Shaka Smart Loses Two Longhorns To Transfer Portal

The Texas Longhorns lost a pair of depth players to the NCAA's Transfer Portal on Tuesday, making an already thin roster even thinner heading into the offseason.

Matt Galatzan | Mar 23, 2021

After a disastrous and disappointing loss in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the hits just keep on coming.

On Tuesday, two Longhorns decided to enter the NCAA's Transfer Portal, increasing the growing number of players to exit the program to as many as four players, with possibly more to come.

First up for the Longhorns was forward Royce Hamm Jr., who announced his decision to leave the program early Tuesday afternoon.

First I want to start by saying how grateful and blessed I am for the opportunity to play the game I love so dearly," Hamm said in a statement. "Thank you, Texas, for taking me in and allowing me to live out my childhood dream of playing for this university! Thank you, coach Smart and the entire coaching staff for equipping me with the knowledge and keys to become a better player."

"Last but definitely not least, thank you to all my teammates over the years. I have made unbelievable connections with you all we will be brothers (for life). Being able to get my degree from the University of Texas has been an accomplishment of its own and an amazing blessing. With that being said, I have decided to enter my name in the transfer portal, and explore my options elsewhere with my last year of NCAA eligibility. Thank you Texas!"

Hamm Jr. averaged 1.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and averaged 52.8-percent from the floor for the Longhorns this past season.

Shortly after Hamm's announcement sophomore guard Donovan Williams also entered his name into the transfer portal, following an injury-riddled and disappointing season.

Williams appeared in 41 games for the Longhorns over two seasons or the Longhorns, averaging 3.3 points, 1.04 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game.

The pair of transfer candidates will now join seniors Matt Coleman, Jericho Sims, and Jase Febres on their way out of Shaka Smart's program in Austin, with pro prospects Kai Jones and Greg Brown III potentially set to follow as well.

How many players will the Longhorns lose this offseason? Comment and join in on the discussion below!

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Published Mar 23, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.