Coveted power forward JT Toppin, a top Texas basketball portal target, announced his decision to withdraw his name from the NBA draft and sign with Texas Tech on Tuesday, leaving the Longhorns' front office shorthanded despite strengthening their backcourt in the offseason.
Toppin, who was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year last season at New Mexico, would have become the sixth transfer to sign with Texas, which has already bolstered its backcourt with the signings of guard Jordan Pope from Oregon State, Julian Lally from Indiana State, wing Tramon Mark from Arkansas, Jason Kent from Indiana State and Malik Pressley from Vanderbilt.
Now Texas needs to find a big man to complement a guard and wing corps that includes returning Chandal Weaver and freshman Tre Johnson.
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The 6-foot-9 Toppin, a Dallas native, would bring size and production to a guard-heavy rotation when paired with 6-foot-11, 230-pound Kaydin Shedrick, a returning senior in his second season with the Longhorns after averaging 7.7 points and three rebounds in 17.2 minutes last season.
Zelik Onyema, a 6-foot-8 senior, is the only experienced big man on the team. He transferred to Texas in the offseason after playing for head coach Rodney Terry at Texas Tech but only averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. He didn't play more than six minutes per game over the final two months of the season, but Terry and his staff are hopeful his first season at Texas has helped him adjust to Power Five basketball.
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What does the future hold for Texas basketball?
The Longhorns currently have five transfer students on the roster, three returning from last season's 21-13 team and a freshman in Johnson who is likely to see significant playing time. The group does not include freshman forward Nick Cody and little-used sophomore wing Devon Pryor, who also could see playing time. Terry and TX basketball general manager Chris Ogden are still searching for another big man to bolster the Longhorns' paint area, and they have at least two scholarships available.
Players who are in the portal can sign with a school any time before the start of the fall semester, including graduate transfers, which Terry and his staff have made a recruiting priority over the past two seasons.
Texas had to use the transfer portal to revamp its roster after losing four players to graduation and five scholarship players, including two-year starters guard Tyrese Hunter and forward Dillon Mitchell, to the transfer portal in addition to losing former 2024-contract player Cam Scott, who signed with South Carolina after being released from his national letter of intent to play for Texas.
