Texas Basketball: Longhorns hopeful Ithiel Horton can replace Sir’Jabari Rice
Ithiel Horton is the newest commitment for Texas Basketball this offseason. What kind of impact can he have on the Longhorns for 2023-24?
There’s been plenty of roster turnover this offseason for Texas Basketball. There were several players that ran out of eligibility, such as Sir’Jabari Rice and Marcus Carr, while others left for other reasons. In the backcourt alone, both Arterio Morris and Rowan Brumbaugh transferred out, while AJ Johnson, a former top-30 commit, went pro.
The lone returning guard on the roster is Tyrese Hunter, who averaged over 10 ppg as a starter. His projected starting backcourt mate is Max Abmas, a 22 ppg scoring transfer from Oral Roberts, and is the active lead scorer in the country that’s returning. The Longhorns also added former Kansas commit and top-60 prospect, Chris Johnson, as well as Chendall Weaver, who was the WAC Rookie of the Year at UT-Arlington.
Texas Basketball added another piece this week in Ithiel Horton, who averaged 12.3 ppg at UCF this past season, including 30 against Memphis. He’s a career 38% three-point shooter on six attempts and that’s his main strength as an offensive contributor. This is his fourth college stop, having previously played at both Pittsburgh and Delaware.
Horton has 83 total starts in the past five years but it’s very likely that he’ll be the 6th Man for the Longhorns. The starting lineup is likely set, with Hunter/Abmas in the backcourt, along with Dillon Mitchell, Dylan Disu, and Kadin Shedrick in the frontcourt. But that isn’t the worst thing for both the player and the team, as Rice showed this past season that being the “6th Man” can be helpful. The former New Mexico State guard excelled off the bench and has parlayed it into a current NBA contract.
Next. Top 25 transfer pickups of 2023 offseason. dark
If Horton could do something similar, Texas can be just as good as last year’s team that made the Elite 8. There are plenty of newcomers on the roster with high-end potential and the former UCF guard is the latest. And now, he’ll get a chance to play the Knights as a member of the Big 12.