Official visit preview: Texas commit Hamm and close friend Febres
When football season arrives, it means basketball season isn’t too far behind. But also, it means a key recruiting period for college coaches is beginning – official visits.
Already, the Longhorns have proven an official visit can make a huge impact. Very shortly after visiting Texas, four-star big man Jericho Sims became Texas’ second commitment of the 2017 class. This weekend, the Longhorns will again try to make that kind of impact when they host a key, priority guard target from the Lone Star State. And when they do so, they’ll have the advantage of one of their commitments being able to play the role of key recruiter.
THE VISITORS
ROYCE HAMM
Position – Forward, combo-forward
Rivals.com national overall ranking – No. 115 overall, four-star
Size - 6-7, 200 pounds
School – Benjamin Davis (Aldine, Houston)
AAU team – Nike Pro Skills Elite (Nike/EYBL circuit)
Twitter handle - @R0v_ce1
The skinny – The Longhorns offered Hamm pretty quickly after Shaka Smart was hired, and stayed on him consistently. They were able to get him on campus in 2015 and 2016, and prioritized the bouncy, 6-7 forward early. For their efforts, the Longhorns were rewarded with a commitment on June 1st, and all Hamm has done since is continue to prove as a player.
READ: Hamm becomes Texas' first 2017 commitment
Prospect Breakdown – Hamm is an ideal fit for what Smart wants to do at Texas. Not only can he really run the floor, he plays with the kind of energy and toughness Texas looks for. In high school and grassroots action, Hamm has proven willing to do the little things as a big, but has also proven to be able to put in the work to develop his skill, which improved noticeably when we saw him in late April of this year compared to last seeing him in July of 2015. Even from April until late July, when OB saw him in Las Vegas, Hamm’s skill and confidence continued to trend positively. He was confident and skilled enough to put the ball on the floor from the wing, use a spin move in the paint, and get a bucket. And he was also confident enough to shoot the three when open.
An ideal four-man for Texas is someone that can knock down and shoot spot-up jumpers from three with confidence at a decent clip or better, competes on the glass with athleticism and energy, runs the floor hard, has the skill to facilitate offense. Plus, the Longhorns really value prospects that can defend multiple positions, especially forwards that can switch on to smaller players in a pick-and-roll situation or hold their own in the paint.
He’s a talented prospect with a high ceiling that looks like a perfect fit for what Texas wants in a forward. Adding a prospect like Hamm - that projects to be likely a four-year player with room for improvement and is a fit - is vital to a program. And Hamm is the kind of player that will compliment what should be a large 2017 recruiting class for Texas. At Texas down the road, he probably settles in to the role Connor Lammert played this past season, but with much better defense ability against fours that can put it on the floor and wings and more athleticism.
OB in-person look – 2016 Las Vegas Fab 48 (two games); 2016 EYBL session one in Brookyln (two games), 2015 Las Vegas Classic, The Eight (two games); 2015 EYBL session in Houston (three games)
JASE FEBRES
Position – Guard, wing
Rivals.com national overall ranking – No. 63 overall, four-star
Size - 6-5, 180 pounds
School – Westfield (Spring)
AAU team – Texas Pro (Adidas circuit)
Twitter handle - @JFeb_2
The skinny – In April during the beginning of the AAU season, Febres held just on scholarship offer, and during the first evaluation periods, he dealt with injuries. So when he entered July, the Houston native was almost a complete unknown. That didn’t last long after he scored 26 points, and shot 7-of-8 from three at an Adidas event during the first July evaluation period. Shaka Smart was in attendance for that game. The solid performances continued to roll in, and it became abundantly clear the 6-5 guard was definitely a high-major talent.
Immediately, the attention from coaches picked up, and the offers started to roll in, especially after the final July evaluation period. Soon, Febres went from one offer to about five, and then the list exploded to well over 15.
In early August, Febres started to take a few unofficial visits, made an initial cut, and he then released a top five in the middle of August – Houston, Texas, Baylor, Stanford and Texas A&M. This past weekend, he took an official visit to Houston, his first of the cycle, and he has visits planned to Stanford and Baylor the next two weeks, respectively.
It would be a surprise if a decision didn’t come before the first signing period, which begins November 9th and ends November 16th. Each time we’ve spoken with Febres, he’s maintained the value of finding the right fit in two ways – the “family” feel at a program, and also how he fits as a player. Specifically, Febres is looking for a place where he can compete for playing time early, and also be used in multiple ways as a guard. Texas, according to Febres in our War Room update, checks the box for the former, and a main purpose of his official visit is to learn in more detail about the second.
Who Febres is on campus with this weekend could play a pivotal role for Texas because he and Hamm – more detail in our story from early August - are very close. Hamm is definitely working on Febres to join him at Texas. Behind the scenes, it sounds like, right now, Texas’ main competition is Houston, although Baylor is a main school in the picture as well. Take this quote from an update prior to a Texas unofficial visit in August:
“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.”
But if Febres likes the details the Longhorns give him about his potential fit, they could emerge as the leader in this recruitment, especially with Hamm working in their favor. The Longhorns prioritized the 6-5 guard early, and turned up the heat as quick as anyone in the recruitment. There’s no doubt he’s one of Texas’ top targets.
Join the discussion about Febres and Texas hoops recruiting by going Inside the 40 Acres
Prospect Breakdown – What Febres does that immediately catches everyone’s attention is shoot the rock from deep. At 6-5 with length, he gets his shot off very quick, and is a threat to shoot from anywhere. Young players can often slack when it comes to being shot-ready or setting their feet, but Febres has a uniquely impressive ability to constantly set his feet, become balanced, and pull the trigger quickly. After torching the nets the second weekend of July in South Carolina, Febres followed that by shooting 41-percent from three-point range (16-of-39) at the Adidas Summer Championships.
That being said, Febres is more than just a shooter. Like most snipers that are encouraged to fire away from three if they’re open for just a split-second, Febres doesn’t put the ball on the floor as often as he could. But when he does, the Houston native shows legitimate ability as a slasher and attacker that can not only finish in the paint or at the rim, but also shows the ability to find an open teammate. Febres doesn’t hesitate to push the ball up the floor to teammates, or move it around in the half-court when he's not open. The perimeter level scoring gets all the attention, but there is a little facilitator and definitely some three-level scoring ability in Febres’ game.
Febres recently turned 17, and there’s a lot of room for growth not just as a player, but physically as well. Already 6-5, Febres could easily end up 6-6, or maybe even 6-7. He’s not afraid to compete on the glass, and uses his athleticism and size to grab rebounds. In time, Febres has the size, length, and athleticism to defend multiple positions in college.
OB in-person look – Adidas Summer Championships in Las Vegas (two games)