Texas Basketball: 3 takeaways from dominant win over Houston Baptist

Starting backcourt/wings are very potent this season

It was assumed that, once Beard and the Longhorns landed a commitment from the former Minnesota Golden Gophers and Pitt Panthers standout junior guard Marcus Carr out of the transfer portal, that the starting trio in the backcourt/on the wing was set. This group included the likes of senior guard Courtney Ramey, Carr, and senior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones.

All eyes were on how this group could mesh out of the gates for the Longhorns too. And this group looked good once they got settled in. Jones, Ramey, and Carr all scored in double figures and shot the ball well from the field.

There were some particular parts of the performances from this trio that was really special, though.

First and foremost, Jones was very impressive defensively, coming up with a whopping game and career-high five steals. Jones usually doesn’t get enough credit for his defense, and this game is a good example of that. This season, we’re going to see a version of Jones that is out to prove that he can be more than a high-octane wing scorer.

We also saw Carr effectively facilitate the offense throughout much of this game. It’s not great to see the three turnovers. But those mostly came early on, and he still wound up with a team and game-high five assists.

Moreover, Ramey was very solid for the Longhorns, coming up with a quieter night than his counterparts. But Ramey also made the fewest mistakes of the bunch.

Ramey had 11 points, two rebounds, three assists, and no turnovers. He also played some very solid on-ball and help defense. If this is the version of Ramey that the Longhorns are going to get this season, Beard should be looking at a very successful backcourt/wing unit between him, Jones, and Carr.