Texas Basketball: 3 biggest disappointments after first 8 UT games

Ze’Rik Onyema, PF

Another important portal addition for Terry and the Longhorns during the offseason was the former UTEP Miners junior power forward Ze’Rik Onyema. The physical and gritty 6-foot-8 and 215-pound big man had an opportunity to make an early impact on Texas’s frontcourt rotation at the outset of this season thanks to injury issues with key bigs such as Disu and redshirt junior Kadin Shedrick.

Due to the minutes restrictions for Shedrick and the games that both he and Disu have missed this season, Onyema started three of the season’s first five games for the Longhorns. He got off to a nice start, posting 11 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in Texas’s convincing win in the season opener on Nov. 6 at home over UIW.

But Onyema wasn’t effective down low for the Longhorns in the next few games after the opener. He hasn’t scored in the double figures since the season opener, and his impact on the offensive end of the floor has been minimal.

While Onyema has performed pretty well on the defensive end this season regarding the advanced metrics, he still hasn’t made a sizable impact in the games that matter for Texas. He’s registered just 11 points, five rebounds, one block, and two turnovers in 40 minutes on the floor against ranked opponents this season.

Onyema has the lowest game score among the Longhorns players who have started at least one game in the last six contests (per Sports Reference).

Onyema has yet to fully take advantage of the opportunity he had to make an impact on the frontcourt rotation while Texas’s two most prominent bigs (Shedrick and Disu) have dealt with injury issues early this season.