Big 12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

Head coach Chris Beard acquires an intriguing situation with Texas basketball and the abrupt exit of Shaka Smart to Marquette. He returns just two players from last year’s roster in Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey but, the transfer portal was like Christmas for Beard and his coaching staff as they acquired eight notable names to rebuild things in Year 1.

Marcus Carr (Minnesota), Tre Mitchell (UMass), Devin Askew (Kentucky), and Christian Bishop (Creighton) are just a few new names to know on the 2021-22 roster. Carr was a star with the Gophers this past season, producing 19.4 ppg, 4.9 apg, 4.0 rpg, and 1.3 spg and earning All-Big Ten third-team honors. He’ll look to make a similar impact with the Longhorns.

Askew is another name to watch that should compete for backcourt minutes. The 6-foot-3 guard started in 20 of 25 appearances in 2020-21, finishing with 6.5 ppg, 2.9 apg, and 2.6 rpg with the Kentucky Wildcats.

Mitchell and Bishop should fill the void in the frontcourt with their mobility and presence around the rim/paint area. Mitchell averaged 18.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, and 1.2 bpg across the past two seasons with UMass.

Bishop saw career-high averages in points per game (11.0) and rebounds per game (6.4) in 2020-21 with the Bluejays and hopes to continue his development with a bigger role in the Texas basketball lineup.

Beard has proven he can find chemistry with transfers with experience already under their belt. Look for him to make a splash in his first year at his alma mater.