What the loss of 5-Star SG Cam Scott means for Texas

On Saturday afternoon, news broke regarding Texas basketball 2024 signee Cam Scott receiving a National Letter of Intent release from the Longhorns, per On3's Jamie Shaw. The four-star prospect out of Lexington, SC, is ranked as the No. 5 shooting guard and No. 34 overall player in the 247Sports Composite. He had been committed to head coach Rodney Terry and the Horns since Aug. 11, 2023.

Texas basketball loses commitment from elite 2024 SG Cam Scott

This news gives Longhorn fans flashbacks after 2023 signees Ron Holland and AJ Johnson asked out of their NLI, instead joining the G League and Illawarra Hawks of Australian NBL, respectively.

The loss of Scott from the 2024 recruiting class undoubtedly hurts the Longhorns heading into next season. Scott averaged 22.0 points and 3.3 steals per game as a senior. He scored 2,475 career points in high school and has the three-level scoring prowess to make an immediate impact on a high-major team.

On top of that, the Texas basketball roster currently looks very thin. Of the eight rotation players Coach Terry deployed last season, four graduated, and two have yet to make a decision regarding their future (Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell).

That leaves Chendall Weaver and Kadin Shedrick as the only two contributors returning from last year's 21-13 team. However, it does appear that 2024 signees Tre Johnson and Nic Codie will be making their way to campus this summer. With Ze'Rik Onyema and Devon Pyror likely returning as well, six scholarship roster spots are open for Texas basketball.

Here is where the transfer portal talk comes in.

We all know how much the transfer portal has impacted college sports. Regardless of your feelings about the constant movement of players, it is important to shift your mindset regarding roster construction in the modern era.

The top-six scorers from the Longhorns 2023 Elite Eight team were transfers. Last season, six of the top seven scorers were transfers. Recruiting in the new age of college basketball has become incredibly fluid, and everyone is adapting.

Although Coach Terry has yet to sign a transfer this spring, he and the staff have been aggressive in reaching out and inviting some of the top players in the portal to Austin. Texas welcomed at least three portal visitors this weekend, with more expected on the Forty next week.

So, how does this all relate back to Cam Scott?

As I mentioned earlier, losing a talented incoming freshman like Scott is never a good thing. However, this is a strong indicator that the Longhorns will likely land a few proven, veteran guards in the portal.

As the No. 34 ranked player in the class, Scott is good enough to warrant playing time but could just as easily get buried in a veteran backcourt (see Arterio Morris in 2022/23). Scott likely saw the writing on the wall when it came to playing time as a freshman. I would expect him to end up staying closer to home while finding a program where he can play meaningful minutes as a freshman.

Texas has been strongly linked to Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small (No. 1 PG), Harvard's Malik Mack (No. 3 PG), and Alabama's Rylan Griffen (No. 7 SG). Despite Scott's talent, the Longhorns are likely to land at least two transfer guards that would have been ahead of him on the depth chart.

Although, on paper, losing a high four-star recruit is never a good thing, expect Coach Terry and the Texas basketball staff to make up for it in the portal over the next few weeks.

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