Texas Basketball: 3 players ready to become stars in 2020-21

3) Potential Texas basketball stars in 2020-21

There’s a short list of players on the current Longhorns roster that came onto the Forty Acres with as much touting and just raw talent as the former four-star recruit and junior forward Gerald Liddell that haven’t come close to living up to the hype yet. This former Cibolo-Steele High School product hailing out of Cibolo, TX, still has a left of potential left in his run with Texas.

Coming out of Cibolo-Steele High School during the 2018 recruiting cycle, Liddell was one of the top prospects at his position. He ranked as the nation’s No. 49 2018 high school prospect, No. 10 small forward, and No. 2 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranked him as the nation’s No. 41 high school prospect, No. 8 small forward, and No. 2 prospect out of Texas.

Liddell actually ranked higher in the Longhorns 2018 recruiting class than the likes of current New Orleans Pelicans standout big man Jaxson Hayes. And he ranked higher than other small forwards in his cycle like Los Angeles Lakers wing Talen Horton-Tucker, and recent NBA Draft picks and Robert Woodard (Mississippi State Bulldogs) and Saddiq Bey (Villanova).

What Liddell brings back this season for Texas is a sizable and gifted 6-foot-8 and 200 pound forward. He’s registered 3.0 points per game, 2.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks, in 27 games played in his college career to date. Liddell also shot 40.0 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 48.0 percent from free-throw line.

We’ve seen flashes in the past of brilliance from Liddell, including in last season’s win over the Purdue Boilermakers (14 points, eight rebounds, four assists) and the tough loss to the Georgetown Hoyas (seven points, three rebounds, four assists, and one block). Liddell is also a very versatile playmaker, potent shooter, and two-way wing that has a modern NBA skill set at his position if Smart can finally see him stay healthy and have his potential fulfilled.