No. 2: Texas can shoot the three-ball
One of the biggest critiques of the Shaka Smart era in Austin was that his teams could never consistently knock down shots. Heck, that critique was also prevalent in the Rick Barnes era. During the previous 13 seasons, Texas basketball finished in the top 100 nationally in team three-point percentage just once.
Through 13 nonconference games, these Longhorns ranked third.
Texas is knocking down the three-ball at a 41.5 percent clip as a team this season. Seven players are shooting at least 40 percent from deep.
Are the Horns doing a good job making the extra pass to find open shooters? Yes, but they are still attempting more than 20 threes per game. I expect this number to go up as Texas navigates SEC play.
Frankly, I would not attribute the three-point success to a change in offensive philosophy or extra offseason work. This team just flat-out has a lot of good shooters.
The three-point success has led to an unselfish nature on the perimeter. Look for Rodney Terry to exploit this weapon as the season progresses.