Projecting Texas Basketball Starting Five vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

Texas Longhorns men’s basketball is tipping off its 2024-25 season Monday in Las Vegas against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Arkansas transfer guard Tramon Mark “day-to-day” as he deals with an ankle injury. When healthy, he’s a no-doubt starter but we’re going to estimate the starting lineup with the assumption he doesn’t play against the Buckeyes.

We think the Longhorns will go small to combat the elite guard play of the Buckeyes. Here’s our projections:

The purest point guard on the team, Larry’s experience and versatile ability will make it hard for head coach Rodney Terry and staff to bring him off the bench often. But if Mark plays, Larry could be the sixth man on the roster, joining Chendall Weaver as the team’s most important non-starters.

Pope is more of a shooting guard than a true point guard but he’s got the experience and ability to initiate the offense well if he does end up starting at the 1. It’s hard to see Pope coming off the bench to begin the season given the scoring ability he possesses. He averaged 17.6 points at Oregon State last season.

While Johnson isn’t considered a forward, he’s got the length to play in that “3” spot if Texas goes small. Johnson reportedly played well during both of the team’s closed scrimmages, including a 31-point performance in the win over Colorado, per Gerry Hamilton of OnTexasFootball. Johnson will play as a true shooting guard for most of the season but we have him as the “3” for this matchup.

Kent’s ability to stretch the floor while finding his spots and moving without the ball make him an x-factor on offense. Combine this with his 6-8, 215-pound frame, and he’ll soon prove he was one of the more underrated offseason additions for Texas.

Shedrick has had the starting center spot locked up for most of the offseason. Not much to discuss here. He’ll be critical for a Texas team that’s lacking depth in the front court as the season begins.