Newfaces settle in amid virus-tinged year
AUSTIN — There’s a shock of dark hair hiding beneath Shaka Smart’s cap, another surprise in a year full of them. The follicles have been sprouting sincemarch, when the COVID-19 pandemic stole the rest of the 2019-20 college hoops season.
But on Thursday, Smart didn’t feel like showing off the fuzz atop his typically clean-shaven head.
“I didn’t domy hair this morning,” he said.
Smart’s new look isn’t the only thing different about Texas basketball this year.
The Longhorns lost assistant Jai Lucas to Kentucky and Luke Yaklich to Illinois-chicago. Smart replaced them by promoting director of men’s basketball operations Cody Hatt and hiring SMU associate head coach K.T. Turner.
“Cody, he’s been phenomenal with his level of alignment,” Smart said. “Howmuch of a servant he’s been to our coaching staff and our players and his work ethic. And, quite frankly, his ability to help the playersmove forward on and off the court.
“And K.T. Turner’s been here for a few weeks. We really feel good about what he’s bringing to our program. He’s got phenomenal experience, the different places he’s been the guys that he’s worked with.”
There’s also a fascinating oneand-done freshman now walking around campus. In late April, Vandegrift star Greg Brown III became one of the most glamorous signings of the Smart era, and the 6-foot-9, five-star forward might be the missing piece that propels the Longhorns to their first NCAA Tournament win since 2014.
“He’s someone that is not afraid to work hard,” Smart said. “He’s a guy that I think is fun to be around from the standpoint of teammates, and just has a really good spirit to him.
“I think the biggest thing for
Greg is learning that whatever it is that you’re going after, whether it’s being the best player on the court today or whether it’s more of a long-term goal or whether it’s improving in a specific area or whether it’s something off the court, no one else can want that for you more than you.”
Adding a couple new coaches and one potentially programaltering player makes for an unusual season. But playing amid the backdrop of a global pandemic, the same one that canceled this past season, adds another complex layer of challenges, especially if one of your players is immunocompromised.
Redshirt junior Andrew Jones is a leukemia survivor who didn’t complete chemotherapy until last September. Unlike most of his peers, Jones carries amuch higher risk of becoming ill as a result of COVID-19.
“One of our cultural principles from the beginning has been, ‘Everything we do is a domino,’ ”
Smart said. “That’s never been more applicable than today. Every guy on our team needs to understand the impact that they have on each other, and that they have on Andrew, and that they have on our coaching staff.”
Injured Longhorns are making progress
Both senior guard Jase Febres and sophomore wing Donovan Williams are recovering from offseason knee surgery.
Febres has not yet been cleared to go full speed and remains “a ways away.” He appeared in 23 games as a junior and averaged 9.3 points per game before being shut down because of injury.
Williams is closer to a full return and could soon be cleared for five-on-five. As a freshman, he appeared in 26 games and averaged 3.3 points .
Andrew Jones (hip) also could be cleared to go full speed and full contact by next week.
“Jase’s recovery is taking a little bit longer than the doctor originally thought,” Smart said. “It was amicrofracture surgery, so those are legitimate, serious surgeries that take time. (Donovan) looks greatmoving around. In fact, he looks a lot better than he did last year moving around. So it’s just a matter of him continuing to progress with relearning how to run and jump at full speed and full aggressiveness.”
Senior center Jericho Sims (back) and junior forward Gerald Liddell (back) have been cleared to return to play. Both dealt with stress fractures last year, limiting Sims to 24 games and Liddell to 15.
Sims averaged 9.7 points. Liddell averaged 4.4 points.
“Sometimes with back stuff, it can be nagging or it can be ongoing,” Smart said. “Our priority is making sure long-term those guys are OK and move in the right direction.”