Texas Basketball: 3 big men in the portal the Horns are interested in

This is the time of year when the Texas basketball news cycle is dominated by the whirlwind that is the NCAA Transfer Portal. And this offseason is no different.

Every single day, we’re getting more news about how newly-hired full-time Texas head coach Rodney Terry’s schedule is getting busier and busier with various portal headlines. In the last few days alone, Terry and the Longhorns proved to be very active in the portal making contact with more than a half-dozen transfers to help rebuild this roster ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Terry and the Longhorns also now have two more roster spots to fill this offseason, likely via the portal, after they lost two talented young guards to the transfer market. Texas lost freshman guards Arterio Morris and Rowan Brumbaugh to the portal since the start of last weekend.

But that is likely it for Texas in terms of the portal losses this offseason. Senior big man Dylan Disu and freshman forward Dillon Mitchell are the only players we’re waiting on a decision from early this offseason in terms of whether they will return to Texas next season.

Where Terry and the Longhorns are looking to upgrade this roster this offseason starts in the frontcourt unit. Texas is clearly prioritizing adding frontcourt depth from what we’re hearing in the transfer portal news cycle this spring.

Portal bigs Texas basketball has contacted this spring

Here’s a look at three transfer big men the Longhorns are currently targeting in the portal this offseason.

Kalib Boone, PF/C

Among the most intriguing names the Longhorns have contacted in the portal early this offseason is the All-Big 12 Third-Team selection and the former Oklahoma State Cowboys senior big man Kalib Boone. The fourth-year 6-foot-9 and 210-pound Tulsa, OK, native is someone that Terry and the Longhorns made contact with very shortly after he entered the portal on April 6.

A report from Gerry Hamilton of Inside Texas on April 11 (paid content) mentions that Texas already had “multiple discussions” with Boone since he surfaced in the transfer portal a few days ago.

While it doesn’t sound like Boone is the literal top priority among portal big men at the moment for the Longhorns staff, he is someone that Texas still sees a lot of value in as a grad transfer with a plethora of experience and production under his belt in the Big 12. Boone also just happened to have plenty of success against the Longhorns in the last few seasons.

It also sounds like Boone is interested in what Texas is pitching him this offseason.

All in all, I think Texas’ pursuit of Boone in the portal this offseason hinges on two factors. The first will be whether Disu returns for the final season of his collegiate eligibility in 2023-24. And the second will be what happens for Texas when it hosts coveted Virginia Cavaliers center transfer Kadin Shedrick on a visit to Austin on April 18.