New Texas offer will visit Wednesday, very close with Texas commit Hamm

When the AAU season began, 2017 Westfield (Spring) guard Jase Febres held just one offer. And after dealing with an injury and missing a good portion of the early evaluation periods, Febres remained almost completely under-the-radar. That changed at Spartanburg, South Carolina during the first July evaluation period when a healthy Febres put on a show shooting the basketball at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale.

During one of those games, Febres scored 26 points, and shot a ridiculous 7-of-8 from three-point range. Texas head coach Shaka Smart was at that game, and the Longhorns watched him closely during all the July evaluation periods. The Longhorns have wanted to get Febres on campus for a visit for a while now, and he already planned on taking an unofficial visit this Wednesday. Then, he talked on the phone Saturday with Smart, who caught Febres a little off guard.

“Yeah, I woke up and my friend Royce (Hamm) texted me and he was telling me Texas is a really good school, and talking about them,” Febres said about this past Saturday. “Two minutes later Shaka calls me and he told me... first he was talking to me about how I could fit into the program and how I’ve done well this summer and persevered through some issues. And after that he told me he wanted to officially offer me. I thought he was going to offer me [when I visited] but he called me up earlier.”

Although Febres’ shooting – he followed up a brilliant performance in South Carolina with 16-of-39 (41 percent) from three during the Adidas Summer Championships - caught the attention of Texas and so many other programs, he’s more than just a shooter.

“He was telling me that he already knows I’m a really good shooter. He got to see me in South Carolina, but he was in Chile after that. He said his coaches know I’m not just a shooter and I can put the ball on the floor and do other things,” said Febres about Texas’ message to him. “And he can take my game to the next level. He told me he doesn’t want me just to be a shooter. He said he likes my personality. I’m a smart kid, and I like to work hard and I’m a great teammate.”

Febres’ offer list has exploded since July, and now includes Texas along with recent offers like West Virginia, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Stanford, Washington State, Baylor that join the likes of Houston, Auburn, Kansas State, N.C. State, TCU, and others. He's thrilled about any offer that comes in, especially when you consider the feeling of entering July with just one. However, the Texas one felt a little different.

“I had a feeling it was coming, but it felt really good, kind of more than some other schools. I never dreamt I’d have these top schools calling me and wanting me. Texas is really big. I had a good feeling. A lot of these schools I tell them thank you and try to be professional but I’m jumping for joy,” he said about the reaction to the Texas offer and other recent ones.

The Texas coaching staff has recruited the three-star prospect for a little while before the offer did eventually come, but it has someone else working on its behalf too. Febres, who is listed at 6-5, is very close to Texas 2017 commitment, and another Houston-area product Royce Hamm. Recently, Hamm told Febres that an offer would come.

“Me and Royce have been cool since sixth, seventh grade. We’ve been talking for a long time. Before he even made his decision, I knew he wanted to go Texas. We’re as close as best friends you can almost say,” stated Febres about Hamm. “Before our first AAU teams, we trained together. He told me it (Texas offer) was coming. He knew it was. He told me how much he loves working with me and how we could play together.”

When Febres takes the trip to Austin this Wednesday, he’ll be accompanied by Hamm. It’ll be his first trip to Texas in a long, long time. However, Febres fondly recalls visiting Texas as a kid. And a familiar name on the 40 Acres showed him around.

“When I was first growing up, I was playing baseball and the coach that picked me up I was really close to and he was a huge Longhorn fan. He went to Baylor, but he was a huge Longhorn fan. I was able to go on visits when I was like 8, 9 around that age I went up to Texas and that was when coach Mack Brown was there and showed me around the locker room and the court and weight room,” said Febres. “I was able to go to Baylor also. Those two schools I dreamed about going to. Those are the two… Texas A&M also, but I was a Longhorn growing up so couldn’t mess with A&M too much.”

During his AAU season, Febres and his team visited Baylor, who recently jumped into the mix with an offer as well.

“There are really, really great people. Me and our AAU team took a visit up there and saw the facilities and stuff. There whole coaching staff is really nice. They make you feel like home,” he stated about Baylor.

He went on to discuss some of the other recent offers, including a school he pegged as one he wanted to hear more from before it offered.

“Those are all really nice. Stanford, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Texas Tech. Stanford of course their school just being one of the highest academic places… you get a degree from Stanford, you’re set. It’s cool to have offers from all the big Texas schools. I’ve always watched West Virginia. I had a meeting with my coach [a while back] and I put them on a list I’d like to hear from. They don’t really have a scoring guard. Missouri they’re kind of a same situation. Don’t have a scoring guard and they’re young.”

While on his visit to Texas Wednesday, Febres will have a couple of things on his mind that he’d like to have answered.

“I just want to make sure everything they’re saying is true, how they see me fitting in,” said Febres about what he wants to learn on his Texas visit. “I know they have a lot of high, high major dudes. I don’t want to sit for two years, you know? Me and Royce are both going down there. I want to see how it feels and all of that.”

Very soon after his Texas visit, Febres and his family will depart on a family vacation to Colorado, where they have relatives. During that trip, he plans to stop and see Colorado, but the Buffaloes have yet to offer.

“Colorado I’m going to see next week because I have family out there, and we’re taking a family vacation out there,” he said. “We were going to try to see Baylor this week, but my mom doesn’t want to do all that driving before we leave.”

After that family trip, look for Febres to release a list of schools soon. He also plans on taking official visits during the fall.

“After I see Colorado, so probably next week I’m going to release a top 10,” he said. “Put that out on Twitter. I’m going to talk to my coaches and tell them I’m going to do that. So probably next week.