Four Point Play: After dismal first half, Tyrese Hunter and Max Abmas lead Texas past St. Edward’s in exhibition
Disjointed defensive rotations, a rebounding deficit, and poor shooting saw the No. 18 Texas Longhorns trail Division II St. Edward’s 39-32 after 20 minutes of play in a Monday night exhibition. The Longhorns’ effort wasn’t close to matching that of the Hilltoppers, who shot 46 percent from the field and from beyond the arc in the first half, all while outrebounding the Longhorns.
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Portions of the struggles from Rodney Terry‘s team could certainly be chalked up to missing post presences Kadin Shedrick and Dylan Disu, plus the low number of minutes a squad featuring seven new scholarship players had sharing the floor together. Of course, SEU’s spirited efforts where a significant portion of the few thousand in attendance were loud and proud Hilltoppers fans played a role. But sloppy offensive play, poor shooting, and lackadaisical defensive rotations occurred often enough for the Longhorns to enter halftime of their exhibition game down seven points.
Things turned around in the second half. Led by double-digit second-half scoring efforts by Tyrese Hunter, Max Abmas, and Dillon Mitchell, the Longhorns played like a top 25 team battling a Lone Star Conference program. Texas scored 52 in the second 20 to SEU’s 24, shot a sizzling 63 percent from the field, and pulled down 22 rebounds to cruise to a 21-point win in the final event of the preseason.
“At halftime, guys buckled down and knew they had to set the tone defensively in the second half,” Terry said postgame. “I thought we did that. We really changed the game with our intensity and we didn’t give those guys separation. No open looks. We did a better job rebounding the basketball as well.
“We were able to get out and play to our strengths where we could get out and run.”
Here are four takeaways from the Longhorns’ scrimmage
As the guards go…
Due to the status of Shedrick and Disu, the Longhorns will rely more on their experienced ball-handlers heavily during the early stages of the season. And of those ball-handlers, Abmas and Hunter will be relied upon the most.
Those two were the straws that stirred the drink for the Longhorns on Monday night, as Hunter scored 22 points and added nine assists in 33 minutes. Abmas tacked on 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting in 37 minutes, but was just 2-for-8 from three-point land. The only other guard to approach double-digit scoring was starting wing Ithiel Horton, who scored nine points on 3-for-7 shooting.
Abmas and Hunter were essential on Monday, especially their play in tandem. The two had to play off each other often as Texas’ small lineup doesn’t boast high-quality ball-handlers with Horton, Mitchell, and Brock Cunningham on the floor.
With Disu and Shedrick out, those two are ready to for an increased responsibility.
“I had fun tonight,” Hunter said. “Me and Max just out there jelling with each other. First one really in the books with each other, but I felt real good out there with him and we just keep learning each other’s game.”
Their play, as it did Monday, will say a lot about the fortunes of the Horns in the early season.
Dillon Mitchell on offense
A significant reason why Mitchell returned to Texas for the 2023-24 campaign was to showcase his abilities on the offensive end of the floor. Last season, Mitchell was likely the sixth or seventh best offensive player on a team that was filled with talent and years of experience.
This season, Mitchell will be given ample opportunity on the offensive end. He was up and down on Monday, but there were flashes of brilliance. That was something even St. Edward’s head coach Andre Cook noticed.
“If he can step out and make that jump shot a little bit more, man oh man. I see he’s working on that part of his game,” Cook said. “He’s a problem, and you can tell the difference from last year to this year. It’s like he has more confidence and more energy to want to score the ball.”
Here’s an almost complete summary of Mitchell’s night on offense:
Converted alley-oopDrew a foul while dribbling in transition, utilizing a smart move to force contactMissed jumperStepped out of bounds in isolation after bringing the ball up the court Cut toward the basket as Cunningham passed it to him in the cornerGood pass out of the lane after receiving an entry passTraveledFouled after earning an offensive reboundDribbled off footConverted alley-oopThrew the ball awayIso fadeaway as seen in the Orange-White gameBreakaway dunkGood up and under on the left low blockBreakaway windmill dunkFastbreak points off a stealPutback miss
Some good, some bad, but that many opportunities rarely, if ever, went Mitchell’s way in a game last season. Plus, Terry said Mitchell was “under the weather” and missed shootaround after pushing through a night and day where he was often vomiting.
“I was just proud of the way he pushed through a little adversity in not feeling well today,” Terry said.
Mitchell finished 7-for-10 from the field and didn’t attempt a three pointer. He also pulled down nine boards, with four of them of the offensive variety, blocked two shots, and added three steals. He turned the ball over four times, but was a positive influence for the Horns and often utilized his lottery level athleticism to impact the game.
Ze’Rik Onyema’s importance
Only one bench player had a positive plus-minus versus St. Edward’s: Ze’Rik Onyema.
The five-out offense, if not for the play of Hunter and Abmas, was disjointed at best for the Longhorns. Once Onyema came in, not only was he able to out-physical and create mismatches against Division II competition, but he also opened up glimpses of the pick-and-roll offense Texas is better-suited for once Disu and Shedrick return to form.
“In practice starting with Z, we’re telling him he’s going to get a lot of opportunities right now be cause the big fellas are trying to get back healthy,” Abmas said. “We’re on him and encouraging him, trying to get him to understand he’s got to bring that inside presence for us night in and night out before those big fellas get healthy.”
When exactly those two will return isn’t fully known. What’s known is Onyema’s status. He’ll be a key cog, and his eight points on 4-for-6 shooting with seven boards, three steals, and an assist helped the Longhorns have a better presence on the glass and defend the rim better than it had when Cunningham or Hunter was playing at the five.
“We need Ze’Rik to come in, give us that physicality running the floor, being physical on both ends of the floor,” Terry said. “I thought he did a really nice job of that.”
Odds and ends
Chris Johnson played one minute before he rolled his ankle and hopped to the bench. Terry had no update on him other than that he rolled his ankle.
Outside of Abmas, Hunter, and Cunningham, Texas was 13-for-27 from the field, a strong 48 percent. However, Texas was not great from beyond the arc, with the team combining to shoot 7-for-23 from deep. Abmas took the most the perimeter shots with eight but converted only two of them. Hunter was 3-for-4 from distance.
“We just need to play with more urgency, sit down, and really try to guard these guys and take away open looks,” Terry said.
The Longhorns allowed SEU to go 15-for-33 in the first half. Coming out of the break, the Hilltoppers missed their first eight shots thanks to cooling down and also to better defensive rotations from the Longhorns.
Texas opens the season on November 6 versus Incarnate Worde in the Moody Center.
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