Marcus Spears Jr. will be tested sooner than later as a 17-year-old freshman. But the Texas men’s basketball forward has yet to meet his match through three college games to date.
Spears, a five-star recruit for the class of 2026, totaled 24 points and posted a plus-49 in a pair of blowout wins over small-conference opponents last week. Monday continued the early season pattern. Spears played just 20 minutes in a 93-62 win over Grambling State. He still tallied 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in that span, and Texas outscored Grambling State by 15 points in his time on the floor.
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The 6-foot-7 North Texas native was efficient against Grambling State. His film was smooth and refined for a player who won’t turn 18 until the completion of the 2026-27 season. Spears shook past a Tigers defender with a drop step and subsequent layup midway through the second half. He immediately recognized an incoming double team minutes earlier, then pinged the ball to fellow frehsman Austin Goosby for a 3-pointer.
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Spears added one highlight-reel dunk for the Moody Center crowd Monday night. He skied to the rim for an alley-oop dunk late in the first half, one that was impressive, though perhaps not as electric as the dunk-contest worthy show he put on pregame.
Spears shined in an efficient, effective and above-the-rim effort Monday. He also wasn’t the flashiest freshman on the floor.
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First-year guard Joe Sterling brought the greatest buzz out of a sleepy crowd with his three 3-pointers, two of which he canned in the game’s first eight minutes. Sterling is an elite shooter. His free-throw performance during summer workouts in Austin drew national attention. Those around Texas’ program call him (a bit facetiously) “Joe Curry.” Sterling lived up to his nickname with a 10 made threes in his first three collegiate games
Sterling is a 6-foot-4 sharpshooter who commands major defensive attention. He earned praise from his coach postgame for his work on the other end of the floor.
“Joe is one of those guys that, he’s just smart. And he has a knack for being in the right place,” Texas head coach Sean Miller said postgame. “We keep steals and deflections (stats) every day in practice, in games, scrimmages, and he’s actually near the top. You may not think that, but he’s deceptive with his size and he has great instincts.
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“He’s been more than a pleasant surprise. We believed in him, that’s why we brought him to Texas. His maturity, his ability to make shots, and again, do the other things around making shots that make him a solid player, he’s really off to a great start for us.”
Miller will continue to play Sterling if he pairs strong shooting with passable defense. That could cost another freshman playing time in Texas’ rotation.
Bo Ogden is a fellow reserve guard for the Longhorns, an Austin Westlake product who committed to Texas in 2025 as a four-star recruit. The Longhorns’ starting five is secure at the moment, with Goosby and Spears joined by three upper classmen. Goosby, a guard, leads the team in minutes (73), assists (13) and steals (seven) through three games.
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If Sterling were to struggle, Ogden would likely seize his minutes, becoming Texas’ primary guard off the bench. But that wasn’t the case through three games, with Sterling cooking early while Ogden has a combined 16 points in 46 minutes across the last three games. Expect Sterling and Ogden to continue to jockey for minutes, with plenty of time for Miller to sort out his rotation.
That sooner-than-later test for Spears? How about Sunday, when Texas will face Baylor at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
Baylor isn’t ranked as of Monday. Its also a program that’s 2-0 this season, one with expectation of reaching the NCAA Tournament in March. Texas isn’t totally done with the cupcake portion of its schedule. But a bigger challenge is on the immediate horizon, the best test yet for the Longhorns’ collection of freshmen.
This article originally published at Texas freshmen report: Marcus Spears Jr., Austin Goosby accompanied by 3rd young star.
