Rodney Terry explains importance of getting Tyrese Hunter involved in the game

Tyrese Hunter has been a key factor in Texas‘ efforts this season. He gets all his credit for what he can do on offense, but Longhorns interim head coach Rodney Terry pointed to his defensive skill set after they defeated Iowa State 72-54.

“Tyrese has been working extremely hard, and I am glad to see that he had some positive results [againat Iowa State] from all of his hard work,” Terry said. “A lot of times, we look at Tyrese in terms of scoring and things of that nature there — I go back to the Baylor game and even … the K-State game, his impact on those games and those wins was a lot of what we expected we were getting this year: a guy that can really guard.

“He has a chance to be one of the better defensive guards in this league and really helped us win the game aside from being able to score the ball and everything. When I measure him and what his value is to our team, it is more than scoring the ball.”

Hunter’s scoring ability alongside his defensive presence allowed him to manage the game and get his teammates involved while still keeping a winning pace. In turn, Hunter was a huge asset for the Longhorns against his former team.

He finished with a February-high 15 points on 5-9 shooting, including three made three-pointers. It was the most points he scored since the aforementioned Kansas State game on Jan. 3 which saw him score a season-high 29 points.

Next up for No. 8 Texas is a road trip against No. 9 Baylor. Tip-off between the Longhorns and Bears is set for 2 p.m. ET live from the Ferrell Center on ESPN as UT looks to sweep the season series for the first time since the 2013-14 season.