Tyrese Hunter is a player that helps fill two of the holes from last year's team: athleticism and point guard play. The Longhorns went from a team with below-average athleticism to a team that has some of the most dynamic athletes in the country, something only amplified with the addition of Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter.

An issue for the 2021-22 squad was the inability for many of Texas' players to beat defenders off the dribble; Tyrese Hunter has this ability in spades. Watch below as he goes coast to coast against an elite defense in Texas Tech, using a screen before blowing by Bryson Williams and taking it home for the slam. No Longhorns last year had the ability to consistently do this, let alone do it against one of the top defenses in the Big 12.

Here's another example of Hunter's driving ability. He beats his man to the lane before finishing through contact with a floater that rims off of the glass before dropping. His absorbing the contact shows off a bit of his physicality, despite his 6'1 frame. It reinforces his athletic prowess in the context of getting to the lane at will with a quick first step.

In the following clip, watch Tyrese Hunter as the roll man in a give 'n' go set against Oklahoma State. Hunter feeds his man at the top of the key before using a screen to get past his defender, leaving him wide open in the lane with a standing dunk.

As I've mentioned before, Tyrese Hunter doesn't have great splits from deep (or from the free-throw line), but he has been known to get hot from three in certain games. This is important because it keeps a defense honest, and even if the shot isn't falling, the threat of his shooting can lead to effective pump fakes, like the one below. If he can consistently hit this floater, it opens up the offense so much, especially in switch-everything defenses that are so common in conference.

Here he is again blowing by a defender on a cut to the basket. He takes the defending wing with him, who trails behind him and beats the help defense by rising up and completing the poster. This is the exact type of player that will give the Longhorns the edge athletically (along with Dillon Mitchell and Arterio Morris) , and prevent so many empty possessions of aimless dribbling.

Hunter will, coming in, have the best handles of any player on the team, and he shows off this skillset on this play while guarded by former Texas F/C Tre Mitchell. Watch how he creates space off the dribble by going to his right, crossing left, and getting Mitchell to stumble off, which gives Hunter an easy midrange jump shot with virtually no contest.

An underrated piece of Hunter's game is his defensive awareness, which, combined with his athleticism, makes him one of the better defenders in the conference despite his size. Watch here how he comes in on the trap and forces the steal. His speed plays into account here as well as he beats both men down the court for the finish. He could be a possible gap filler with the loss of Courtney Ramey for a good one-on-one defender and solid help defender due to his lateral quickness.

I've shown clips of his scoring so far, but a primary aspect of his game is his distributing, which is mostly what he's known for, especially in this offense that will desperately need his table setting. Watch here how he finds his man on a backdoor cut. Though the shot attempt is blocked with a great recovery by the Wisconsin big man, Hunter's vision is on display here as he uses a screen to get past his man before delivering a bounce pass in the lane that leads to a near basket.

As I mentioned previously, Hunter's possible threat of shooting threes gives him some room within which to work. Watch here as he fakes the three and gets his defender in the air before finding his man down low. The quick pass into the paint puts his man in a good position near the basket. The help defense goes for the steal and misses, giving the ISU forward an easy shot at the rim, which he converts.

Last but not least, I thought I owed it to Hunter to highlight what it looks like when he goes off shooting threes. Take the LSU game in the tournament in which he scored 23 points on 7/11 from beyond the arc. He added five steals, three assists, and three rebounds as well. His completely dominant performance led the Cyclones to a first-round upset of the sixth-seeded Tigers, and was topped off with this clutch deep three to put their foes away for good.

Given his skills, Hunter will be a day-one starter in an already crowded back court. He was a five-star-rated transfer for a reason, and showed out several times during the regular and postseason. However, expecting him to be a knockdown shooter would be a mistake. Explosive athleticism, good handles, and good court vision are his game – it's good that he is able to get hot from deep and force the opponent to respect it, creating more space for his teammates, but he's not going to do what he did against LSU every game this season. It may take some patience, as it does when new players all join forces, but I think there has been an inarguable upgrade on this roster from last year to this one.