5 early Texas transfer targets entering the 2024 offseason

Following a narrow 62-58 defeat at the hands of former Longhorn head coach Rick Barnes and the two-seed Tennessee Volunteers last weekend, Texas basketball's offseason has officially begun. Texas finished the 2023-24 campaign with a record of 21-13 (9-9 Big 12), including a win in the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row.

Texas basketball can replace key departing starters with impact portal players this offseason

This will be the first full offseason at Texas for Rodney Terry as the full-time head coach. It will be a big offseason for Terry and the Longhorns staff, as they must replace some key departing players who were top producers for this team during the 2023-24 season.

Some of the key departing players for the Longhorns this offseason due to exhausted eligibility includes leading scorers senior center Dylan Disu and senior guard Max Abmas. Combined, Disu and Abmas averaged over 32 points per game for the Longhorns last season. That accounted for well over 40 percent of the team's total scoring per game.

Texas also loses key contributors such as senior wing Ithiel Horton and senior forward Brock Cunningham due to exhausted eligibility. That's not to mention potential departures to the NBA Draft for key starter including sophomore forward Dillon Mitchell and junior guard Tyrese Hunter.

Both Mitchell and Hunter declared early for the NBA Draft last offseason and haven't announced their statuses for the 2024-25 Longhorns season.

The transfer portal will be a big part of this offseason for Terry to build a winner in the SEC for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign. Here are five early transfer portal targets for the Longhorns entering the 2024 offseason.

Brandon Garrison, C

Texas has some scholarship spots to fill out in the frontcourt with multiple rotation players who are not expected to return for next season. Terry and the Longhorns will at least have two or three scholarship spots opening up in the frontcourt this offseason, with the departures of Cunningham, Disu, and potentially Mitchell.

Texas also had a scholarship spot open up in the frontcourt due to the departure of sophomore forward Alex Anamekwe, who entered the transfer portal over the weekend.

One of the open scholarship spots in the frontcourt for the Longhorns will be filled by high-four-star Carrollton (TX) Newman Smith power forward signee Nic Codie. But that leaves at least a couple spots in the rotation Terry and staff will need to fill via the portal this offseason.

Terry will likely use one of these roster spots to find a quality backup center who can suffice in the frontcourt rotation behind redshirt junior center Kadin Shedrick. Shedrick is the likely starter for the Longhorns at the five next season, since he already announced he plans to return to college for a sixth year.

One potential option that the Longhorns could pursue among bigs already in the portal during the spring transfer window is the former Oklahoma State Cowboys true freshman center Brandon Garrison. The former high-four-star recruit from Oklahoma City, OK, in the 2023 class showed promise during his freshman campaign with the Pokes last season.

Unfortunately, limited team success and now-former Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton being on the hot seat during the season were factors that capped Garrison's potential as a first-year player in Stillwater.

The 6-foot-11 and 245-pound Garrison is a high-level rim protector, an excellent rebounder, and great hands to finish around the rim. He's not the most polished low-post scorer or the most overwhelming presence in the paint. But he is a good off-ball player who knows how to set screens and maintain a solid low-post presence on both ends of the floor.

Garrison is the type of smart, high-upside player who could provide solid defense, rebounding, and screen-setting for the Longhorns while hypothetically giving them quality minutes off the bench at the five.