The outlook for Texas basketball's first full season under coach Rodney Terry became significantly rosier Thursday night when Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas committed to the Longhorns. Abmas is ranked No. 2 in the CBS Sports Transfer Rankings after scoring 2,561 points over four seasons at ORU and twice guiding the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Tournament.
A 6-foot-1 guard, Abmas received widespread interest after entering the portal following a 30-5 season for Oral Roberts in which he scored 21.9 points per game while also leading the team in assists at four per contest. His arrival comes as Texas is tasked with replacing lead guard Marcus Carr from a 29-9 team that reached the Elite Eight. Texas also lost former five-star guard Arterio Morris to the transfer portal and should be able to offer a significant role to Abmas when the 2023-24 season begins.
Abmas is a career 38.8% 3-point shooter on 8.8 attempts per game, making him arguably the best volume shooter in college basketball. He ranks 16th all-time for made 3-pointers in Division I men's college basketball and was the two-time Summit League Player of the Year.
Among the other schools Abmas considered were Kansas State and Wichita State after his coach at Oral Roberts, Paul Mills, left to become head coach of the Shockers following ORU's loss to No. 5 seed Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Validation for Rodney Terry
Terry landed the full-time job at Texas after coaching the Longhorns to a 22-8 record and Big 12 Tournament title following the suspension and subsequent firing of former coach Chris Beard. Despite the excellent on-court performance of the Longhorns under his direction, Terry still had to prove he could assemble an elite roster in the cutthroat wold of major college basketball.
Landing Virginia transfer center Kadin Shedrick, a great rim protector, marked a good start earlier this week with the program's transfer class. But securing a player of Abmas' ilk will turn heads. Bits of the program's roster remain unsettled as starting guard Tyrese Hunter and former five-star forward Dillon Mitchell explore the NBA's pre-draft process. But with Hunter expected back, Dylan Disu returning and joining a group of incoming players that includes Abmas, Shedrick and five-star freshman forward Ron Holland, the pieces are starting to come together for Terry's first full season.
Proving it on the big stage
Abmas broke out on the national stage in the 2021 NCAA Tournament when he helped lead No. 15 seed Oral Roberts to a Sweet 16 appearance. He poured in 29 points in a stunning first-round win against No. 2 seed Ohio State before adding 26 in a second-round win over Florida. Even in a Sweet 16 loss against Arkansas, Abmas showed his mettle against high-major competition by scoring 25 points.
Ultimately, there is a strong track record that suggests Abmas' long-range shooting speciality will translate to one of college basketball's toughest conference. He scored 29 against Oklahoma State and 20 against TCU in the 2021-22 season. Though he struggled in games at Saint Mary's and at Houston this past season, those poor performances came against in true road environments against two of the best defenses in the country.
With a better supporting cast around him, Abmas won't need to shoot 15 to 18 times per game like he did over the last three seasons at ORU. He should also be able to split point guard duties with Hunter, which will allow Abmas to play off the ball some and find shots from off-ball screens and other actions.
