Longhorns Could Have An Even Bigger 2022 NBA Draft
If you thought the Texas Longhorns did well in the 2021 NBA Draft, look ahead to 2022 and you can see some significant potential.
We’re not JUST talking about guards Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey, the holdovers from the Shaka Smart regime who are two of the elite returning guards in the Big 12 entering this season. New head coach Chris Beard has assembled a roster that is high on talent that NBA scouts will take great interest in for the 2022 NBA Draft and beyond, even though it doesn’t look like it on paper right now.
For instance, NBADraftRoom.com already has a 2022 NBA Mock Draft up, and you’ll find one Longhorn on the list — new forward Timmy Allen, who just transferred in from Utah. But you REALLY have to scroll to find him, as he’s ranked No. 139 overall. As a reminder, there are only 60 picks in the NBA Draft.
CBSSports.com has its own way-too-early mock draft, but it’s only one round and it’s just the lottery picks (Nos. 1-14).
NBADraft.net had some love for new Longhorns guard Christian Bishop, as the site’s first 2022 Mock Draft has Bishop going No. 54 overall to Milwaukee.
READ MORE: Former Longhorn Jarrett Allen Reaches Five-Year, $100 Million Extension With Cavaliers
Texas fans shouldn’t be discouraged by the fact that way-too-early mocks and player rankings don’t have a Texas flavor yet. At this time last year, they didn’t have much of a Texas flavor, either, and three forwards — Kai Jones, Greg Brown, and Jericho Sims — heard their names called on draft night last week.
Jones was outside the Top 100 prospects last year. But, thanks to his play, his NBA-ready height, and the progress he made in his game, he played his way into a near-lottery pick in one year’s time. Jaxson Hayes did the same thing as a true freshman a couple of years ago. So did Mo Bamba.
Brown was probably considered a Top 100 prospect NBA last year, even though he hadn’t played a college game yet. He was a Top 10 high school prospect, like No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham (who was No. 1 overall). He played his way into a second-round pick.
Sims was another lightly thought of prospect at this time last year, even though he had three years in the UT program. But after a second straight strong season in Austin, and a tremendous NBA Scouting Combine performance, Sims slipped into the second round.
That’s a good draft for any college program. In fact, Texas was one of just a few programs with three or more players drafted.
READ MORE: Texas Ranks No. 12 In SI All-American's Latest 2022 Recruiting Rankings
But, how could it potentially be better next year, even if the way-too-early lists suggest otherwise?
Start with Jones and Ramey. Jones opted to not go through the NBA Draft process. But scouts likely would tell him to bulk up a bit and improve his 3-point shot (33.8 percent last year). He'll generate more interest if he can do that and grow his team-leading 14.6 points per game from last season. Ramey went through the process and got his report card. Scouts probably want to see him build on last year’s 12.2 points per game and show he can assume a full-time point guard role with Matt Coleman III gone.
But these new guys? Well …
Bishop averaged 11 points and 6.4 rebounds last year for Creighton. Joining Texas will give him a chance to prove himself at a high-major level. Allen has already done that, having averaged 17.2 points and 6.4 rebounds for Utah last year. The 6-foot-6 forward will likely rise up draft boards with a good season at Texas, and he’ll get plenty of opportunities with last year’s frontcourt now in the NBA. The same goes for Dylan Disu, who averaged 15 points at Vanderbilt last year, and Tre Mitchell, the 6-foot-9 transfer from UMass who averaged 18.8 points and 7.2 rebounds last season.
In the backcourt, Jones and Ramey will be pushed by Marcus Carr, who comes to Texas from Minnesota after averaging 19.4 points last year. Like Ramey, he went through the draft process but returned. Devin Askew also comes to Texas from Kentucky after scoring 6.5 points per game last year. But he was a five-star, Top 25 player coming out of high school. The NBA will take a hard look at him, too.
If you’re thinking to yourself, ‘There’s only one ball to go around,’ you’d be right. Not everyone on this roster will maintain what they did last season. But, it’s not all about scoring when it comes to identifying NBA talent. Consider that none of the three Longhorns who were drafted last week averaged 10 points in a single season. Scouts are looking for more than that.
And Beard’s made-over roster is likely to give NBA scouts an eyeful next season.
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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.