Febres finding his form again
Guard’s touch returns after long recovery from microfracture knee surgery
AUSTIN — Jase Febres hasn’t been right ever since the Texas senior underwent microfracture knee surgery last March.
But the bounce has started to return, and so has the confidence to cut and sprint and rise for feathery jumpers.
And that stroke, smooth and effortless, is a thing of beauty. Febres’ right hand, the release hand, waves to the hoop like it’s an old friend as the ball arcs toward the net. As far as form goes, no one in burnt orange is more pure.
Finally, Febres is getting a chance to display that deeprange prowess again. He played 39 total minutes in No. 15 Texas’ last two games, road wins over Iowa State and No. 16 Oklahoma, finishing with 20 points on 54 percent shooting and six 3pointers on 11 attempts.
“It’s been a complete year now since I got hurt,” Febres said Tuesday after an 81-67 win over the Cyclones. “So, my knee is starting to finally feel back, like kind of getting back to myself, like 95 percent now. From having to relearn how to walk to run to moving on defense, it’s been a long journey. But to finally come back and then being able to go out there and make shots and run and actually like feel athletic again, that’s what the journey is all about.
“We get to celebrate the ending, which is me finally being able to play. But I mean this whole journey, it’s been a good one. It’s built a lot of character for me.”
Texas (16-7, 10-6 Big 12) has pieced together its best season in more than a decade mostly without the aid of Febres, a former four-star recruit out of Westfield High School who ranked No. 7 among in-state prospects when he enrolled in June 2017, per the 247Sports composite rankings. To inject a player of his caliber back into the rotation with tournament season around the corner seems almost unfair, but it appears that’s exactly what’s happening.
“The surgery he had was pretty extensive,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “I think all of us thought that he was going to be able to come back sooner than he did. For whatever reason, it took longer, so that’s been really frustrating for him at times.
“Jase is very polite. Doesn’t rock the boat, doesn’t complain, very mature. But like anyone else, something like that bothered him and frustrated him. It frustrated me as well. So it’s good to see him continue to work his way back. He gives our team another experience guy that understands certain coverages on defense and isn’t necessarily going to make young-guy mistakes.”
Febres has appeared in nine games this season. And he made a grand return in an 82-67 win over Kansas State on Jan. 16.
With Texas down to eight scholarship players because of COVID-19 protocols, Febres was thrust into a debut by acting coach K.T. Turner. He delivered with six points, five rebounds and three assists, plus a pair of athletic chase-down blocks that punctuated the feel-good comeback.
But Febres had been unable to consistently contribute up until these past two games. Now that he’s settling into a groove and overcoming any lingering doubts about the knee, Smart seems likely to utilize the reserve sniper more, starting with Sunday’s regular season finale against TCU (12-12, 5-10) at Schollmaier Arena.
“This is definitely a first step for me,” Febres said. “Starting off with get my confidence back in practice, but the game is a totally different atmosphere. So, now it’s going out there and regaining my confidence. Coach has been putting me in games and let me kind of get my feet wet, but I feel like I can go out there and guard, go out and play how I can play. I’m not 100 percent as far as where I want to be, but I’m definitely making large strides towards getting back to how I was. Or not even how I was, but better.”
Febres played sparingly as a freshman, but appeared in 40 games a sophomore and junior. He shot 144for-386 (37.3 percent) from 3-point range and proved capable of defending out on the perimeter.
Texas ranks second in made 3-pointers per game (8.81) and third in 3-point percentage (35.5 percent) this season. So adding a long-range bomber such as Febres should only serve to make the Longhorns a more devastating offensive threat.
“This Texas team, from the beginning of the year I knew was special,” Febres said. “And that’s what was eating me up the whole year, not being able to be out there with the guys. And now that I’m out here, we’re getting back connected, we’re getting back locked in for tournament time. We’re gonna be ready.”