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Sunday, Rodney Terry had a marquee day as the head coach of Texas basketball, landing two major front court pieces: Dylan Disu (returned to college) and Kadin Shedrick (transferred in from Virginia).

Kadin Shedrick, a rim-finishing big man (6.3 points, 5.6 rebounds), played the five for the Virginia Cavaliers this season. Unfortunately, UVA was a team that had an absolutely brutal first-round loss to 13-seed Furman after an incomprehensible cross-court throw that got intercepted, resulting in a buzzer-beater to send the fourth-seeded Cavaliers home. It was a tough end to an otherwise pretty successful season for Tony Bennett, a defensive mastermind whose Pack Line Defense led them to a national title in 2019.

The fact that Shedrick started as a player for one of the best defensive minds in the nation is a good indicator about his abilities as a defensive stopper. A player comp for Shedrick would basically be a taller version of former Longhorn center Christian Bishop, who stood at just 6'7. Shedrick stands at 6'11, and helps solve some of the size issues Texas has faced over the last couple of years.

A guy with a ton of inside ability, Shedrick will be an immediate plug-and-play starter for Texas next season, and will probably average more minutes in Austin than he did in Charlottesville (17.5 minutes/game last season).

Let's get into some tape on Kadin Shedrick.

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Per 40 minutes, Shedrick averaged 3.3 blocks per game, getting a lot of his blocks when rotating over as a help defender. Watch below as he cycles over to stop the dribble penetration, perfectly anticipating the offensive player's movement before stuffing the attempt. His defensive awareness fully on display, Shedrick also demonstrates pretty fluid movement, backpedaling to match the driver's pace before meeting him at the rim.

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This next clip is another example of Shedrick's ability on his feet, as he is not a stiff big who relies solely on size to play defense.

Watch him rotate over and again demonstrate his timing with the clean block on the driver. His anticipation is impressive, not just in the sense that he blocks the ball, but in the way he reacts to the dribble penetration by leaving his man at the last second, like my sophomore homecoming date.

He has the physical range to recover defensively – he has a penchant for rejections, like me my sophomore year of high school. His athleticism is underrated, and as I said earlier, he has pretty good coordination and fluidity to his body. It's impressive for a guy his size to be able to move this way, and as I'll get to later, this athleticism is advantageous on the offensive end with pick-and-roll lob threats as well as put-back dunks and other close shots.

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Another clip, another block by Kadin Shedrick on the help defense. This GIF helps illustrate why having a player like this is so important; as you can see, the ball handler beats the UVA perimeter defender off the dribble with a quick first step, but is still unable to put points on the board.

By the time he reaches halfway into the paint, he's passed up his man, and has a chance to get a good look at the rim on a layup or possible dunk opportunity. Enter Kadin Shedrick, who reaches across the lane to block the lay-in attempt, swatting the ball into the hands of another Cavalier defender.

He's truly an elite defensive center who can affect games completely from the five spot; the Longhorns finally have a bonafide killer rim protector, something they've lacked in the past couple of seasons. A guy like Shedrick also works beautifully next to a more scoring-focused power forward in Dylan Disu, as Shedrick can help shoulder the load as far as rebounding and interior defense go.

Throw in the number two recruit in the country in Duncanville combo forward Ronald Holland, arguably the best rebounder in the entire 2023 class, and you have a team that can be relentless on the boards.

The Big XII, as we all know, is about as physical a conference as you'll find, so being able to attack the glass in the way I think Texas will be able to in 2023 will be absolutely vital to the conference race.

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Another aspect of Shedrick's game on the defensive end is occasionally getting steals, usually reading entry passes and picking them off before they get to the intended recipient.

Watch below as Shedrick intercepts the pass to the Virginia Tech big, knocking it away right into the hands of one of his teammates, which eventually leads to a fast break. That is one of the benefits of having a defensive stopper: live-ball turnovers that lead to transition points on the other end.

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Here are a couple more examples of Shedrick's ability to swat the ball away on pass attempts.

In the first part of the clip, Shedrick gets in great position to affect the pass inside, playing between the ball and offensive player, which works because of the help defense on the other side. This means that if he gets beat on the steal attempt, he has a backup in between the offensive player and the basket to contest the shot.

This is part of the Pack Line Defense created by Tony Bennett; his players are always in the best position to defend a driver, whether that's covering up the man in the post to prevent a dump-off or just cutting off the ball handler before he gets a good look.

In the second part of the clip, Shedrick helps another UVA defender double the offensive player. Shedrick knocks the ball off of his man's leg, creating a turnover for the Cavaliers.

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I've shown you quite a bit of Shedrick's rim protection, so it's time to demonstrate the other big part of his game, which is his ability to score within five feet of the basket. Standing at 6'11 with an even bigger wingspan (claims online are unsubstantiated, but rumors are 7'2-7'4), Shedrick is a threat on put-back dunks as well as lobs, and is a decent screener and roller.

Watch the clip below of how he uses his size to get in position on the put-back dunk. Watch how he fights for the board surrounded by three opposing players. He lines himself up with the basket, putting himself in perfect position to finish the play. Two points for the 'Hoos.

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Shedrick's stats from a shooting perspective inside are about as impressive from an efficiency standpoint as possible – he averages 1.29 points per shot on attempts inside five feet, putting him in the 96th percentile in the country in such shots.

Watch the set-up here for the shot: Shedrick engages in an off-ball pick-and-roll action. He sets the screen for Reece Beekman, freeing him up to catch the pass from the point guard. In the meantime, Shedrick rolls to the basket, and Beekman sets him up beautifully for the lob jam. Basket for the Cavaliers.

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Watch below how Shedrick sets another off-ball screen that leads to a roll to the basket and an easy lob over the top. After setting the screen, both defenders swarm the ball handler, leaving Shedrick with a wide-open path to the hoop, and an easy pass for the flush gives Virginia two points here.

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Overall, Shedrick is a rim protector and rim finisher with size, something Texas has been without. The amount of complaints on OB about lacking a big presence in the middle can now end, as Shedrick's 6'11 frame leaves no room for criticism about Rodney Terry's ability to recruit bigs.

The front court for Texas next season looks pretty impressive: Kadin Shedrick, Dylan Disu, Ronald Holland will probably all start for the Longhorns this coming season, three players that can all rebound, defend, and score close to the. basket. Each player has different strengths of course, which makes the front court more versatile than it has been in the past.

A team that struggled in the front court occasionally over the last two years, Texas has given itself a very impressive group of bigs to go to battle in conference play.

Now if they just land some scoring, this Texas team looks to be pretty solid in the 2023-24 season.

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@KeenanWomack on Twitter.