Texas basketball signs transfer Jayson Kent. What does it mean for the Longhorns?

Texas basketball finally dipped its toe in the portal pool Sunday with a commitment from former Indiana State wing Jayson Kent.

Kent, a 6-foot-8 junior, will play his fifth collegiate season at Texas after previous stops at Bradley and Indiana State. This past season, Kent started 37 of the Sycamores’ 38 games and averaged 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds in 30.3 minutes a game while helping Indiana State reach the finals of the NIT Tournament.

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How does Jayson Kent fit in with Texas?

On paper, he looks like a plug-and-play guy at the small forward spot. He grew up in the suburban Chicago enclave of Oak Forest and is a late bloomer who didn’t get much recruiting attention coming out of high school. He only played 9.9 minutes a game as a freshman at Bradley but blossomed as a sophomore before transferring to Indiana State.

With good length and athleticism, Kent will give Texas some defensive versatility. He’s also a player who has worked his way into becoming an effective shooter; he only attempted 82 3-pointers a game this past season but shot 36.6% from behind the line, and he also converted 83.7% of his free throws. Overall, Kent shot 63.9% from the floor in the 2023-24 campaign.

Texas has some available minutes at the wing since Brock Cunningham graduated and Devon Pryor is a developing sophomore who only saw 25 minutes of action this past season. Texas coach Rodney Terry often used a three-guard lineup featuring a rotation of Max Abmas, Tyrese Hunter, Chendall Weaver and Ithiel Horton this past season. The presence of Kent will give Texas a true wing, which will help ease the loss of graduates Abmas and Horton. In addition, the Texas backcourt will get bolstered by the arrival of McDonald's All-American Tre Johnson, a 6-6 guard who can also play multiple positions on the perimeter.

More portal news to come for coach Rodney Terry?

Texas has only lost little-used guards Chris Johnson and Gavin Perryman as well as backup forward Alex Anamekwe to the portal, but the team did miss out on incoming freshman Cam Scott, a 4-star guard who received his release from his letter of intent to play at Texas last week.

Terry and his staff hosted Kent and former Indiana State teammate Julian Larry this weekend, and they are hosting former Oregon State guard Jordan Pope this upcoming week.