Backcourt
Projected Starters: Jordan Pope (Junior), Tramon Mark (Graduate)
Rotation Pieces: Chendall Weaver (Junior), Julian Larry (Graduate), Malik Presley (Sophomore)
Last season, the Longhorns heavily relied on the veteran backcourt duo of Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter. With Abmas off to the professional ranks and Hunter transferring to Memphis, Coach Terry used the transfer portal to reload the backcourt.
Jordan Pope transferred from Oregon State after averaging 17.6 points and 3.4 assists last season on .451/.371/.879 shooting splits. Pope will be the Horns' on-court general this season, operating as a true point guard for Coach Terry's offense.
Pope was named to the preseason Bob Cousy Award watch list, given to the best point guard in the country. Expect his scoring numbers to regress, purely due to the amount of options Texas has on the offensive end. However, he is still an elite three-level scorer that the Horns will rely on to create his own shot when the offense stagnates.
Graduate transfer Tramon Mark will likely start next to Pope. Mark spent three years at Houston and last season at Arkansas. He is an experienced and versatile scorer who plays well both on and off the ball and can score at all three levels.
Listed at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, Mark has the size to play on the wing and match up against opposing small forwards. Look for his defensive activity to shine through this season.
Behind Pope and Mark will be sixth-man Chendall Weaver.
Entering his second year in the program, Weaver found a solid niche at the end of last season as a bench spark plug. He averaged 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in February and March while serving as the Horns' lead on-ball defender.
Look for Weaver to be more involved in the offense this season. If he can get back near the 40.2 percent he shot from three as a freshman, Weaver has a chance to be one of the most valuable players on this team.
Indiana State grad transfer Julian Larry and Vanderbilt transfer Malik Presley round out the backcourt rotation.
Larry brings 108 starts from Terre Haute to Austin and is coming off a career-best year, averaging 11 points and 4.8 assists. Larry is more of a true point guard and will be able to lead the Texas offense when Pope is on the sideline.
Presley is more of a developmental piece after averaging just 11.8 minutes per game last season at Vanderbilt. I wouldn't expect Presley to play major minutes this season, but he could be used as a spark plug in certain situations.