Texas Basketball: Is UT's Freshman Trio Among the Nation's Best?

Texas Longhorns freshmen Myck Kabongo, Jonathan Holmes and Sheldon McClellan have come together in their first year to produce one of the most cohesive groups of freshman in the entire country. 

When Texas was bounced in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, Longhorn faithful knew that they would be losing a large percentage of their offensive production to the NBA and most believed that the team would struggle to make the tournament in 2012.

That’s when Rick Barnes made his mark on the recruiting trail.

Myck Kabongo was the 11^th overall player according to ESPN and the No. 2 ranked point guard, while Holmes and McClellan were also Under Armour Top 100 recruits for head coach Rick Barnes.

With Kabongo at the point, he’s been able to average nearly six assists per game while adding 10.0 points per game.

Holmes and McClellan both also average around 10 points per game and both see between 22 and 25 minutes per contest.

Statistically, the trio accounts for 40 percent of Texas’ total points, but what I’ve been more impressed with is the Texas trio's development on the court.

After starting the season with two losses in their first four games Texas has reeled off seven consecutive wins until falling to North Carolina. Included in the streak was an impressive 12-point win against Temple, in which Kabongo netted 18 points, three assists and five rebounds.

When you talk about freshman classes that are currently having success, the obvious conversation leads with Kentucky, Connecticut and what Austin Rivers is doing over at Duke. However, Texas has gone seemingly unnoticed because they don’t have the big-name players like they’ve had in the past.

While the individual play of Texas’ phenomenal freshman may not catch the attention of SportsCenter the way an Anthony Davis, Ryan Boatright or Austin Rivers would, they are leading the Longhorns to victories.  That’s what matters in the end.

This group of freshman doesn’t do it the flashy way, but the core that Barnes has put together is only going to get better. Considering that they’re off to a 9-3 start to the season, one has to wonder how good they'll become in February and March.

Texas opens up their Big 12 schedule at Iowa State on January 4^th.