Texas Basketball: Way-too-early projection of starting 5 for next season
Power Forward: Timmy Allen
Texas got great news a couple of weeks ago with the announcement that Beard and his staff would be getting the former Utah Utes super senior big man Timmy Allen back for next season. Allen will be returning for the Longhorns for one more season as he looks to accomplish the goal of making it at least to the Sweet 16 and winning a Big 12 Championship.
Allen was a tone-setter for the Longhorns last season that was a vital part of helping Beard establish the culture he wanted in this locker room. In fact, Allen did a lot to really embody want Beard was wanting in order to build the foundation for this program in the image he envisions.
Getting Allen back for one more season does a lot in terms of the stability and production for the frontcourt unit during the 2022-23 campaign. Allen led the team in points per game, rebounds, and steals last season.
Backup: Brock Cunningham
Center: Kenneth Lofton Jr.*
There’s not much clarity at the moment in terms of who will be starting at center for the Longhorns heading into next season. With Texas losing both Mitchell and Disu to the transfer portal and NBA Draft, respectively, Beard and his staff are short on center depth at this point of the offseason.
Yet, there are a few big men that the Longhorns are seemingly targeting in the transfer portal early this offseason. And one of the favorites for Texas to land out of the portal this spring among potential starting centers ahead of next season is the former Louisiana Tech Bulldogs standout junior power forward/center Kenneth Lofton Jr.
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Texas would still likely need to add more length to the frontcourt unit if a big man like Lofton does wind up being the starting center next season. At 6-foot-8 and 275-pounds, Lofton is certainly a force to be reckoned with down low. But he still lacks the rim protection that the Longhorns need, as he has yet to average more than 0.7 blocks per game in the two seasons of his collegiate career thus far.