Now that the 2022 Texas basketball recruiting class is off the ground in terms of landing the first commitment, it looks like national prominence lies ahead for this group. New head coach Chris Beard got off to a fantastic start in his 2022 class last weekend by landing a commitment from the elite five-star iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy point guard Arterio Morris.
Beard and the Longhorns had a huge day that was program defining in general on July 17. Texas not only got their 2022 class off and running last weekend, they also got a commitment from the former Minnesota Golden Gophers and Pitt Panthers standout junior point guard Marcus Carr. July 17 was clearly a good day for landing point guards for Beard and the Longhorns.
But the more impactful commitment over the long-term for Texas will likely be the one from Morris. Beard could have a pretty insane 2022 class in the works right now. And landing Morris was a major key to the 2022 class maximizing its potential.
The 2022 Texas basketball recruiting class hits the ground running with Arterio Morris
There will now be a ton of anticipation as to what Beard can do for the Longhorns 2022 class ahead of the Early Signing Period in November. A real chance exists that Texas could have a trio of five-star commits in the 2022 class when it’s all said and done.
Texas is now really looking to take this 2022 class to the next level following the commitment of Morris. Here’s a look into who the next commit in the Longhorns 2022 class could be following landing Morris last weekend.
Kijani Wright, PF
With the former Michigan State Spartans’ commitment and one of the nation’s top 2022 prospects Emoni Bates likely to take his talents the professional route, five-star power forward Kijani Wright is about the top priority at this position. Texas could continue their run of bringing in high-caliber power forwards by way of the recruiting trail by landing a commitment from Wright.
Texas has quite the recruiting pipeline established at the four. The lone signee in the 2020 class for former head coach Shaka Smart was the elite five-star Vandegrift power forward Greg Brown. Wright could be just as potent of a high school prospect as Brown. And hopefully he would live up to the hype a bit more out of the gates than Brown.
This Sierra Canyon High School product and 6-foot-9 and 235-pound Los Angeles, CA, native was on campus for an official visit with Texas last month. Texas looks to have established itself as a frontrunner for Wright along with around two or three other schools. Wright also visited the Arkansas Razorbacks and USC Trojans last month, so those could be schools to watch in his recruitment too moving forward.
There is also one more official visit that Wright has lined up for Aug. 6 with the Stanford Cardinal. That could very well be the group of frontrunners for Wright at the moment between the three schools he already visited, and the one he’s on the books for with Stanford.
Still, Texas sits in a really good position with Wright heading into another phase of the visit season during the summer. If Texas can get through this visit with Stanford as a top school still for Wright, then a commitment could be looming before the start of the 2021-22 season.
Sam Murray, PF
One of the newer targets coming to the forefront for Beard and the Longhorns at this point of the recruiting cycle is the rising three-star Harrison Central (MS) power forward Sam Murray. This 6-foot-7 and 190-pound Gulfport, MS, native has a pretty impressive offer sheet for a three-star recruit at this point of the cycle.
Texas is one of nine schools to have offered Murray as of the afternoon of July 20. Some of the other notable schools on his offer sheet are the Baylor Bears, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, LSU Tigers, Mizzou Tigers, Arizona State Sun Devils, and UNLV Rebels.
But it looks like Texas is already in a good position with Murray. This is a good opportunity for new Texas assistant coach Ulric Maligi to make an impact as a primary recruiter with a rising prospect.
The other two schools it appears to watch among the frontrunners, along with Texas, for Murray are Baylor and Mississippi State. If Texas can continue the momentum built with Murray since he first received his scholarship offer back on May 13, then a commitment could soon be coming from Murray.
It seems like the biggest competitor that Texas will have to stave off for Murray is Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are making a big push for the underrated in-state product.
Getting Murray on campus for a visit soon could be a key for Texas to move closer to locking in on a commitment. Murray is definitely one of the rising prospects to watch on the Longhorns’ radar at this point in time outside of the five-star targets of the 2022 class.
Keyonte George, SG
If Texas is unable to land a commitment from Bates when it’s all said and done, which likely appears that it will be the case, then the top-ranked target that the 2022 class could land is the five-star iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy shooting guard Keyonte George. The 6-foot-4 and 185-pound George is one of the most talented prospects in the nation.
And Texas continues to make headway with the in-state product George of late. The Lewisville, TX, native was on campus for an official visit with Beard and the Longhorns back on June 4. And since that time, the writing was on the wall that Texas was trending to land his commitment.
All of the expert 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions have the commitment of George going to Texas over the rest of the field. And the Rivals FutureCast has nearly all of their analysts and publishers picking George to land with Texas.
Morris and George form one of the most talented high school backcourts in the entire country this year. And they could do the same on the Forty Acres. It would be insanely potent for the Longhorns to get commitments from both George and Morris. But that appears to not only be a possibility but a likelihood right now.
This could be one of the best Texas recruiting classes in recent memory for the men’s hoops program if a commitment of George were just around the corner. The hope for the Longhorns 2022 class really is that the top trio of commitments in the mix will be Morris, George, and Wright.