Texas Basketball: 4 players that will breakout in 2020-21 season

2) Who could breakout for Texas basketball: Will Baker

And we’ve arrived at the player on the list that all Texas fans are patiently waiting to see have his big breakthrough moment. The highest rated signee in the Longhorns 2019 recruiting class, and the lone five-star prospect in the mix, definitely didn’t have the most efficient true freshman campaign that we’ve ever seen.

This 6-foot-11 and 245 pound hometown product and former Westlake High School big man Will Baker is entering a pivotal sophomore campaign this year. He needs to have a breakthrough season, or else a lot of the promise that he came into college with will star to be questioned and possibly go to waste.

During his true freshman campaign with the Longhorns, Baker played in 23 games (starting in none of them). His per game stats, shooting percentages, and all-encompassing advanced metrics all left a lot to be desired last season. He averaged 2.1 points per game, 1.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks. And Baker shot a miserable 27.5 percent from the field, 15.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 33.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Baker registered a negative number of win shares, 1.4 player efficiency rating, and a -7.1 box plus/minus rating, which are all really bad numbers in terms of his overall efficiency. He did improve a bit last season in Big 12 play, but it wasn’t a complete breakthrough.

Barttorvik projects Baker to round the 2020-21 season by averaging 2.5 points per game, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.2 assists. That’s not much of a step forward from his per game stats in 2019-20.

The immense talent level that Baker brings to the table has him knocking on the door of being one of the breakthrough contenders in the entire Big 12 for this coming season.