What looks to be the final addition to the 2022 Texas basketball recruiting class arrived on the evening of May 5 with the commitment of three-star McKinney forward Alex Anamekwe. Texas landed the commitment of Anamekwe after he received a release from his letter of intent with the SMU Mustangs.
Anamekwe was a commit and signee of the Mustangs prior to the retirement of the now-former SMU head coach Tim Jankovich. After the departure of Jankovich, Anamekwe was released from his LOI with SMU and quickly found some other potential landing spots with his recruitment re-opened.
It only took a couple of weeks for Anamekwe to find his next home with head coach Chris Beard and the Longhorns. Anamekwe joins the Longhorns 2022 class as the fourth commit. He is also the sole non-blue-chip commit in the 2022 class at the moment.
Where can Texas basketball look next after landing 3-Star F Alex Anamekwe?
Yet, just because Anamekwe doesn’t hold that blue-chip status right now doesn’t mean that he isn’t going to be extremely valuable to this forward rotation. He looks like he’ll bring an elevated level of grittiness and energy to the table that could be much-needed in this rotation for the next few seasons.
Moreover, Texas adding Anamekwe to the 2022 class truly rounds out a deep and talented class for Beard and the Longhorns staff. Texas now holds two five-star commits in the 2022 class with small forward Dillon Mitchell and point guard Arterio Morris. There is also one four-star commit with point guard Rowan Brumbaugh. And then, Amakwe brings the Longhorns 2022 class to four as the lone three-star in the mix.
It will be interesting to see if Beard and his staff can use the commitment from Anamekwe to find some momentum to get their first commit in the 2023 class in the near future.
With that in mind, here’s a look at a prediction of who the next commitment could be for any recruiting class for the Longhorns following the pledge of Anamekwe on May 5.
Keanu Dawes, PF
Among the newer recruits on the radar for the Longhorns this spring for the 2023 class is the rising four-star Stratford (TX) power forward Keanu Dawes. Texas is one of the five schools that offered Dawes since the turn of the calendar year, with the other four being the Stanford Cardinal, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Kansas State Wildcats, and Houston Cougars.
Dawes is shaping up to be one of the bigger priorities among big men that hold an offer from the Longhorns. There is a lot of potential in terms of what Dawes brings to the table. He’s a lengthy and athletic 6-foot-8 and 215-pound power forward that does a number of things well.
Dawes is already showing the ability to effectively space the floor from any position between the three and the five. He’s also a very switchable defender that can handle almost any position between the one and the four on that end of the floor.
Defense is an area of Dawes’ game that is currently a work in progress, though. Dawes needs to continue to work on his footwork and add some size to his frame. His help defense is also still something that is in the works.
There is a ton of potential, though, in Dawes’ skill set. You don’t get a physically gifted potential two-way forward that can space the floor, rebound the ball well, and create his own looks from almost any where on the offensive halfcourt very often. But these are all things that Dawes does well.
He’s also already made a lot of the necessary strides to get that elusive blue-chip recruiting ranking. Dawes has proven himself to earn the dozen high-profile offers that he has in the bag at the moment. And Texas appears to be in the thick of his top schools at this point of his recruitment.
Zayden High, F
Another forward that the Longhorns offered not too long ago is the touted four-star Smithson Valley (TX) forward Zayden High. Texas offered High within the last couple of months and he sounds impressed from what he’s seen so far from Beard and this staff.
With forward likely being a top priority in the Longhorns 2023 class, it looks like High could be one of the more important targets on the board for Beard and his staff this cycle. Texas did land two forwards in the 2022 class between Mitchell and Anamekwe. Considering the fact that Mitchell could be a one-and-done, though, Texas could have the need to add more forward depth in the 2023 class.
Moreover, I like the path that High is on right now in terms of his development. High is literally growing a ton in the last couple of years. He is now up to 6-foot-9 and 225-pounds as of this offseason. And he could grow even more before taking his talents to the collegiate level.
In terms of what he brings to the table for his skill set, High is an increasingly efficient scorer from multiple levels of the offensive end of the floor and he’s an underrated ball-handler for a forward his size.
On the defensive end of the floor, High is a solid on-ball defender that causes a lot of disruption thanks to his agility and length. That should be something that translates right away at the collegiate level.
Since Texas was able to get in on this latest wave of offers to High, bringing him well into the double digits on his offer sheet, Beard and his staff are in a favorable position in the race to land his commitment heading into the summer months.
Ja’Kobe Walter, SG/SF
What appears to be the top target on the board right now for the Longhorns 2023 class is the elite five-star Link Academy (MO) shooting guard/small forward Ja’Kobe Walter. This incredibly talented and potent 6-foot-5 and 180-pound wing could help to build the foundation of the Longhorns 2023 class if Beard and his staff can close this one out this offseason.
But this recruitment won’t come without its fair share of challenges as it looks like a top school has emerged for Walter this spring. Head coach Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears gained a lot of momentum in the race to land a commitment from Walter in the last few months. Most of the discussion as to where he could land favors the Bears at this point of the offseason.
This recruitment is still not over, though. And given the fact that Texas had what seemed like a very successful recent visit with Walter, you definitely can’t count them out right now. Texas could still make a real run at Baylor heading into the summer months if they can continue to make the right moves with Walter and his camp.
There will be other top blue-chip recruits that Beard and the Longhorns staff go after to establish the foundation of the 2023 class. But the biggest one right now is clearly Walter. Texas needs to continue to make progress in this recruitment to avoid having a repeat of what happened with the elite 2022 shooting guard prospect and iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy product Keyonte George where they lose Walter to Baylor.