SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2024-25 season
By Justin Wiles
6. Texas Longhorns
Texas joined the SEC this summer along with Big 12 rival Oklahoma. Rodney Terry got his team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season where Texas lost to a very good Tennessee team.
Terry added a ton of depth to replace all of the scoring lost from last season. Texas lost its top four scorers, so finding players able to replace that production was a must. Terry added Arthur Kaluma (14.4 ppg) from Kansas State, Jordan Pope (17.6 ppg) from Oregon State, Julian Larry (11.0 ppg) and Jayson Kent (13.5 ppg) both from Indiana State, and Tramon Mark (16.2 ppg) from Arkansas.
The offense has some serious firepower this season, but how all the pieces mesh will determine much of the success this season. Pope and Mark were the main options on offense for their prior teams, but the rest of the transfer class were second or third options. There will be plenty of depth at the guard and wing positions, so many of the transfers might find themselves in similar roles at Texas. Terry will also need to find space for talented five-star freshman Tre Johnson at the wing.
Chendall Weaver and Kadin Shedrick will most likely take on bigger roles this season, as both mostly came off the bench last year. Weaver will be another mouth to feed on the wing, but Shedrick projects to be the team's top post player. The biggest concern for Texas this year will be the lack of interior depth.
The defense might be a little shaky on the interior, but Shedrick (1.1 bpg) is a capable rim protector, but others will need to step up to take some of the pressure off of the big man. The overall perimeter defense should be solid with Kaluma, Mark, and Weaver on the court.
Texas has a ton of offensive upside. The big question is how it all fits together. There are only so many minutes to dole out each game, and with all the veteran players added this offseason someone will have to take a back seat. But if players are willing to cede some scoring and add a little more defense then the minutes should shake out a little easier.