 25 start date for the 2020-21 college basketball season. That means that the Texas basketball program is about to get up and running back in the near future to prepare for the start of what will likely be an altered 2020-21 regular season schedule.

Apparently part of the season starting up on Nov. 25, in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, is the added piece of fall/preseason practice getting ramped up on Oct. 14. That will give the Longhorns just over a month to get ready for what will be a very different 2020-21 college hoops season.

But that is not the only adjustment that Texas men’s hoops is facing for the looming season.

Texas was set to take part in the Maui Invitational this coming season. And while that invitational tournament appears to be still holding together for the coming season, that special location for the event won’t be where it takes place this year.

The 2020 Maui Invitational tournament is reportedly anticipated to take place in Asheville, NC, this season. And the tournament will go from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, so it will take place near the very outset of the regular season.

However, the Longhorns will have a number of opportunities to prove their case to finally make it into the NCAA Tournament this season. Playing in the gauntlet that is the Big 12 gives Texas the chance to build the resume with multiple big-time wins, hopefully also building off the momentum they established near the end of the 2019-20 regular season.

With all of the alterations that the Longhorns are facing for the 2020-21 season, they have to get off on the right foot in fall practice, starting next month. Here’s a look into the three players for the Longhorns basketball program that must step up in practice ahead of the 2020-21 season.