It’s very difficult to understate how well the Texas basketball program has done in the NCAA Transfer Portal so far this offseason after hiring new head coach Chris Beard. It seems like Texas can’t miss really whenever Beard has a new transfer portal target in mind. It’s hard to say that a new head coach coming in could land everyone, or even a quarter, of the portal targets that he looks into.
Texas has constructed at least half of its roster out of transfer portal additions so far this offseason. And more portal additions could be on the way for Beard and the Longhorns in the near future. The latest transfer portal addition for the Longhorns came last month in the form of the former UMass Minutemen star sophomore center Tre Mitchell.
Activity in the transfer portal near completion this offseason for Texas basketball
There are still strides that Beard and the Longhorns need to make with this rotation ahead of the start of next season. But this is more progress and depth that was expected to be in the mix for Beard and this new coaching staff at this point of the offseason after his initial hire back on April 1.
Beard got to work right away and formed one of the most talented and deep rotations not just in the Big 12 this year, but in the entire country. Texas is going to be a formidable foe for just about any team facing them next season. This roster also looks capable of garnering the Longhorns a top 10 ranking in the preseason.
With all of this in mind, here’s a look into four remaining transfer portal targets that would be the perfect way for the Longhorns to round out the offseason.
Kevin Obanor, C
Texas looks to have their solution at center in the starting unit heading into next season by adding Mitchell out of the transfer portal. The insanely efficient two-time All-Atlantic 10 Team selection Mitchell is a perfect fit it seems for a hybrid system that Beard can run with the existing talent returning for the Longhorns starting unit.
Yet, the need to add a backup center, or maybe someone that can join Mitchell in the starting frontcourt unit, exists for Beard and the Longhorns this offseason. And wouldn’t it truly be an embarrassment of riches for Texas to have the likes of former Vanderbilt Commodores standout power forward Dylan Disu, Mitchell, and the former Oral Roberts Kevin Obanor as a top frontcourt trio heading into next season.
It’s hard to imagine that Obanor would want to take his talents to join Beard and the Longhorns this offseason given the amount of depth Texas is already amassing amid their forward/frontcourt rotation.
Yet, we here at Hook’em Headlines aren’t in a position to doubt Beard with the work he did in the transfer portal so far this offseason. Finding a way to convince the NCAA Tournament darling and two-time All-Summit League selection OBanor to join Texas would be a borderline miracle.
But there might not be a single frontcourt unit in the entire country that could compete with that of the Longhorns if Beard managed to find a way to get a commitment from Obanor out of the transfer portal in the coming weeks.
Jaden Shackelford, G
Finding one more transfer portal addition to round out the backcourt rotation would be a nice finishing touch for Beard and the Longhorns this offseason. Texas did have some big portal additions and returning talents to the roster this season to help the backcourt.
Some of those names to watch in the backcourt includes the likes of the former Kentucky Wildcats freshman guard Devin Askew, senior combo guard Courtney Ramey, and senior sharpshooting guard Jase Febres. Redshirt senior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones can also fill a spot in the backcourt rotation.
It is hard to tell who the starter at the one will be for the Longhorns next season, though. Odds would likely say that it will either be Ramey or Askew as the starting point guard next season.
Landing a commitment out of the portal from someone like the former Alabama Crimson Tide standout 6-foot-3 and 200-pound sophomore guard Jaden Shackelford could be huge. And it would seem to be more realistic to get a commitment from Shackelford, but Texas faces one major uphill battle with him.
Shackelford recently had his three finalist schools at the moment drop in the past week, with the Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Ohio State Buckeyes now taking the lead. But it does seem worth it for Beard and the Longhorns to reach out to Shackelford, if they haven’t already, to see if they can insert themselves in the race to land the 2020-21 All-SEC Second-Team selection.
Adding another type of combo guard to the mix in the backcourt rotation would bring even more potency to the table for Texas in 2021. Shackelford would clearly be a great way to round out this offseason of transfer portal additions for Beard and his staff.
Kofi Cockburn, C
Once again, reality will likely dictate a very different scenario for Beard and the Longhorns for whoever will be the final transfer portal addition this offseason than this fan base would like. It would truly be a dream scenario for the Longhorns to get a commitment from the Illinois Fighting Illini star sophomore center Kofi Cockburn out of the portal in the near future.
Texas would be getting more of a borderline low-tier NBA-caliber frontcourt unit out of a top trio of Mitchell, Cockburn, and Disu, instead of one of the better groups in the country at the college level. Adding Cockburn would make it tough for Beard to figure out the pecking order in this frontcourt rotation, in about the best way possible.
We don’t really have to talk about the specific impact that Cockburn would bring to the table for Beard and the Longhorns if he were to somehow land on the Forty Acres. The point here is that there are still some big names among big men in the portal at this point of the offseason, and Cockburn would be about the best that Texas could do (along with Obanor).
Cockburn himself went through the 2021 NBA Draft scouting process. He took part in the 2021 NBA Draft Combine last month but looks to be returning to college ahead of next season. The next landing spot for Cockburn is still largely unknown. Obviously, it would make sense for Texas to at least test the waters to see what Cockburn’s interest would be to come to Austin.
Marcus Carr, PG
About the most realistic transfer portal target that Beard and the Longhorns could get this offseason at this moment in time is the former Minnesota Golden Gophers and Pitt Panthers standout point guard Marcus Carr. The 6-foot-2 and 195-pound junior floor general and 2020-21 All-Big Ten Third-Team selection would be the perfect way it seems to round out this starting unit this summer.
Carr could be a true starting point guard for the Longhorns that could play another year or two on the Forty Acres before trying to officially take his talents to the next level. Going through the NBA Draft scouting process for the past few months, Carr actually just removed his name from this draft class. Less than one month before draft night 2021, Carr looks to return to the college ranks ahead of next season.
Texas could find itself in an ideal situation if they were able to get a commitment out of the portal from Carr this summer. There are likely to be a good number of suitors still lining up to try and bring in Carr in the coming weeks and maybe even months, but Texas should be one of those schools that pitches and appeals to him.
Not only would Carr be a solid finishing touch to the starting unit for Beard and the Longhorns during the summer months, but he could also help move the game of Askew along next season. If there’s anyone that Texas prioritizes out of the transfer portal for the rest of the offseason (maybe outside of a key backup center), it should be Carr.