Texas Basketball: Analyzing 3 difference-makers that are off to hot starts

Tyrese Hunter, G

It seems like the fan favorite among the new additions for the Longhorns out of the gates this season is either the reigning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and standout sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter is the freshman forward Mitchell.

But the award for the most clutch of the newcomers for the Longhorns so far this season definitely goes to Hunter. The former Iowa State Cyclone has turned in some phenomenal performances in clutch time this season, helping Texas close out wins against the likes of the UTEP Miners, Gonzaga, and Creighton.

However, it’s not just clutch time that we’re seeing Hunter shine. He’s turning into a real complete player that can stand out on both ends of the floor.

Hunter’s offensive game is getting a lot more dynamic than we saw last season. He’s still able to spread the ball around to his teammates effectively.

But he’s doing more shot creation with the extra space afforded to him thanks to this talented supporting cast. Hunter is shooting better than 55 percent from the field on unassisted attempts this season.

And Hunter has developed a more efficient catch-and-shoot ability than he put on display during his freshman season. Hunter is shooting north of 38 percent from beyond the arc on catch-and-shoot attempts. And a whopping 90 percent of his three-point makes are assisted, up more than 12 percent from last season.

Hunter taking more of the space that is given to him to create his own shots combined with the more efficient catch-and-shoot phase in his game has transformed his overall offensive advanced metrics. His true shooting percentage is up by almost 20 percentage points year over year. And his offensive box plus/minus is sitting at a career-best 4.5, compared to 0.9 from his freshman campaign.

On the defensive end, Hunter has taken his perimeter defense to a different level. He’s shown the ability to be disruptive on the perimeter and turn that into immediate offense. Texas is running more in transition this season, and that is largely thanks to the ability of guards like Carr and Hunter to convert turnovers into quick offense.

I actually think that Hunter was a little bit of an underrated on-ball perimeter defender last season. He didn’t get much credit for his perimeter defense last season as Hunter was praised more for his abilities as an offensive playmaker at Iowa State. But he still ranked in the top 15 in the Big 12 last season (and in the top eight among Big 12 guards) in defensive box plus/minus, at 3.7.

Hunter has played a big role in the improvement of Texas as a team this season compared to last. Texas currently ranks fifth in the country in defensive rating this season, at 77.2. Meanwhile, Texas posted a 93.3 defensive rating last season, good for 29th in the country.