3 Texas players who could've played their last game at UT
Texas basketball's postseason run ended on March 23 following a heartbreaking 62-58 loss in the Round of 32 against the two-seed Tennessee Volunteers. Rodney Terry finished his first full season as Texas's head coach with a record of 21-13 (9-9 Big 12).
Texas basketball has the makings of a roster that could contend in the SEC next year
Terry and the Longhorns were only a couple of possessions away from making it to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. One stat Texas can hang its hat on entering the offseason is the three-year streak of winning at least one NCAA Tournament game.
Texas has a chance to be right back in the mix of things in the postseason next year with a talented incoming recruiting class and some key pieces of the team returning for the inaugural season in the SEC during the 2024-25 campaign.
The incoming talent will boost key parts of the roster that were weakpoints during the 2023-24 season, including wing depth and secondary scoring. Five-stars Tre Johnson and Cam Scott highlight the incoming group of recruits who have the potential to make Texas a contender in the SEC and in the posteason next year.
Texas also must replace some key parts of the rotation that will turnover on the roster this coming offseason. The Longhorns have key starters, namely senior big man Dylan Disu and senior guard Max Abmas, that have exhausted eligility this offseason.
In this day and age of college sports, with the transfer portal, you also have to expect some roster turnover outside of the players who have exhausted their eligibility.
Here are three Longhorns players who could've played their final game at Texas entering the 2024 offseason.
Dillon Mitchell, F
Texas's frontcourt rotation could return a couple of players who held key reserve roles and even started a few games this season. Redshirt junior center Kadin Shedrick and redshirt junior power forward Ze'Rik Onyema are two experienced upperclassmen who do have eligibility remaining and could return to Texas for another season in 2024-25.
The Longhorns are also expecting the young 6-foot-7 forward Devon Pryor back for his redshirt freshman campaign.
The player that Terry and staff must replace in the frontcourt include Disu and senior forward Brock Cunningham, who exhausted their eligibility. There is also the likelihood that sophomore forward Dillon Mitchell declares for the NBA Draft in 2024.
Mitchell is probably the best NBA Draft prospect among all the Longhorns who could possibly declare this summer. It was big for Terry to get Mitchell back for another campaign in 2023-24 to expand his offensive game and develop his shooting range.
Not only did Mitchell score the basketball more from outside the paint per game and facilitate the offense on more possessions than he did as a true freshman last season, but he also became a more consistent rebounder and rim protector.
Tankathon ranks Mitchell as the 67th best prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft class. With a good combine showing and the right situation, Mitchell could still be selected in the 2024 draft.
There are still big questions regarding Mitchell's mid-range and deep shooting abilities. His production also dipped significantly in March, where he averaged just over six points per game in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament.
It probably makes more sense for Mitchell to enter the NBA Draft as a potential mid-to-late second round pick with extremely high physical upside that translates on both ends of the floor near the rim.