Texas Basketball: 3 players ready to stun the world next season

Devin Askew, G

Throughout most of the offseason, following the hiring of Beard as the next head coach, it looked like the former Kentucky Wildcats freshman guard and five-star recruit Devin Askew could compete for a starting role at the outset of next season. But that has changed since Texas got a commitment from former Minnesota Golden Gophers and Pitt Panthers point guard Marcus Carr out of the transfer portal.

It will now be a tougher path to get significant minutes in the backcourt rotation next season. Askew will really have to fight to earn a bigger role with the Longhorns in a very talented backcourt unit. Texas also has the likes of senior guard Courtney Ramey, senior sharpshooting guard Jase Febres, and redshirt junior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones, returning next season.

The starting unit now looks like it will consist of Ramey and Carr in the backcourt. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Jones crack the starting five on the wing either.

That will leave Askew likely in a second unit guard role. Coming off the bench, he can take his development slower, and really start to reach the lofty ceiling he had coming out of high school. There’s no doubt that Askew has one of the highest ceilings of any player in this rotation.

Askew’s two-way potential is unmatched by most other guards in the Big 12 as a whole too. He just ran into a really difficult situation last season under Kentucky head coach John Calipari, with one of the youngest teams in the SEC. Askew will have a much better opportunity to slow down and get his development right next season.

If we start to see signs of improvement early on for Askew next season, watch out for him to emerge as one of the more impactful guards in the entirety of the Big 12.