Texas Basketball: 2 studs, 1 dud from first week of the season

Dud: Timmy Allen, F*

I put an asterisk next to the name of the former Utah Utes senior transfer forward Timmy Allen on this list of studs and duds for a good reason.

While Allen didn’t get off to the hottest start this season through two games, it’s still way too early to judge his body of work. But there is still something to be desired from what we’ve seen out of Allen thus far.

So far this season, Allen has the lowest player efficiency rating and box plus/minus of the five regular starters for the Longhorns. He’s turning the ball over more than we would like to see, and there are some missed opportunities for him to score on the inside.

Allen is averaging 2.5 turnovers per game and shooting just 43.8 percent from the field despite the bulk of his field goal attempts coming from within eight feet from the basket.

We’re not seeing Allen convert on the opportunities he’s getting to rack up easy baskets. That is something that must change for Allen if he is to make a winning contribution for the Longhorns later this week in the highly anticipated matchup against the Zags.

Allen is viewed as a key leader in this locker room. And he must show that he can be an exemplary vocal leader while leading by example with his play on the court to really lift Texas to new heights against some of the more difficult competition this season.

Yet, I must say that it came down to Allen and freshman guard Arterio Morris for who the dud would be through the first two games of the season isn’t the worst conclusion to arrive at for a list like this.

It’s actually a good thing that I had so much trouble finding a true dud to pick for the Longhorns through the first week of the regular season. This is an indication that the core part of the rotation is playing well top-to-bottom.