Texas Basketball: 3 players shining as the losses continue to mount

3) Texas basketball players shining despite the losses

Matt Coleman, Point Guard

By far the most productive and versatile player for the Longhorns this season on a consistent basis is the standout senior guard Matt Coleman. The backcourt pairing of Coleman and junior guard Courtney Ramey as a whole were a big driving force for the Longhorns success in the win column most of the way this season.

And Coleman continues to be a driving factor for why the Longhorns remain tight in most games, despite the three losses in the last four games. He was solid once again (outside of a team-high five turnovers) in the loss to Baylor earlier this week.

On the season in total, Coleman is one of the few Longhorns players that has participated in all of their 15 games (starting in all of them), averaging around 34 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 13.1 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.1 blocks, and 2.1 turnovers. Coleman shot 46.9 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 90.0 percent from the free-throw line.

For a while there, it looked like Coleman could contend to be a 50/40/90 guard this season.

Moreover, Coleman continues to elevate his game through the first half of the Big 12 slate. He’s averaged 12.6 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.1 blocks, in eight starts in Big 12 play thus far.

The advanced metrics also prove the evolution in Coleman’s game this season. He’s registered a sparkling and career best 7.7 box plus/minus rating, .176 win shares per 40 minutes, 2.2 total win shares, 120 offensive rating/100 defensive rating, 59.3 true shooting percentage, and a 18.6 player efficiency rating.