When Texas made the decision to hire Chris Beard to replace Shaka Smart at the head men’s basketball coach this offseason it felt like Texas might actually be able to reach the potential the program has always seemed to fall short of.
Few had to think that Beard would have the ability to turn the program around as quickly as he is and it only got better in recent days when former Minnesota guard Marcus Carr announced that he is transferring to Texas for his final season of eligibility.
Carr is the sixth transfer to land in Austin this season that ranks in ESPN’s top-31 offseason transfers. The Longhorns also brought in three of the top five, according to the same list.
Before Carr’s addition, Texas was a borderline top-10 team in the country, but now they move all the way up No. 2 in many preseason polls behind only Gonzaga and ahead of UCLA, both of whom played in the Final Four last season.
Here is a breakdown of the most impactful transfers Texas has landed this season and why you should expect to see the Longhorns make noise in March 2022 with Beard leading the way.
Devin Askew, Guard, Kentucky
Devin Askew experienced a disappointing freshman season at Kentucky last season when he averaged just 6.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists a game.
Askew, a former top-30 national recruit, was probably expecting to play just one year in college before bouncing to the NBA like many other former five star recruits have done in the last decade under John Calipari at Kentucky.
Instead, he finds himself in Austin playing for Beard and hoping that he can reach some of the potential that talent evaluators saw coming out of Mater Dei High School in Sacramento.
Askey isn’t going to be the number one option for Texas this season, and he might not even be the second option. However, if he shoots it more efficiently from three this season — he only made 27.8 percent from three last season — he could be primed to be a key piece for the Texas backcourt.
Dylan Disu, Forward, Vanderbilt
Dylan Disu is entering his junior season and after two seasons at Vanderbilt that didn’t bring many wins the 6-foot-9, 220 pounds forward is expecting to see the wins pile up at Texas this season.
Disu, a native of Pflugerville, Texas, returns to his home state after averaging 15 points a game and 9.2 rebounds a game last season for the Commodores. Disu shot it pretty well from three last season, making 36.9 percent of his attempts.
Disu is slated to be the four in Austin this season and is likely going to be one of the Longhorns’ best options offensively while also serving as a decent rim protector.
Christian Bishop, Forward, Creighton
Creighton transfer Christian Bishop is another forward that transferred to Texas this offseason after a good season in 2020-21. In three seasons at Creighton, Bishop averaged 8.0 points a game with 4.7 rebounds and one assist while making about 65 percent of his shots from the field.
Bishop experienced a bit of a breakout season in 2020-21 when he averaged 11.0 points and 6.4 rebounds a game. Bishop doesn’t possess the ability to shoot it from the perimeter, like Disu, but he does play good defense and is really active on that end of the court.
How Beard is able to balance both Bishop and Disu in the front court is going to be really interesting. Disu could play the five if Beard wants to play small with Bishop at the four, but Disu and Bishop could also play a lot of time together with Bishop at the three and Disu at the four.
Tre Mitchell, Forward, UMass
Tre Mitchell is another transfer front court player taking his talents to Austin this season. Mitchell is a former top-100 recruit and in his two seasons at UMass he filled up the stat book.
The 6-foot-9, 240-pound center averages 18.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists a game while shooting just under 50 percent from the field and around 34 percent from three over his career.
Mitchell was one of the most sought after front court transfers this summer and picked Texas over scholarship offers from Georgia and Illinois, among others.
Mitchell likely projects as the starting center for Texas this season with Disu at the four, but Mitchell has the ability to space the floor really well offensively because he is a gifted passer and cutter for his size. Mitchell also has the ability to protect the rim with his 1.5 blocks per game last season.
Timmy Allen, Forward, Utah
Timmy Allen is a two-time All-Pac-12 team member at Utah and going to provide a real jolt to the Texas lineup on the wing. Allen averaged over 17 points and six rebounds last season and just under four assists a game.
Allen is a really good athlete, but he hasn’t shot it very well from three in his career, he only makes about 26.7 percent of his attempts in his career.
Allen will likely play the two and three for Texas alongside Bishop. The biggest concern with this is that neither have proven themselves as quality perimeter shooters in their career. That will put a lot of pressure on Disu, Mitchell, and Marcus Carr to shoot it well.
Despite both Bishop and Allen not being proven shooters, they have proven a strong ability to finish at the rim in their college careers. So it’s fair to expect a lot of actions for the two of them off screens and cuts to the basket.
Marcus Carr, Guard, Minnesota
Marcus Carr is on his third school now, but it’s not because he has had shortness of success in college.
The senior is coming off a year in which he averaged 19.4 points a game with 4.9 assists and a 31.7 shooting percentage from three last season for Minnesota.
Carr decided to transfer after his coach at Minnesota, Richard Pitinio, was fired after the season. He committed to Texas over offers from Kentucky, Kansas, and Louisville. Carr also seriously considered going overseas to play professionally, according to reports.
Carr brings another proven scorer to the Texas lineup and an above average defender when not being forced to guard bigger, longer guards.
Carr is the final piece to Texas’ offseason puzzle and he made them one of the best teams in the country, and likely one of the most fun teams to watch in the country too. Buckle up for another exciting season in the Big 12 everyone.
