Texas Basketball: Dylan Disu’s incredible offensive strides last season

This coming season is set to potentially be a special one for new head coach Chris Beard and the Texas basketball program. Texas men’s hoops had a busy season in the NCAA Transfer Portal to help round out this brewing rotation on the Forty Acres. And one of the key players that Beard got out of the transfer portal so far this offseason is the former Vanderbilt Commodores standout sophomore power forward Dylan Disu.

The addition of the former Vanderbilt big man Disu arrived for Beard and the Longhorns two months back roughly. And Disu could very well wind up being a starter right away on the Forty Acres. Texas needed to fill a looming void at power forward this offseason, and they were able to do just that by getting a commitment from Disu out of the transfer portal.

Texas lost two significant pieces at the four from last season’s team, including the sophomore breakthrough Kai Jones and freshman/former elite five-star recruit Greg Brown. Those likely would’ve been the top two power forwards in the rotation heading into next season had they returned to school for at least one more year.

The good news for Texas is that adding Disu to the frontcourt unit might wind up being more effective than at least getting Brown back for his sophomore season. Disu and Jones were about equally as efficient last season in terms of advanced metrics.

In 17 games played with the Commodores last season, Disu averaged 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.

What made new Texas basketball PF Dylan Disu so special last season?

Disu’s sophomore campaign showed a significant level of improvement compared to his numbers from his true freshman season. He essentially doubled the number of points per game and rebounds he had from his freshman to sophomore season.

And the level of improvement that Disu put on display in terms of advanced metrics was very special. Let’s just take a look at some of these margins of improvement in terms of advanced metrics for his first two seasons in college:

• Box Plus/Minus
  • Freshman: 0.7
  • Sophomore: 6.3
• Win shares per 40 minutes
  • Freshman: .054
  • Sophomore: .171
• Player efficiency rating
  • Freshman: 11.5
  • Sophomore: 23.7
• Offensive Rating
  • Freshman: 93
  • Sophomore: 114
• True shooting percentage
  • Freshman: 47.8
  • Sophomore: 59.2
• Rebounding Percentage
  • Freshman: 12.3
  • Sophomore: 17.1
• Assist Percentage
  • Freshman: 7.5
  • Sophomore: 9.7
• Block Percentage
  • Freshman: 3.7
  • Sophomore: 4.4
• Effective field goal percentage
  • Freshman: 46.9
  • Sophomore: 55.8

It’s not hard to tell how much Disu improved his game year-over-year in his first couple of seasons in college. A bigger role with some adjustments to his usage made a world’s difference for Disu in the past two seasons.

One notable trend was the way in which Vanderbilt changed their usage of Disu in the past two seasons. He had an insanely high three-point attempt rate of 75.5 percent as a freshman. That turned into a three-point attempt rate at 35.9 percent last season.

As a result, Disu shot roughly eight percent better from the field and six percent better from beyond the arc from his freshman to sophomore seasons.

That is definitely a trend of note for the Longhorns entering the 2021-22 season. Disu definitely has the ability to space the floor, but he can be a threat from all over. When he’s given the ability and the freedom to create his own looks without having to be a stretch-four at all times, he is a real force to be reckoned with on the offensive end of the floor.

Last season, Disu actually ranked among the top 15 players in the SEC in box plus/minus, top 10 in offensive box plus/minus, top 12 in block percentage, and top six in player efficiency rating. Even more impressive, Disu led the SEC in rebounds per game last season (among those that participated in at least 15 games).

Disu showed an incredible margin of improvement in his counting stats, shooting percentages, and advanced metrics last season. There’s no doubt that he should be one of the most productive and efficient new additions to the roster for the Longhorns next season.

The starter at power forward for Beard and the Longhorns should come down to either Disu, former Utah Utes junior forward Timmy Allen, or former Creighton Blue Jays junior forward Christian Bishop. But it feels like the best move for Texas would be to give Disu the starts at the four and former UMass Minutemen star sophomore center Tre Mitchell at the five.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 19-8 (11-6 Big 12) under the direction of former head coach Shaka Smart. Back on April 1, the Longhorns replaced the departed Smart with the former Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Beard.