Texas Basketball: 3 elite blue-chip recruits the Horns can nab in March

Kuol Atak, PF

One of the faster risers to watch in the 2024 class that Terry and the Longhorns appear to be making a run after is the lengthy and athletic 6-foot-9 and 190-pound four-star Haltom (TX) power forward Kuol Atak. Texas clearly appears to be interested in what the gifted big man brings to the table as one of the fastest risers in the 2024 class this spring.

Atak has radically improved his spot-up shooting game and overall efficiency on the offensive end of the floor. During his junior season, he shot nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc and 90 percent from the charity stripe.

He did all that while maintaining a very disruptive presence on the defensive end. Atak utilizes his length really well on defense, where he registered around two blocks per game and one steal as a junior at Haltom High School.

It’s clear to see why Atak is one of the faster risers in the 2024 class in the last few months. His length and two-way potential make him one of the more unique and versatile power forward recruits coming out of high school in the 2024 class.

And despite Texas having not yet offered Atak as of the writing of this article on the morning of March 9, he is still someone that is firmly on the radar of Terry and the Longhorns staff.

Atak was another one of the visiting recruits on campus last weekend to see Texas handle head coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks at the Moody Center in the regular season finale. That wasn’t Atak’s first time visiting campus, though.

IT’s Hamilton reported last fall that Atak was one of the under-the-radar visitors on campus on the weekend of Oct. 29 to watch Texas scrimmage the Arkansas Razorbacks in Austin.

It’s also worth noting that Texas was scouting Atak going as far back as last offseason from what we know of this recruitment in its early stages.

I will say that it is pretty surprising that Terry and the Longhorns have yet to officially extend a scholarship offer to Atak. He was a primary candidate to be on offer watch since last offseason. And while he’s taken multiple successful visits to the Forty Acres in the last five or six months, Texas still isn’t on his offer sheet as of yet.

We will continue to watch for an offer to be extended to Atak in the near future. He is clearly one of the bigger priorities among forward targets in the Longhorns 2024 class this spring. And I would presume that a Texas offer would definitely move the needle in this recruitment entering next offseason.