Texas basketball projected 2023-2024 starting lineup
For all intents and purposes, the Texas basketball roster is complete ahead of the 2023-24 season. After new full-time head coach Rodney Terry added a portal commitment from the former UCF Knights, Pitt Panthers, and Delaware Blue Hens redshirt senior shooting guard Ithiel Horton a couple of weeks ago, Texas essentially completed the projected rotation for next season.
Just for good measure, Terry and the Longhorns reached a dozen scholarship players on the projected roster for next season by adding the former LSU Tigers commit and three-star Houston (TX) PSAT-XEA Academy small forward Devon Pryor on July 10.
Despite the roster attrition that Terry and the Longhorns staff faced at the outset of the offseason, the projected roster heading into the 2023-24 campaign looks really good. Terry assembled a roster in impressive fashion that is capable of contending for a Big 12 title and going on another deep postseason run.
Projecting Texas basketball’s starting 5 for the 2023-24 season
With the roster completed a few months ahead of the 2023-24 college hoops season, it’s time to project the core rotation for Terry’s first year as the full-time head coach. Here’s a projection of the Longhorns’ starting five for the 2023-24 campaign.
Bench/6th man
Chris Johnson, CG
One of the latest additions to the roster, the former Kansas Jayhawks commit, and high-four-star Montverde Academy combo guard Chris Johnson was a big get for Terry and the Longhorns in the 2023 class. Johnson is the logical candidate for the second unit’s primary ball handler.
Granted, I’d imagine Terry will keep either senior guard Max Abmas or junior guard Tyrese Hunter on the floor in combination with Johnson most of the time to stabilize the backcourt.
Chendall Weaver, G*
Former UT-Arlington Mavericks freshman guard and the reigning WAC Rookie of the Year, Chendall Weaver, is a good candidate to be the sixth man for the Longhorns this season. Weaver will be a key floor spacer and a valuable creator on the offensive end off the bench.
Brock Cunningham, F
Returning for his sixth season on the Forty Acres, super senior forward Brock Cunningham will have an integral role for the Longhorns, coming off the bench as a floor spacer and grinder on both ends. Cunningham averaged a career-high 18.3 minutes off the bench last season in 38 games.
He could push for around 20 minutes per game off the bench again this season.
Ze’Rik Onyema, PF
Former UTEP Miners junior power forward transfer Ze’Rik Onyema will be a force in the paint on both ends for the Longhorns next season. Onyema is a great rebounder, a physical defender down low, and an efficient finisher around the basket.
Kadin Shedrick, C*
The other candidate to be the sixth man for Terry and the Longhorns this coming season is the former Virginia Cavaliers redshirt junior transfer center, Kadin Shedrick. The 6-foot-11 and 220-pound rim-running big man could also push for a starting role if he shines early in the regular season.