Texas Basketball: Early 2015-16 Outlook

For the first time in 17 years, the Texas Longhorns will head into a college basketball season without Rick Barnes at the helm. Barnes, after being let go from Texas, was hired to be the head coach at the other UT, the University of Tennessee, and will leave a legacy as one of the most consistently successful head coaches in the history of the game. For the Longhorns, however, success meant far more than just a trip to the NCAA tournament year after year – they want a national title.

After years of big-name schools trying to steal VCU Rams head coach Shaka Smart, Texas was finally able to pry the former Final Four coach from his long-time team in what could potentially be the most important coaching move in recent college basketball memory. Why? Because not only does Texas boast one of the best recruiting bases in the country, but the Longhorns also return multiple, borderline elite-talent players.

Despite being in arguably the most difficult conference in college basketball, Smart and his new team have the potential to come into the 2015-16 season as immediate competitors in the Big 12.

Isaiah Taylor decided to forgo the NBA to return and play another season, and he will be joined by veteran Longhorns like Javan Felix, Cameron Ridley, Conner Lammert, Prince Ibeh and a plethora of former four-star and five-star recruits. Add these players with the three incoming four-star 2015 recruits and the Longhorns may have the second-most (on paper) talented team in the Big 12.

Based on previous results, however, this team is nowhere near the overall talent level of Big 12 teams like the Kansas Jayhawks, Oklahoma Sooners and Iowa State Cyclones. Fortunately, with the spark of an elite head coach like Smart, these players could easily find their form once again. If that happens, Texas is one of the best teams in the country and could roll their way into at least a share of the Big 12 title.

Like last season, Texas could either be the surprise of the 2015-16 college basketball season or one of the biggest disappointments. Stay tuned to find out which.

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.