Texas Basketball: 3 late-cycle hidden gems the Longhorns should offer
Cameron Barnes, PF/C
The second of two situations where the Longhorns could hypothetically take advantage of a connection with a teammate that is signed to the 2023 class can be found at Duncanville High School. A teammate of Holland, three-star 6-foot-10 and 215-pound Duncanville big man Cameron Barnes, is someone that definitely has the tools to get some looks from Texas.
Barnes has truly transformed his game in the last year or so, becoming one of the more complete recruits among the truly athletic big men in the state of Texas in the 2023 class. He’s taken his shooting efficiency, on-ball defense, and court vision to a different level during his senior season at Duncanville.
According to Maxpreps, Barnes has extended his game in such a way that he’s shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc since the start of last season. He was around a 20-25 percent shooter from deep early in his career at Duncanville.
I really like the physical profile at fit at Texas for Barnes. He could bring valuable length and the potential of a true floor-spacing big man if he continues to show off more shooting range to finish out his high school career.
The biggest question mark regarding whether Texas would hypothetically consider offering Barnes is how the next head coach wants to build out the frontcourt. I would understand if Texas didn’t want to clog up the frontcourt rotation too much considering that Holland is already joining the mix for next season, assuming he sticks with the Longhorns next offseason.
Barnes has a double-digit number of schools on his offer sheet as of Jan. 29 including the Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys, TCU Horned Frogs, SMU Mustangs, Kansas Jayhawks, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Texas A&M Aggies.
Next. 3 standouts that could lead Texas to the Final Four in 2023. dark
If Texas were to make a move in this recruitment, it looks like now would be the time. But if Barnes’ recruitment is still open whenever Texas officially makes a decision on its next head coach, I think it’s still worth kicking the tires on Barnes if there is a depth need in the frontcourt.