Predicting Texas's first portal commitment of the offseason
The NCAA Transfer Portal is buzzing early in the spring window, and Texas basketball has already contacted many potential targets at key positions of need in the rotation this offseason. Texas and head coach Rodney Terry haven't landed any portal commitments as of the writing of this article on April 4.
Who will be Texas basketball's first transfer addition of the 2024 offseason?
But the Longhorns are certainly going to be involved in some key portal recruitments in the next couple of months. The transfer portal was a huge part of how Terry and the Longhorns staff rebuilt the roster last offseason, landing key impact players such as senior guard Max Abmas, sophomore guard Chendall Weaver, and redshirt junior center Kadin Shedrick, among others.
Texas has multiple key departing players that it must replace this offseason. Terry and the Longhorns are losing four key contributors due to exhausted eligibility this offseason. They've also lost three scholarship players to the transfer portal, although none of the departures were starters on last year's squad.
The portal activity for the Longhorns is sure to only pick up from here as the NCAA Tournament winds down in the next week.
Here's a prediction of the Longhorns' first portal commitment of the 2024 offseason.
Xavier Amos, F
An early-offseason portal target that the Longhorns contacted within the 10 days is former Northern Illinois Huskies sophomore forward Xavier Amos. The 6-foot-8 and 210-pound forward Amos expressed mutual interest in the Longhorns, naming them among the schools he's considering visiting this spring.
Amos told On3 last week that the Virginia Cavaliers, Xavier Musketeers, Illinois Fighting Illini, and Texas are his top schools early in his portal recruitment. He likes the style of play under Terry and how his versatility could fit in that system.
"“They like my versatility and think I fit in with how they like for their forwards to move and do different things. With them, it is a lot about development. They see a high upside with me, they would put the ball in my hands and go make plays.”"
Amos is a versatile two-way forward who can score the basketball from multiple levels of the floor in the offensive halfcourt. He shot nearly 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from deep at Northern Illinois last season.
On the defensive end, Amos utilizes his length well as an on-ball defender within the two-point arc to disrupt shots and get steals to get out and run in transition.
It sounds like Amos is waiting until the dead period concludes to schedule visits to schools he's interested in. If Texas gets a visit from Amos on the books in the next couple of weeks, that's a good sign that the Longhorns are a serious contender in this portal recruitment.
We've seen how effective Terry can be in sealing the deal with top portal targets when they're on campus for visits. Just look at what he did to close in on top portal targets last offseason with the Longhorns landing Abmas and Shedrick shortly after their visits to Texas.