Texas basketball adds star floor general in ORU transfer Max Abmas

Newly-hired full-time Texas basketball head coach Rodney Terry and his staff continue to do good work in the NCAA Transfer Portal this week. In the last five days, Terry and Texas have now landed two of their top priority portal targets.

On April 23, Terry and the Longhorns reeled in a portal commitment from the former Virginia Cavaliers redshirt junior center Kadin Shedrick. Texas got a starting-caliber big with plenty of proven experience and rim-running ability in Shedrick.

And then, Texas landed arguably its top portal priority so far this offseason in the former Oral Roberts Golden Eagles standout senior guard Max Abmas on April 27. Abmas announced his commitment to Texas via the portal on the evening of April 27 on social media.

Texas landed Abmas over other top schools in this portal recruitment in the Kansas State Wildcats and Wichita State Shockers. Abmas visited Texas and Kansas State in the last couple of weeks. That led to some speculation and reporting that Texas and Kansas State were the two schools that Abmas wittled his decision down to.

Yet, Wichita State and former Oral Roberts head coach Paul Mills wouldn’t go away quietly this week. The buzz surrounding Wichita State led some to think that this was back to a decision between three top schools for Abmas this week.

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Abmas didn’t keep Texas fans waiting too long, though. He made the commitment official on April 27, doubling the size of the Longhorns’ 2023 transfer class.

What Texas basketball is getting in ORU transfer G Max Abmas

Abmas is getting to play close to home for the final year of his collegiate eligibility. The Rockwall, TX, native and product of Dallas Jesuit High School in the DFW Metroplex has close ties to some of the Longhorns players too.

He played high school basketball with former Texas walk-on Gavin Perryman at Dallas Jesuit. And he faced the former All-District Freshman of the Year Alex Anamekwe when the two were playing varsity basketball in the DFW-Metroplex. Anamekwe played for McKinney High School as a freshman in 2018-19 while Abmas was a senior at Dallas Jesuit.

Moreover, the resume that the 6-foot-1 and 165-pound point guard Abmas brings to the table speaks for itself. Abmas is a two-time Summit League Player of the Year, three-time All-Summit League selection, and two-time Summit League Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Abmas has led the Summit League in at least half of the major counting stat and advanced analytical stat categories at some point in the last three seasons. He also led the nation in points per game during the 2020-21 season, at a clip of nearly 25 PPG.

During his four seasons at ORU, Abmas was a high-usage player that did a little bit of everything for that offense. Abmas was capable of setting up his teammates for success as a primary facilitator while still being able to create his own shot. He was also a really good tough-shot maker at ORU in the last few seasons, ranking in the 90th percentile in the nation in terms of points per possession on contested jump shots (1.24).

Abmas is a true floor general that can set the tone for Texas’ offense. There are skills that Abmas brings to the table on the offensive end of the floor that the Longhorns didn’t have in a true starting point guard in a long time.

First off, Abmas is able to run the pick-and-roll with almost seamless success. He’s got excellent court vision and is quick off the dribble, which allows the floor to open up with him as the primary ball-handler in the pick-and-roll offense.

Abmas ranked in the 82nd percentile on possessions where he was the primary ball handler in the pick-and-roll, at a clip of 0.915 points per possession (per Synergy).

In transition, Texas now has a floor general capable of pushing the tempo while still running an effective offense and minimizing unforced errors. Abmas played in a faster-pace offense that liked to run in transition at Oral Roberts.

For context, more than 23 percent of the possessions that Abmas was on the floor for Oral Roberts on offense last season were transition plays. Abmas and Oral Roberts wound up running more frequent transition plays than 86 percent of the other teams in Division I college hoops last season.

It’s clear that Abmas can get the job done as the primary ball-handler in the settled half-court offense or while pushing the pace in transition. But we shouldn’t overlook Abmas’ ability to contribute in other ways.

We already mentioned that Abmas is more than capable of creating his own shot, especially when everything else breaks down around him. Abmas shot 44.6 percent from the field, averaging 1.074 points per possession on iso plays at ORU last season, ranking in the 88th percentile in college hoops.

Abmas is also an excellent off-ball on the offensive end. He is a good cutter that knows how to time his off-ball movement.

All in all, Abmas is a huge threat to create offense for others while being able to efficiently knock down his own shots, whether it’s in catch-and-shoot situations or pulling up from the field.

Abmas’ defensive game

The defensive skill set that Abmas brings to the table isn’t as polished or proficient as his offensive game. And while Abmas did have the best defensive season of his collegiate career in terms of overall efficiency to date last year at ORU, he still posted below-average numbers on that end of the floor.

Abmas registered a mediocre -0.2 defensive box plus/minus and a 103.0 defensive rating, both of which ranked in the middle of the pack on the team at ORU last season. He’s got size limitations and is occasionally knocked for his effort with one-on-one perimeter defense.

Defense is definitely the biggest knock on Abmas’ game. At best, I think he’ll be a net-neutral defender for the Longhorns next season. The trade-offs for his offensive game are more than worth it to bring Abmas into the fold, though.

How Abmas fits at Texas

Texas needed to get a true floor general to replace what it is losing this offseason in senior guard Marcus Carr. Last season, Carr was an efficient point guard for the Longhorns that did a nice job efficiently facilitating the offense.

Carr was also a last-ditch source of scoring for the Longhorns as he turned into one of the best scoring guards in the Big 12.

Texas’ offense won’t miss a beat with Abmas filling the void left by Carr in the starting backcourt heading into next season. I dare say that Abmas will be an upgrade, at least on the offensive end of the floor, for Texas compared to Carr.

Abmas is the more consistent scorer and the more efficient shooter comparatively between him and Carr.

Texas now has a nice mix of playmaking, size, and athleticism among the players on the projected roster for the 2023-24 season. If sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter does return next season, Texas will have two quality guards that are more than proven at the collegiate level between him and Abmas.

And I really like the potential of an offense that can work in the pick-and-roll and in transition with Abmas commanding the pace and bigs such as Shedrick and Dylan Disu finishing at the rim.

Shedrick and Abmas now make up one of the most talented and proven portal classes in the country this offseason for the Longhorns. According to the 247Sports Team Transfer Rankings, the 2023 Texas portal class ranks at No. 9 in the nation.