Texas Basketball: 3 players who helped their NBA Draft stock

Texas basketball wrapped up the 2022-23 season a couple of weeks ago after a magical run in the postseason that ended in the Elite Eight after a tough loss to the five-seed Miami Hurricanes.

Before falling short of Miami in the Elite Eight, though, then interim head coach Rodney Terry led the Longhorns to the deepest NCAA Tournament run for this men’s hoops program since the late 2000s. Led by a solid group of seniors that brought a ton of experience to the table for the Longhorns this postseason, Texas looked like one of the most potent teams in the entire NCAA Tournament field.

That was until the injuries started to take hold for the Longhorns in the Elite Eight against Miami. Texas saw the likes of senior big man Dylan Disu, senior guard Marcus Carr, and senior shooting guard/wing Sir’Jabari Rice all suffer various injuries in the last couple of games for the Longhorns in the tournament.

But Texas still had some upperclassmen boost their NBA Draft stock before this team’s tournament run came to an end on March 26.

Dylan Disu and the Texas basketball players that boosted their NBA Draft stock in March

Here’s a look at three Longhorns players who helped their NBA Draft stock in March.

Dylan Disu, PF/C

The most valuable player for the Longhorns in March was Disu. The 6-foot-9 and 225-pound big man came alive in the latter stages of his second year wearing the Burnt Orange.

Disu led the Longhorns to the Big 12 Men’s Tournament crown, where he claimed the Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. And then, Disu had a couple of historic performances for the Longhorns in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

He registered his third double-double of the season in Texas’ Round of 64 win over the 15-seed Colgate Raiders, with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Disu took his game to another level in the Round of 32 win over the 10-seed Penn State Nittany Lions, setting the Texas program record for field goals in a single NCAA Tournament game (14).

Disu posted a whopping game-high 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds to reel in his second straight double-double in the win over Penn State.

Unfortunately, though, Disu’s magical run in March came to an end just as it was peaking as he suffered a lower-body injury that kept him out for most of the Sweet 16 matchup against the three-seed Xavier Musketeers. Disu would also miss the Elite Eight matchup against Miami.

Yet, Disu did more than enough this March to at least put himself on the radar of worthy NBA Draft Combine participants as part of the 2023 class. Disu proved that he can use his length and athleticism to be a legit rebounder and rim protector. And on the offensive end of the floor, Disu continued to show he can be a mid-range assassin while being one of the elite finishers among big men in the paint and at the rim.

The fact that Disu is such a fluid runner in transition for a big man and that he has a pure enough shooting streak to be a threat from deep just adds more reasons to why he should be considered a legit NBA Draft prospect.

What Disu still needs to improve upon to see his draft stock rise this offseason is his strength, turnover management, and the consistency of his outside shot. The strength and outside shooting aspects of his game should be manageable enough to work on this offseason.

That is if Disu decides not to return to Texas for the final year of his eligibility during the 2023-24 season.