Texas gets scoring boost with Oregon St transfer Jordan Pope

Per a post on X from 24/7 High School Hoops on April 24, Texas basketball has landed a commitment from the former Oregon State Beavers sophomore transfer guard Jordan Pope.

Pope committed to Texas over the Texas A&M Aggies during a scheduled decision date on Wednesday. He visited both Texas and Texas A&M last week. Those were the only two schools he visited in the portal this spring.

Texas basketball lands its fourth portal commitment in Oregon State transfer G Jordan Pope

This is the fourth transfer pickup for head coach Rodney Terry and the Longhorns during the spring portal window this offseason. Texas has also landed portal commitments from former Indiana State Sycamores redshirt junior forward Jayson Kent, Indiana State redshirt junior guard Julian Larry, and Arkansas Razorbacks redshirt junior guard Tramon Mark.

Pope is Texas's first transfer commitment since Terry and staff landed that big trio of pledges within the span of just a few hours on April 14.

The 6-foot-2 and 165-pound guard from Oakley, CA, has two years of eligibility remaining after spending the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Oregon State. Pope averaged 17.6 points per game, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for the Beavs last season.

Texas adds scoring punch and another quality facilitator to the backcourt rotation

Pope gives the Longhorns another immediate impact guard who can give Terry quality minutes in the starting backcourt in 2024-25. He was one of the top scoring guards in the Pac-12 last season, ranking fifth in the conference in points per game (17.6).

After Texas lost both of its starting guards this offseason, senior Max Abmas and junior Tyrese Hunter, Terry had to replace his two top facilitators and two of the three top scorers.

The former Pac-12 All-Freshman guard was Oregon State's leader in scoring and assists in each of the last two seasons. The backcourt duo of Pope and Larry means Texas has two proven scorers who can both facilitate and distribute the basketball on the offensive end next season.

Another factor that Texas gets with the additions of Larry and Pope is the ability to space the floor on offense. Texas loses five of its top six outside shooters from last season due to exhausted eligibility and roster attrition this offseason.

All four transfers the Longhorns have landed in the last couple of weeks shot at least 36 percent from beyond the arc last season. Larry, Pope, and Mark shot a combined nearly 40 percent from deep on decent volumes per game.

Pope, in particular, brings some serious shooting range to the table for the Longhorns. He was one of a handful of major conference guards who made double-digit deep three-point attempts (25+ feet from the basket) on a clip better than 35 percent last season.

The idea of what Terry's backcourt unit will look like next season is starting to come together.

Texas has plenty of high-level scorers and playmakers in the backcourt/wing rotation who can elevate Terry's free-flowing offensive system next season. The Longhorns are getting an elite scoring two-guard/wing who can get the ball in the basket from multiple levels of the floor in the settled half court offense in five-star 2024 signee and McDonald's All-American Tre Johnson.

Terry and the Longhorns also return sophomore guard Chendall Weaver, who can play minutes at the two or on the wing in a three-guard small lineup.

When you add the trio of transfer guards (Mark, Pope, and Larry) to the backcourt equation, the Longhorns have five athletic playmakers who can score the basketball from range and inside the arc.

Texas now has 10 scholarship players on the projected roster for the 2024-25 campaign. Terry and staff are still attacking needs in the frontcourt rotation to fill at least one of the two remaining scholarship spots on the roster in the spring transfer window.

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