Projected Starting Lineup
G – A.J. Abrams 5-11 Sr. (35.9 MPG, 16.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG)
G – Justin Mason 6-2 Jr. (32.8 MPG, 7.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG)
F – Gary Johnson 6-6 So. (16.7 MPG, 5.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG)
F – Damion James 6-7 Jr. (31.2 MPG, 13.2 PPG, 10.3 RPG)
C – Connor Atchley 6-10 Sr. (27.6 MPG, 9.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG)

Impact Bench Players
G – Dogus Balbay (DNP – Knee Injury)
F – Alexis Wangmene 6-7 So. (9.8 MPG, 2.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG)
C – Dexter Pittman 6-10 Jr. (6.8 MPG, 2.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG)

Guards
Texas will have to replace its star point guard as D.J. Augustin decided to go pro after his sophomore season, and deservedly so. Fortunately, the two other starters, A.J. Abrams and Justin Mason will return for the Longhorns. Abrams will have a different role this year as he will run the point, which many people have concerns about because he hasn’t done it in some time and isn’t known as a great passer. Nevertheless, he’s a huge 3 point threat and a great defender so his value cannot be understated. Mason is a much quieter player in the offense, but generally very effective when called upon. He’s probably the better passer of the two and may switch off with Abrams to run the point. He will usually look to penetrate to the basket or look for the open man when he is involved. Coming off the bench will be PG Dogus Balbay, a sophomore who missed all of last season due to a knee injury. He came over from a Turkey and was expected to back up Augustin last season.

Forwards
Returning to the starting lineup in the frontcourt for Texas will be forward Damion James and center Connor Atchley. With Augustin gone, they’ll likely add one more forward to the mix with sophomore Gary Johnson. Johnson came off the bench last season, where he did struggle a bit offensively but was a good rebounder. James has to be considered one of the top players in the conference. He led the team with an amazing 10.3 RPG (he’s only 6-7), and he’s also a smart player and quality defender. He can also step outside and shoot the deep ball. Atchley will also step outside and shoot the perimeter shot where he is very accurate, and he’s a good post player and defender, too. Look for the primary guys off the bench to once again be Alexis Wangmene and Dexter Pittman since the Longhorns didn’t bring in much for an incoming class. Pittman looks to be like a pretty good player, both with his offense and post skills so they should get him more involved. Pittman had an okay freshman year where he was pretty quiet on offense, but was helpful for rebounding and defensive purposes.

Final Thoughts
The Big 12 looks to be in a down year, but Texas returns the majority of its team so they are clearly the class of the conference. They will miss D.J. Augustin’s productivity, make no doubt about it, but there’s still enough talent on this squad to be one of the elite teams in the country. You have to be a bit concerned about the defense, because Barnes hasn’t had his teams good in that aspect under his reign. Offensively, they’ll look to bury you with the deep ball with a variety of players, and on defense they’ll challenge you to beat them in the post where they are pretty solid thanks to a lot of size mismatches they’ll create. Overall, they may not be a National Championship Contender, but there’s no reason to think that they can’t duplicate last year’s success.

Links

-Yahoo Texas Team Report