Three observations from a season-opening win for the Texas men's basketball team
As expected, the new-look Longhorns didn’t have much trouble with Incarnate Word in Monday’s season opener at Moody Center.
Texas (1-0) reeled off a 21-0 run in the first half and cruised to an 88-56 win over Incarnate Word (0-1), a Southland Conference program from San Antonio that hasn’t had a winning record in nine seasons. The No. 18 Longhorns got a combined 40 points from the starting guard trio of Tyrese Hunter and newcomers Max Abmas and Ithiel Horton. In the paint, Virginia transfer Kadin Shedrick scored 12 points and pulling down five rebounds while UTEP transfer Ze’Rik Onyema started up front and compiled 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds in 18 minutes.
Here are three observations from Texas ‘opening win as well as a look at what’s next for the Longhorns:
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Shedrick impresses in debut
An impressive start: Shedrick, a 6-foot-11 forward who spent the past four seasons manning the paint for a deliberate and defensive-minded Virginia program, showed no lingering issues from offseason shoulder surgery. Just a week after being medically cleared to return to the court, Shedrick made all three of his shots and six of his seven free throws in 11 minutes of action. He also blocked three shots and dished off three assists, including one crafty pass in transition that lead to a soaring dunk by Dillon Mitchell.
They said it: “Obviously, I'm working on getting my wind back a little bit, but it felt great to be out there. We’re going to keep building on tonight. It’s just a starting point.” — Shedrick
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Guards look dynamic in transition
Backcourt shines: Head coach Rodney Terry says he expects this team to run and pick up spurts of points, and his new starting backcourt of Abmas, Hunter and Horton looked dangerous in transition. They combined on 7-of-16 shooting from 3-point range, with many of those long-range buckets coming on the break. In particular, the 6-foot-5 Horton made the most of his debut while scoring a team-high 17 points. The Central Florida transfer was also one of five players who had at least three assists as the Longhorns tallied a total of 20 assists.
They said it: “We're going to try to play fast and get out transition. I thought we got off to a really good start tonight doing that, and I thought our effort and preparation were really good.” — Terry
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Moody Center hosts a Longhorn legacy
One proud father: For perhaps the first time in his life, Texas legend T.J. Ford wasn’t donning burnt orange at a Longhorn home game. But the former All-American point guard who led Texas to the 2003 Final Four had a good reason; his son, T.J. Ford Jr., is a freshman guard for Incarnate Word who made his collegiate debut. The younger Ford struggled early with three turnovers in the first half, but settled in and contributed five points, two rebounds and two assists with just one turnover in the second half.
They said it: “The reality for T.J. is his name in this state is gold. So especially coming into a situation like this, there's a lot of pressure on him. There's a lot of eyes on him. He had a big crew with him. And the message to him (was) take a deep breath, relax. You're here for a reason. For a freshman to be able to have an adverse moment and respond in the capacity that he did in the second half, I'm really proud of him.” — Incarnate Word coach Shane Heirman
Next for Texas: Delaware State
Next game: The Longhorns host Delaware State Friday at 8 p.m. in a game moved back an hour to accommodate The Longhorn Network’s broadcast of the Texas women’s match in the first round of the NCAA soccer tournament at Myers Stadium next door. Keep an eye on a pair of freshmen in guard Chris Johnson and forward Devon Pryor. Johnson missed the opener after turning an ankle in last week’s exhibition game against St. Edward’s but could play Friday while Pryor grabbed four rebounds in 11 minutes against Incarnate Word.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What 3 things did we see by the Texas basketball team in the opener?
