David Punch

We talked about Arkansas starting.

David Punch or Andrews? J.J.

Andrews.

David Punch is interesting, but he's like a 6'8 post player.

And then he's going to be playing next to Vokeyitis.

Is that how you pronounce his name? I don't know.

You have to play Marcus Spears because Beckham is going to be on campus pretty soon.

So you got to play the Texas kids.

And then I think I'm going to go...

I'm going to go David Punch.

Interesting.

Because I would get three more years of – wait, no.

Oh, no, they might have lost in the Sweet 16.

I apologize, because the NC State game was the... like the 11 playing uh he played good against gonzaga he's a big that moves very well for somebody at his size seven feet tall 255 pounds will be 22 years old on the night of the nba draft he averaged 15.7 rebounds last year uh he's got a great touch around the rim he also could get to the free throw line a lot too i feel like he's able to absorb contact he's not going to shy away from contact and he likes to play very physical which could sometimes just be um a little bit of a hard watch defensively because I do think he gets a little overzealous he's reaching a lot there are some bad questionable fouls and it could frustrate you a little bit when you're watching him and he's getting into foul trouble early in the second half and it's just like okay we're not going to see him really get to his spots and be that effective for Texas but as long as he's not in foul trouble like this is somebody that looks like the best player on the floor you can make an argument that he was the best player on the floor last year and even like he'll be able to play with David Punch this year who's a huge transfer get for Texas coming out of TCU But yeah, like I said, he was an FAU transfer.

He is just, like I said, skillful around the rim when you're watching him.

He doesn't really feel like he's seven feet tall.

And Texas also added, in my opinion.

and all SEC caliber talent in David Punch, who was sensational last year for TCU and was a 14-7 guy for the Longhorns who advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament and lost to Duke.

The one thing... that I want to point out when it comes to Texas, and it's the one reason why I am a little bit tepid about the Longhorns coming out of the gate, is there is not a great deal of continuity coming into the season for Texas.

The only player of significance that is entering the season for the Longhorns from last year, who was a part of that Sweet 16 run, is Mattis Voikatitis, who was great, in my opinion, in the NCAA tournament, averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds in Texas' four NCAA tournament games.

Texas's run to the Sweet 16 is a prime example of that.

The Longhorns were a bubble team for the majority of January and February after starting the season slow.

Texas entered the NCAA tournament in the first four, found a way to win three NCAA tournament games in a matter of days, went to the Sweet 16, took Purdue to the wire, and now even though the only player of significance back from that group is Mattis Voykatitis, Texas had great momentum heading into the transfer portal, got one of the top guards in the portal in Isaiah Johnson and one of the top big men as well in David Punch, not to mention getting Marcus Spears Jr. to reclassify.

There is a feeling, in my opinion, that Texas is going to have a chance to push Florida for an SEC regular season title.

Whereas in Texas, you're not going to get, yes, you have two years.

I don't think you're going to get that same freedom to make mistakes because, like my man Land O'Lakes said, they got David Punch.

What's the big Lithuanian kid? He's back.

You know what I'm saying? So it's like in the minutes that we play you, Marcus Spears, we need you to do a job versus in high school.

But they got some guys this year.

Isaiah Johnson transferred from Colorado.

They got David Punch, basically stole him from TCU.

And they have expectations.

I think most people will be familiar with him.

But I think relative to the other guys on their roster, certainly other transfers like David Punch, who might be like the best transfer of the offseason.

You know, Isaiah Johnson, for a big chunk of last season, didn't start for Colorado and then started to and got the ball in his hands.

And there's a reason why he's at Texas now.

Yeah, that's a great answer.

All right, the Texas projected starting lineup right now that I see is Isaiah Johnson, Austin Goosby, Eliza Freeman, David Punch, Voca Titus.

Off the bench, they have Mikey Lewis, Bo Ogden, Amari Evans, and then now Marcus Spears.

That just feels like they're moving so many people around that it's hard to call it a battle with any two guys.

The Texas front court's very, very good.

I've talked them up quite a bit with Boca Titus and David Punch.

They get an honorable mention on this list.

There's just not that much depth behind them.

And if we're healthy, I have no doubt that, that that will happen.

And, you know, I reference Mattas Voltytis, but I also think that getting David Punch from TCU doesn't just add an all SEC caliber player, but it also gives you a chance to have one of the best four or five combinations in college basketball next year.

Other than David Punch, which newcomers for Texas will have the biggest impact in '26, '27?

Well, um, I, I love the group that we have.

It's hard for me to really single any of them out, even David, simply because, you know, I don't look at us as, like, missing on, on really the guys that we brought in, you know? I, I think- Who they are, what we talked about them having here, the role, et cetera, you know, we're really on point.

You know, I, I think the balance and the depth stand out in our summer workouts where if you watch Mikey Lewis on a given day, you can make the argument that he was the best player in the gym.

You know, ditto for Isaiah Johnson or David Punch, Amari Evans, Elijah Freeman.

You know, Elijah, there's been times where he can make plays in a practice where nobody else in the gym can make it but him.