Texas Basketball: 4 early portal targets the Longhorns are in contact with

Kadin Shedrick, C

One thing that is becoming clear is that Terry and the Longhorns are targeting some talented big men in the portal to fill out the frontcourt unit this offseason. A talented big in the portal that is squarely on the Longhorns’ radar this offseason is the former Virginia Cavaliers 6-foot-11 and 220-pound redshirt junior center Kadin Shedrick.

Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers reported on March 30 that Texas is one of the schools that Shedrick is considering since the two parties originally made contact a little more than one week ago.

And a report from Gerry Hamilton of Inside Texas on March 31 (paid content) reaffirms the Longhorns’ interest in Shedrick. This report from IT’s Hamilton mentions that Shedrick is the “top big man target” in the portal for the Longhorns.

What Shedrick could bring to the table for the Longhorns is some quality length and rim protection. Texas struggled on the glass at times in Big 12 play in the season that was. Adding a player that is 6-foot-11 with a wingspan that is north of seven feet could help provide more of a strong paint presence on both ends of the floor.

Shedrick also finished in the top three in the ACC in each of the last two seasons in block percentage (both seasons north of 10.0 percent).

Moreover, Shedrick almost exclusively got his points near the basket for the Hoos during the 2022-23 season. He took 78.4 percent of his field goal attempts last season at the rim, good for the 98th percentile in the country. Shedrick was a solid finisher at the rim too, shooting 76.3 percent on the season, good for the 92nd percentile in all of college hoops.

Shedrick has a good back-to-the-basket game and he is plenty capable of getting frequent putbacks on the offensive glass.

It’s also worth noting that Shedrick was pretty effective in transition as a fluid big man that runs the floor well. He’s not the type of athlete that the Longhorns have in a big such as Disu, but he is still an above-average center in terms of his effectiveness in transition.

Shedrick ranked in the 97th percentile during the 2022-23 season in terms of points per possession in transition plays (1.538).

On the defensive end of the floor, Shedrick is solid too. We already talked about his rim protection and rebounding abilities thanks to his length and overall athleticism. But Shedrick is also good at boxing out and handling his own in one-on-one matchups near the basket on the defensive end.