Texas Basketball: Jarrett Allen fills Texas-sized hole in Longhorns front court

By Doug Winkey | Jun 3, 2016

Mar 18, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Shaka Smart yells in the second half against the Northern Iowa Panthers during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Texas basketball received a huge boost from one of the top remaining high school recruits.

Finally.

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After months of silence, five-star big man Jarrett Allen has made his college decision and he is staying home.

Texas has landed Jarrett Allen, source told ESPN. HUGE pickup for Shaka Smart and the Longhorns.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 3, 2016

The 6’10”, 220 pound center chose the Longhorns over Houston and Kansas. The McDonald’s All-American was the highest-rated uncommitted player, 15th in ESPN’s top 100 recruiting rankings for the class of 2016 and the top center in the nation.

He takes his considerable hype to Austin, where he’ll join two other top 100 players (point guard Andrew Jones and big man James Banks) and a slew of quality sophomores as the core for a team that could compete for at the top of the Big 12.

Allen’s presence is particularly huge considering Texas lost key production in the front court from last year’s NCAA Tournament team. Bruiser Cameron Ridley, stretch four Connor Lammert, and shot blocker Prince Ibeh all graduated and left just little-used enforcer Shaquille Cleare on roster along with Tevin Mack (a wing player that often plays as an undersized four).

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Allen joins fellow freshman Banks as extremely talented big guys who both could start right away with their immediate level of athleticism.

Having Allen means that, Texas has more options going forward on offense and has a critical, much-needed shot blocker on defense.

UT still had a fair amount of firepower to make an NIT bid, but Allen’s presence could be enough to push the team into contention for an NCAA bid in Shaka Smart’s second season.

The newest Longhorn projects as a solid rim protector with an offensive game that extends out to the free throw line. He’ll likely need time to improve his strength and frame, but should compete for Big 12 Rookie of the Year from the get-go.

Thankfully for Smart, he comes into a situation where there are multiple options to share the offensive load, thus limiting potential reliance on a brand new face. Whatever his first-year output is, Allen is a massively successful addition for Smart and a program looking to continue its rise up the college ranks.

There is still the small matter of who will actually distribute the ball to the numerous wings and bigs in the wake of Isaiah Taylor’s decision to pursue the NBA. Kerwin Roach Jr. and Eric Davis Jr. will look to take the next step after solid freshman seasons.

UT will compete hard on defense and they have tons of offensive potential that just might not flow smoothly from time to time.

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But if they didn’t land Allen, there would be far more problems in Austin than there are now.