With Texas basketball struggling this season to find a rhythm similar to last year’s Elite Eight squad, graduate forward Dylan Disu is showing up in new ways for his team.
Disu has always been a substantial player in his role as a forward. 6-foot-9 and originally from Pflugerville, Disu averaged over 61% from the floor and about 31% from the three-point line in the 2022-23 season and ranked second in the Big 12 for blocks with 46. Disu proved himself a key component in last year’s NCAA tournament before being sidelined by a foot injury in the Sweet 16. He averaged 17.8 points a game, and in his last game against Penn State accumulated 28 points and 10 rebounds.
With stats like that already under his belt, he was able to build another aspect onto his already impressive game while recovering from injury — his three-point shot.
So far in this season, Disu has managed to convert over 53% from the three-point line. During last week’s game against West Virginia, he was perfect in shooting from both the floor and the three-point line in the first half, scoring 19 points in 13 minutes. He became the sixth Texas player to perform a perfect half from three-point range (minimum of five attempts) and the ninth Texas player to play a perfect half from the floor overall (minimum of six attempts), which Disu has already done once prior in his Texas career.
Head coach Rodney Terry knows how important Disu’s shot is for any type of success Texas hopes to have this season and tells him constantly to keep shooting.
“Anytime I don’t shoot, RT yells at me and tells me to shoot the ball,” Disu said.
In the two games last week alone, Disu averaged 27.5 points and was named Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player of the week, along with Big 12 Conference player of the week.
Disu has been on a different level this season and Texas fans noticed right away after his resurgence from his injury. In his first game back, he helped conquer LSU 96-85 on Dec. 16. He finished the matchup with 17 points, five assists, four rebounds and one block. His improved shooting outside the arc stems from him sitting in a chair and practicing shooting over the summer, since he couldn’t play with his foot injury.
However, Disu said that he was a three-point shooter all along and it was his confidence to shoot the ball that has grown.
“I’d say I think I did shoot a little bit more than you might remember in high school. I made like four threes a game in high school my senior year,” Disu said. “I don’t think anything’s changed really. I think it’s just my level of confidence that RT and the coaching staff and my teammates have in me.”
Texas, who’s had a season filled with ups and downs, currently sits on the fence on if it will make its way to the NCAA tournament this year. However, the Longhorns find hope in Disu’s abilities to help get them back in the bracket.
