Texas basketball’s offseason makeover keeps rolling, and Wednesday offered a clear look at two newcomers who could matter a lot once the games start counting.
Inside the Longhorns’ practice facility, with weights clanging and Lil Baby in the background, Sean Miller’s second season is creeping closer. Texas made two of its five transfers available to the media - swingman Amari Evans and forward Elyjah Freeman - while returning big man Matas Vokietaitis also spoke, giving the first real glimpse of a roster that looks very different from a year ago.
Evans arrived in Austin with a familiar face already attached to his path. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound wing nearly committed to Miller when the coach was at Xavier, back when Evans was coming out of high school as a 247Sports four-star recruit.
"I was this close," Evans said while bringing his fingers together to nearly touch in emphasizing how close he came to pledging to the Musketeers.
That near miss wasn’t the only connection. Evans and Miller are both Pittsburgh, Pa. natives, and Evans said that shared background matters.
"Yeah, there aren't too many of us who come out of the city and hoop, so that bonds us for sure," Evans said.
His freshman year at Tennessee wasn’t flashy on the surface - 4.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and one steal in 14.2 minutes per game - but the underlying numbers hint at more. Per 40 minutes, Evans produced 11.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.7 steals, which helps explain why Texas sees him as a player whose impact can stretch well beyond the box score. The expectation now is that he’ll play more and bring a defensive edge.
Freeman’s story is a little different, but just as striking. The 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward came to Texas from Auburn, where he had 10 points, three rebounds and two steals in the Tigers’ 88-82 win over the Longhorns last season. Before that, though, his path to major college basketball was a grind.
Coming out of Wellington High School in Palm Beach, Fla., Freeman had no Division I offers and signed with Lincoln Memorial University at 175 pounds. He played last season at around 190 with Auburn, and now Texas wants him continuing that upward climb.
"My biggest goal this offseason was to put on weight," said Freeman.
He knows the jump into SEC play, too, and that experience shapes how he sees his role.
"Being able to put on the weight and muscle and then just pushing everyone to try and get to our goals," Freeman said. "I played a year in the SEC already, so I get how it goes after January. You have to be able to survive conference play."
Vokietaitis, meanwhile, is back after a season that firmly established him as one of the league’s better big men. The seven-footer from Lithuania averaged 15.6 points per game, second on the team, and he scored in double figures in all but five of Texas’ 36 games.
But the sting from last season’s Sweet 16 exit still lingers. Texas was tied with Purdue at 77 with 11.7 seconds left in regulation when Vokietaitis was on the bench for a defensive possession. Braden Smith drove and missed, but Trey Kaufman-Renn’s putback tip-in ended the Longhorns’ run.
"I can't remember how long it took me, but of course I was sad for a good portion of time," Vokietaitis said.
"We made March Madness and we played really good in March Madness until that game, so it was painful."
The newcomers also brought a little personality with them. Evans said he used to play wide receiver and cornerback before fully committing to basketball, and he laughed when asked about his football dreams.
"Man, I was trying to be Julio Jones," Evans joked.
Freeman, for his part, played baseball and basketball before focusing entirely on hoops. And when the topic turned to pregame music, Evans had a clear answer.
"NBA Youngboy is who I have to listen to before every game, he's the best out right now," said Evans.
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