Where does Texas basketball stack up in preseason rankings?
By Shane Black
With the focus of the Longhorn faithful solely on No. 1 ranked Texas football amidst their first 6-0 start since 2009, it may be a shock to some that preseason hoops rankings are already here for the Texas basketball program.
Texas kicks off its inaugural season as a member of the SEC with a showdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Las Vegas on Nov. 4. The Longhorns, who ended their 2023-24 season with a four-point loss to No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Round of 32, are looking to take a step forward in year two of the Rodney Terry era.
Texas basketball and head coach Rodney Terry rank in top 20 in preseason polls
Terry and the Longhorns turned over eight scholarships this offseason. Max Abmas, Brock Cunningham, Dylan Disu, and Ithiel Horton exhausted their collegiate eligibility, while Dillon Mitchell (Cincinnati), Tyrese Hunter (Memphis), Chris Johnson (Stephen F. Austin), and Alex Anamekwe (Lubbock Christian) hit the transfer portal.
Despite the losses, Coach Terry and his staff again proved to be a force in transfer portal recruiting.
Texas landed one of the top transfer classes in the conference, led by former Houston and Arkansas guard Tramon Mark, former Oregon State guard Jordan Pope, and former Creighton and Kansas State forward Arthur Kaluma. Guards Julian Larry (Indiana State) and Malik Presley (Vanderbilt), as well as forward Jayson Kent (Indiana State), rounded out the transfer class.
In addition to the six transfers, Coach Terry brings in a small but mighty 2024 high school class. Consensus five-star and top-seven national player Tre Johnson leads the class with four-star power forward Nic Codie and three-star power forward Jamie Vinson supplementing the likely one-and-done.
Given that Texas is turning over 80 percent of its team's minutes played, Coach Terry and his staff did a terrific job this offseason assembling a roster ready to compete in year one of the SEC.
On Monday, the AP released its preseason men's basketball poll. Here is where Texas basketball landed, as well as their preseason team ratings in the advanced analytical models of KenPom and EvanMiya.
- AP Poll: No. 19
- KenPom: No. 18
- EvanMiya: No. 19
Texas appeared on 51 of 60 ballots, with a peak ranking of No. 13 (three times). Their No. 19 slot in the preseason AP Poll is one spot behind where the Horns sat last preseason.
I have no complaints about Texas basketball's ranking at No. 19 in the preseason AP Poll. It aligns nearly perfectly with KenPom and EvanMiya's ratings of the Longhorns. It seems like a fair spot for a team with a lot of talent yet limited experience playing together.
For Coach Terry and his staff, cohesion will be the name of the game early in the season. This roster features at least ten players who are likely expecting to play meaningful minutes, but as we know, the rotation will shrink as the season progresses.
Although Texas plays only five power conference opponents in the non-con, every minute of game action is essential as the staff looks to shape their rotation ahead of SEC play.
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