Texas Basketball: Jase Febres joining Chris Beard for 21-22 season

On the night of April 12, a big-time piece of the Texas basketball program announced he would be returning to the team for the 2021-22 season. As Texas is facing a lot of roster attrition this offseason in the way of full-on coaching staff turnover and a few likely NBA Draft declarations, any key players they can get back in the mix for next season will be huge.

This key player that the Longhorns will be getting back for next season is senior shooting guard/wing Jase Febres. Texas won’t have much experienced depth returning in any portion of the rotation next season, so getting Febres back could make a big difference.

Febres started to contribute in a big way off the bench for the Longhorns down the stretch last season. His ability to space the floor and stay aware on and off-ball on defense make Febres a valuable piece of this backcourt/wing rotation.

What the return of Jase Febres means for Texas basketball?

Newly hired former Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Chris Beard is already seeing roster attrition take hold of this hoops program early in the offseason. The departure of sixth-year Texas head coach Shaka Smart back on March 26 was likely to lead to a complete change in coaching staff and roster construction, though, so this is expected.

Beard now might be able to get back the likes of junior guard Courtney Ramey, redshirt junior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones, and Febres, all in this part of the rotation next season. Despite losing the likes of senior guard Matt Coleman, senior big man Jericho Sims, sophomore power forward Kai Jones, and freshman power forward Greg Brown, Texas could still have some of their parts of the integral rotation from last season by for the 2021-22 campaign.

Febres himself was rehabbing from an injury for much of the early stages of the 2020-21 season. he played in just over a dozen games for Smart and the Longhorns last season, averaging around 17 minutes on the floor per game.

And he averaged 12.4 points per 40 minutes, 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks. Febres shot 39.3 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from beyond the arc, and hit on all four attempts from the free-throw line. Nearly all of Febres’ field goal attempts this season came from downtown (51 three-point attempts compared to five two-point attempts).

The former four-star recruit and 6-foot-5 and 195 pound Houston, TX, native Febres could also help mentor the likes of incoming Longhorns signees next season. Four-star Assumption combo guard Emarion Ellis and four-star John Paul II small forward Jaylon Tyson are both signed in the Longhorns 2021 class.

Texas finished up the 2020-21 season with a record of 19-8 (11-6 Big 12) with Smart as head coach. The season ended on a disappointing note with Smart and the Longhorns falling short in the Round of 64 at the hands of the 14-seed Abilene Christian.