Texas basketball vs. UTEP: 3 bold predictions for the season opener
Tyrese Hunter goes perfect from deep in his first game with Texas
The biggest new addition to the roster during the offseason for Beard and the Longhorns came in the form of the former Iowa State Cyclones Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Hunter.
Texas secured a commitment out of the transfer portal during the offseason from Hunter, bolstering an already stacked backcourt rotation.
Hunter should bring an instant spark to the table for Texas’ backcourt on both ends of the floor. He is an energetic perimeter defender that can be disruptive, especially when he gets his hand in the passing lanes to deflect balls and force turnovers.
On the offensive end of the floor, Hunter is an effective facilitator that has the ability to take over games when he finds his shooting stroke. Hunter’s court vision and scoring ability from inside the arc make him a versatile threat that can be a nightmare for opposing defenses to deal with.
Where the question marks sit for Hunter in his first season with Texas, though, mainly has to do with his off-ball play and outside shooting efficiency. Hunter only shot 27.4 percent from deep last season, which isn’t great given the volume of attempts he was taking per game (3.9).
But Hunter did improve his three-point shooting down the stretch last season, hitting his looks from beyond the arc at a clip of around 36 percent in the final month of his freshman campaign.
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If Hunter can continue to improve his three-point shooting efficiency at the outset of this season, he could really take the backcourt scoring for Texas to a different level. Texas will need someone to pose a threat from beyond the arc to prevent a clog in the offense on the inside.
Hunter will likely get a fair number of looks to hit from deep.