Texas Basketball: 3 ultra-efficient players that are surprising this season

3) Efficient Texas basketball players

Two of the biggest surprises for the Longhorns through five games this season are both role players coming off the bench in the frontcourt rotation. Smart and the Longhorns are getting tremendous production off the bench this season, especially among their big men. A lot of that value could be why Texas is doing so well to start the season.

One of those two big surprises in the frontcourt rotation to start the regular season is the 6-foot-8 and 240 pound former unheralded three-star recruit and power forward/center Royce Hamm Jr. The Houston, TX, native and Aldine Nimitz High School product still has not started a double-digit number of games in his four years playing for Texas to date.

Hamm has actually not started in any of the five games he’s played in for the Longhorns so far this season. But in those five games played, he’s been really good coming off the bench. He’s averaged 3.0 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 0.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks. And he’s shot 58.3 percent from the field and just 25.0 percent from the free-throw line.

The shooting from the charity stripe is definitely the biggest area for Hamm to improve at this point of the season.

Moreover, all of that amounted to a sparkling 122 offensive rating/81 defensive rating, 10.6 box plus/minus rating, .215 win shares per 40 minutes, 0.3 total win shares, 54.0 true shooting percentage, and 20.4 player efficiency rating. That sparkling box plus/minus rating just shy of 11 is not only good for a career best for Hamm, but it is third best on the team at the moment.