Shaka Smart again met with the local media today, and the Texas head coach again reiterated a group of six players has separated from the rest during preseason.

“We're still kind of figuring out what makes the most sense for us in terms of starting lineup,” said Smart who joked about telling the opposing coach to start his best six so he could start his. “But Andrew Jones, Courtney Ramey, Matt Coleman, that group of three guards, and then Jericho Sims, Kai Jones and Greg Brown. Those guys have played the best in practice. They’ve made the biggest impact on winning in practice. We've certainly had some other guys that have done some really good things but those are six guys that have had a very good six weeks to start practice.”

More importantly, Smart indirectly provided evidence about the season’s upcoming rotation plan. While the Texas head coach is excited, fairly so, about the team’s talented depth, he mentioned we might not even see some guys some nights despite their ability and their offseason improvement.

“The reality for our team is there's going to be guys on our team that have made progress and are making progress. And that may or may not be seen in a given game,” responded Smart as part of a long answer when asked about Will Baker’s development and where he is. “And if you think about it, the ideal if you have 13 guys on your team is that everyone is a better player than they were the game before or the year before. But you don't always have the opportunity to see that, because what you're trying to do when you go out there and on the floor is put the five guys in there that gives you the best chance to win in that moment.”

Last year, UT’s depth ended up being tested because of injury. This year, it could be injuries, COVID-19 or other reasons. So, Smart and his staff remain diligent in encouraging players to focus on growth because the guys we might not see much early in the season are probably going to be needed at some point...

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