No. 11 Texas prepares for the challenge of Drew Timme

When the Gonzaga Bulldogs travel to Austin, Texas to face the No. 11 Texas Longhorns on Wednesday night, Zags head coach Mark Few will bring a team into the Moody Center worthy of the No. 2 ranking. One of the main reasons the West Coast Conference power has that ranking is two-time second-team All-American Drew Timme.

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Timme, a 6-foot-10 senior from Richardson (Texas) Pearce, is a name the Longhorns and Texas head coach Chris Beard are familiar with. Beard recruited the On3 Consensus four-star while at Texas Tech, as did the Longhorn program for some time under former head coach Shaka Smart.

If Beard and the Longhorns needed any reminder about the player they saw on the recruiting trail, Timme made sure Texas received it during the contest between the two teams in Spokane, Wash. last season. Timme scored 37 points on 15-of-19 shooting and hit 7-of-9 shots from the line.

On Wednesday, Timme returns for his third career game in his home state, with the Longhorns well-aware of the challenge he presents.

“Drew is a special college player,” Beard said Tuesday. “I’ve been around a lot of guys, coached them and coached against them, and I don’t know if I’ve seen a better college basketball player than Drew Timme.”

Timme’s play has arguably gotten better during his fourth year in Few’s program. He has scored 22 points in each of Gonzaga’s first two games, one against North Florida and the second against Michigan State, who defeated No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday night.

What Timme was able to do on the offensive end against the Spartans was impressive. Michigan State big men Malik Hall, Mady Sissoko, and Joey Hauser combined for 14 fouls, with Sissoko and Hauser fouling out. All the while, Timme grabbed 13 boards, eight of them on the defensive glass.

When Texas lost to Gonzaga last season, 86-74, neither of the players likely to be tasked with guarding the reigning WCC player of the year played a single minute. Dylan Disu was still recovering from a knee injury suffered at Vanderbilt, while Dillon Mitchell was still a couple of weeks removed from committing to Beard’s program from the prep ranks.

That duo, with spot help from Christian Bishop, faces the challenge of guarding Timme, but other Longhorns are aware they’ll need to offer help against the All-America candidate.

“Just play as a team, really,” Texas guard Tyrese Hunter said Tuesday. “He’s their best player, but we’ve got to go out there and play as a team, have our bigs’ backs, whoever’s guarding him. I could switch onto him. I’m not scared of the matchup, but I think the biggest thing is rebounding.”

Rebounding will be key to ensure Timme and other Zags regulars like Julian Strawther, Malachi Smith, and Rasir Bolton don’t get second opportunities.

“We’ll have to have multiple guys on our roster to play really well to stop Drew, as well as their other frontline players,” Beard said.

Beard sang the praises of his guards for their work rebounding the basketball. Through two games, the 6-foot-0 Hunter has pulled down 12 total rebounds. Whether it’s Hunter, Mitchell, Disu, or others, the Longhorns know cleaning the glass will go a long way in determining the winner on Wednesday night.

Gonzaga’s offense runs through Timme. Their defense relies on him for help around the rim and in the post. Beard said they want to make him play defense, one potential area Texas feels like it might be able to exploit.

It won’t be easy. Nothing will be against the Timme-led Zags. After all, he’s one of the best players to play in the college basketball ranks in recent memory on one of the top teams in the country.

“Everything that he’s earned or gets notoriety (for) is real,” Beard said. “He’s earned that. Preseason All-American. He’s a very challenging guard. He can play inside or out. Does a lot of great things that even the stat sheet doesn’t show. He’s a dynamic player.”