Golden: Newcomer Shedrick will provide needed bulk to Horns hoops

College basketball is largely a guard’s game, but Texas coach Rodney Terry showed the importance of interior in a fiery few seconds in the opener. The Horns had no problems with Incarnate Word, but Terry displayed Final Four intensity after his team’s post mortality flashed before his very eyes.

Kadin Shedrick, a transfer from Virginia, had crashed to the ground near the Texas bench and Terry, well aware that the 6-foot-11 forward was just cleared to play as he works his way back from a shoulder injury, believed Incarnate Word had committed a hard foul which had gone unwhistled.

Terry temporarily blew his top.

Then a whistle did come.

Technical foul on Terry.

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It didn’t really matter that the Horns were ahead by a bundle. This was Terry coming to the defense of his player while also sending a message that Shedrick’s 235-pound frame will be essential in any success the No. 18 team in the country will have this season.

Terry is an intense competitor who tries to stay composed in his dealings with the officials, but he had to let go on Monday. This was an important piece of his plan lying on the floor after plenty of contact.

“I have my big guy coming back in right now and I want to protect him a little bit,” Terry said. "You can’t be rough housing and throwing him around when I think it’s a blatant foul.”

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Shedrick smiled when asked about his coaching getting T'd up. “I appreciated that a lot,” he said. “It felt good to have your coach stand up for you like that.”

Protecting Shedrick will hopefully be rewarded with him protecting the rim on defense. The Virginia transfer checks so many boxes. In four seasons under Tony Bennett in Charlottesville, he averaged 6.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 17.5 minutes a game. He debuted in Austin with 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks, one of which came on UIW star Sky Wicks’ attempted dunk in the first half.

It’s an indication of what Texas can become, especially on the defensive end.  He had nine multiple-block games last season and at least one swat in 23 of his 30 games.

Assuming Dylan Disu comes back healthy from his foot surgery, the Horns will have one of the most formidable defensive tandems in the sport. The 6-foot-9 Disu was the second most effective shot blocker in the league at 1.3 per game. With these two at the bucket, layups will be hard to come by. The Horns could go to another level on that end if 6-8 jumping jack Dillon Mitchell — who had only 12 blocks in 38 games as a freshman — can start chasing blocks from the help side.  Ze'Rik Onyema, a 6-8 UTEP transfer, has a nice upside if he can work on his motor and play to his size.

“We’re going to be pretty big,” Shedrick said. “I’m really excited to get the opportunity to play with Dylan when he’s healthy and hopefully that will be coming up soon.”

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The added beef down low is a welcome relief for 6-foot-6 senior forward Brock Cunningham, who actually guarded the opposing team’s best post player at times last season.

"We have the potential to be elite in rim protection," Terry said.

In the opener, the Horns showed plenty of versatility. New guards Max Abmas and I.T. Horton will attempt to make up for the loss of all-conference guard Marcus Carr from last season’s Elite Eight finisher. Tyrese Hunter is a willing sharer of the ball. It all adds up to a team that should be versatile enough to not depend too much on one fact of its offense.

“You have to constantly make decisions with their ability to dump it onto the block and shoot from the outside,” said Incarnate Word coach Shane Heirman. “Their physicality is what they will hang their hat on. Their front line will keep some coaches up at night.”

Shedrick said the main reason he came to Texas was the chance to get up and down the court more. His former school is one of the most successful programs in the country, but the Cavaliers have typically been a deliberate, slow-down offense, one you rarely saw in track meets.

With the Horns, Shedrick will get some transition looks   — on feeds like the dunk he threw down early — once he gets his legs under him. He’s still getting his lungs acclimated to this new way of conducting business offensively since he just started going hard, but his biggest contribution will come on the defensive end where he will serve as a resident rim protector/space eater.

“If they need me to score the ball, I’ll score the ball,” he said.  “If they need me to block shots, I’ll block shots. I’m going to do whatever they need me to do.”

And what about the new uptempo system he’s joining?

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“The running the floor part is certainly new to me. I felt it the first two-minute segment,” Shedrick said. “I was like, “I’m a little tired.’ I started getting used to it as the game went on.”

One never knows how long it will take for a team of new players to gel together, but Terry showed last season when he took over for the eventually fired Chris Beard that he is accustomed adjusting on the fly. This is a group he has be excited about coaching. Like his football counterpart Steve Sarkisian, he enjoys a roster of large human beings. In Shedrick, he has one who will have an opportunity to blossom in his fifth year of ball.

If all goes according to plan, bigger will mean better this spring.

Friday's game

Delaware State (0-1) at No. 18 Texas (1-0), 8 p.m., LHN, 1300

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Golden: Shedrick's bulk will give 2004 Horns more versatility