Shaka Smart sends loud message with addition of Mohamed Bamba

Jarrett Allen is gone to the NBA, but Mohamed Bamba has next at Texas.

This Thursday will be one that the recruiting industry and Texas fans won’t forget after a single tweet stunned followers. Shaka Smart sent the message loud-and-clear this morning when Bamba, the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit in the 2017 class, announced his commitment to Texas via his own story published by the Player’s Tribune: with the Texas brand behind him, he can recruit anyone, anywhere and against anybody.

Texas is now able to replace the hole Allen left – unsurprisingly, Bamba specifically cited Allen’s development at Texas playing into his decision - in the frontcourt with a skilled seven-footer that will immediately be a game-changer on defense thanks to his rare body control, agility, instincts, and 7-9 wingspan. Bamba, a native of Harlem, New York, will also add what Texas has wanted more of: competitiveness and a winning attitude.

Smart and Bamba first developed a relationship around the time Smart coached the five-star big as a member of the USA U18 team. From there, a friendly relationship turned into a friendly relationship as part of a recruitment, a recruitment Smart went all-in on. He made trips to Bamba's school, the Westtown School in Westtown, Pennsylvania, and visited Bamba and his family in New York. While many others wrote off the Longhorns, they landed an official visit in late October the same weekend as eventual Texas signee Matt Coleman took his, made Bamba's final four, and kept building on a unique connection recruit and coach, recruit and staff, recruit and team and recruit and city. True to his words, Bamba was looking for more than just basketball; he was looking to make a unique impact on and off the court, and to be more than just another guy.

Bamba’s skill and game fit well into the frontcourt as it relates to the other pieces around him. Both he and redshirt junior Dylan Osetkowski can play inside or outside, and Bamba, who displayed solid touch in the mid-range and at the free throw line when we saw him up close at USA Basketball and in EYBL games, is going to be able to eventually stretch his offensive game farther and farther from the paint. Texas wants to work through its bigs on offense, and now it added the best big man in the country that possesses the potential to do a variety of things on offense, things he’ll have the freedom to do at Texas much like Allen did before him.

Because of his rare length and ability to move laterally, Bamba and sophomore James Banks could combine to produce one of the most intriguing, rim-protecting and rebounding frontcourts in the Big 12, and perhaps college basketball. Regardless of who is on the floor, Bamba has the potential to be the nation’s best rim-protector, and can anchor any style of defense; defensively, he’ll be an immediate game-changer the moment he arrives on campus.

For Smart, Bamba’s commitment signals that he’s now positioned to put 11-22 behind him. Far behind him. Smart knows he needs to win basketball games, and the recruiting class, his first with a fully cycle to recruit, he’s assembled is as strong of a response to a bad season as a response can be. In fact, the 2017 Texas recruiting class will go down as one of the best ever on the 40 Acres. Smart has powerfully propelled the program, his program, in the right direction following an awful transition season, and he's ready to make his mark at Texas. The time to do that is now, and Smart, clearly, is aware.

WAY-TOO-EARLY PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

PG – Matt Coleman (freshman)
G – Andrew Jones (sophomore; projecting a return)
G/W – Kerwin Roach, Jr. (junior)
F – Dylan Osetkowski (redshirt junior)
F – Mohamed Bamba (freshman)

BENCH: Eric Davis, Jr. (junior), James Banks (sophomore), Jase Febres (freshman), Jericho Sims (freshman), Jacob Young (sophomore), Royce Hamm (freshman)

Texas now has a dynamic roster. It boasts athleticism, skill, versatility, depth, and most importantly, some experience.