Texas Basketball: 3 late-cycle hidden gems the Longhorns should offer

As Texas basketball continues its quest to contend in the Big 12 and get the best positioning possible for the postseason, it feels like the recruiting trail is an afterthought for this program at the moment. Especially given the ongoing coaching search that very likely won’t wrap up until next offseason, it’s hard to tell what the immediate future holds for Texas on the recruiting trail.

Texas currently has two high school recruits committed and signed to the 2023 class. The two signees in the Longhorns 2023 class are a pair of elite five-star recruits in Southern California Academy combo guard AJ Johnson and Duncanville forward Ron Holland.

While both Johnson and Holland are locked in with the Longhorns right now, their ultimate status with the program will be determined by the next coaching hire. Holland’s status especially will hinge on the next coaching hire for the Longhorns from the early indications we’ve seen from the elite forward.

Moreover, the timing of Texas’ next head coach hiring will be interesting given how it could coincide with the regular signing period (which goes from mid-April to mid-May 2023). That won’t give the next head coach a ton of time to cobble together the 2023 recruiting class in their vision. But it could at least let that person make a couple of moves to get some additional high school recruits committed to the 2023 class, which could be necessary depending on the amount of roster attrition that Texas faces next offseason.

Hidden gems that could be worthy late-cycle offers for Texas basketball

With that in mind, here’s a look at three late-cycle offers that the Longhorns should consider among some of the potential hidden gems remaining in the 2023 class.

Brady Dunlap, SF

One of the more interesting recruits on this list that could be worth looking into for the Longhorns is the sharpshooting 6-foot-7 and 180-pound Studio City Harvard Westlake (CA) small forward Brady Dunlap. The former Notre Dame Fighting Irish commit requested a release from his letter of intent earlier in the week.

Granted, Notre Dame has not officially released him yet from his LOI.

With the announcement that the longtime Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey will be retiring from his post following the conclusion of this college hoops season, Dunlap decided to re-open his recruitment.

A report from 247Sports on Jan. 26 mentions that he essentially committed to play for Brey. He didn’t commit to Notre Dame because he grew up a fan of the Fighting Irish or because he’s from anywhere close to South Bend, IN.

This means that one of the best and lengthiest sharpshooters in the 2023 class is back on the market. And given the need for Texas to add some wing shooting following the conclusion of this season, I think Dunlap is someone worth kicking the tires on for the next head coach.

Dunlap is someone that is a pretty versatile and athletic threat on the offensive end. He can pull up from anywhere on the floor given his long wingspan and 6-foot-7 frame. Dunlap is also surprisingly quick in terms of his first step to drive the lane and get to the basket.

The areas where Dunlap still needs some improvement are his on-ball defending and rebounding. The fact that Dunlap is just 180 pounds means that he is a little too thin to compete down low and hit the glass with some of the more physical forwards and bigs.

If Dunlap can add some muscle mass to his frame and continue to improve his defense, he could be a nice player at a school like Texas.

Assuming that Dunlap does get his release from Notre Dame in the near future, some of the finalist schools he had prior to committing to the Irish last year included the Illinois Fighting Illini, Colorado Buffaloes, and San Diego State Aztecs.