Texas Basketball: 3 players ready to become stars under Chris Beard

Dylan Disu, PF

One of those polished potential stars for Beard and the Longhorns that Askew will be able to distribute the ball next season is the former Vanderbilt Commodores standout sophomore power forward Dylan Disu. The 6-foot-9 and 220-pound Pflugerville, TX, native and former four-star recruit had a sensational season for Vanderbilt during the 2020-21 campaign.

But there wasn’t a real shot yet that Disu had to make a true impact to boost him to star status in the first two seasons of his college career. Last season, Disu only played in 17 games for the Commodores, who didn’t really have a shot to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. And the year before, Disu’s usage and respect around the SEC East wasn’t where it was at for him as a sophomore.

Disu really broke through last season by averaging 15.0 points per game, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.2 blocks. And he shot 49.2 percent from the field, 36.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 73.6 percent from the free-throw line.

The advanced metrics continue to tell the brilliant story of Disu’s rise to prominence in his 17 games played with Vanderbilt last season. He registered a career-best 6.3 box plus/minus, .171 win shares per 40 minutes, 59.2 true shooting percentage, and a 23.7 player efficiency rating.

It looks like Disu could be the starting power forward for Beard and the Longhorns heading into next season. The door will be wide open for him to make an immediate impact on the Forty Acres. That is especially true with the departure of key Longhorns bigs such as power forwards Kai Jones and Greg Brown, and center Jericho Sims.