After a disappointing loss in Las Vegas for the opening night of the regular season against the Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas basketball and head coach Rodney Terry have regrouped and zoned in on both ends of the floor in their past two non-conference games.
Texas basketball looking to prove itself with its budding star power soon in non-conference play
As expected, Texas dominated the Houston Christian Huskies and Chicago State Cougars in two non-conference tune-up games at the Moody Center in Austin in the past week. Texas's home opener saw freshman shooting guard Tre Johnson explode or another 28+ point scoring night in a 90-59 home win over Houston Christian.
Texas hung triple-digits as a team scoring against Chicago State in a decisive 105-58 win on Nov. 12.
The focus now for Terry and the Longhorns turns to focus on building up confidence and cohesion on the defensive end of the floor while continuing to excel with ball movement and scoring on offense. Terry said that his team is still working to establish more chemistry and an identity in some respects, entering the next non-con game on Nov. 16 against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils.
"You know, we're beginning our journey right now, but currently, we're trying really hard to establish a defensive identity where we sit down and we try to guard."Rodney Terry
Offensively, the Longhorns don't have much to complain about. Texas has scored over 90 points in each of its past two games, and is averaging just over 89 points per game this season through three games.
Here are three Longhorns players who are putting up big stats after the regular season's first three games.
Kadin Shedrick, C
There's a valid argument to be made that senior center Kadin Shedrick is Texas's most important player in the frontcourt rotation. Not only does Texas need Shedrick to play more minutes than he did last season, but he also provides Terry's squad with valuable paint presence on both ends.
The 6-foot-11 and 215-pound big man is a good rim protector, rebounder, and inside finisher at the basket. Shedrick has already shown early this season the type of presence down low he can provide the Longhorns on both ends of the floor.
Shedrick has been a big source of frontcourt scoring for the Longhorns, scoring in the double figures in all three games so far this season. He's also emerged as a really important offensive rebounder and rim protector.
In the first two games against Ohio State and Houston Christian, Shedrick combined for seven offensive boards and averaged a half-dozen total rebounds. And in the past two games combined, Shedrick has blocked a team-high five shots.
It's still early, but if the pace holds that Shedrick is on statistically through three games, he'll score in the double figures for the first time in his collegiate career, and average near two blocks per game for the first time. Even more important could be the fact that he's averaging over 25 minutes per game over his three starts for Texas's frontcourt.