Scouting new Texas big man Lassina Traore
Lassina Traore, a transfer forward from Xavier who missed the entirety of the 2024-25 season with a knee injury suffered in a preseason team scrimmage, committed to the Texas Longhorns Monday after coming to Austin for an official visit. It is the fourth pledge out of the portal for Sean Miller’s Longhorns after picking up Dailyn Swain (combo forward, Xavier), Matas Vokietaitis (center, Florida Atlantic), and Camden Heide (wing, Purdue) beforehand.
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Traore is a traditional big in many ways, a back-to-the-basket post that also adds elite rebounding. He was a two-time all-Big West selection when playing at Long Beach State, where he transferred after his freshman season at Saint Louis. He has also demonstrated some face-up abilities, as he takes a percentage of his shots from the elbows, though his efficiency on these attempts does need some work.
Mostly, though, he posts up opposing big men – 48% of his offensive touches come on such sets. He is also a skilled cutter, and excels at sealing off opponents in the paint and positioning himself near the basket where he can get easier looks. He scores in the 59th percentile on these cuts, or 1.21 points per possession.
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Defensively, Traore is a solid rim protector and drive deterrent with his 6-foot-10, 245-pound frame and good wingspan. He will play the power forward/center role for Miller’s Longhorns this upcoming season, likely alternating with fellow Xavier transfer Swain at the four spot.
Traore currently ranks as the No. 140 overall prospect in the transfer portal. After the medical redshirt from last season, Traore will enter the program with one year of eligibility remaining.
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All eligibility listed below is for the 2025-26 season.
Scholarships remaining (4)
- Needs: Point guard (1), shooting wing (1)
Returns/commits announced/return likely (11)
- G Jordan Pope, SR: 11.0 pts, 2.0 reb, 1.7 ast
- G Tramon Mark, GR: 10.6 pts, 3.7 reb, 1.7 ast
- F Camden Heide, JR: 4.7 pts, 3.6 reb, 0.4 ast – Purdue transfer
- F Dailyn Swain, JR: 11.0 pts, 5.5 reb, 2.6 ast – Xavier transfer
- F Nic Codie, SO: 1.7 pts, 0.9 reb, 0.1 ast
- G Chendall Weaver, SR: 6.4 pts, 4.9 reb, 1.4 ast
- C Matas Vokietaitis, SO: 10.2 pts, 5.5 reb, 0.3 ast – FAU transfer
- C Lassina Traore, SR: Did not appear in the 2024-25 season – Xavier transfer
- F Jamie Vinson, SO: 2.2 pts, 1.1 reb, 0.1 ast
- G Anthon McDermott, RSFR: Did not appear in the 2024-25 season
- F John Clark, FR: No. 57 overall prospect in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking
Eligibility extinguished (6)
- G Julian Larry: 4.6 pts, 1.5 reb, 2.9 ast
- F Ze’Rik Onyema: 3.2 pts, 2.5 reb, 0.4 ast
- F Kadin Shedrick: 8.8 pts, 6.1 reb, 0.6 ast
- F Jayson Kent: 5.6 pts, 3.3 reb, 0.4 ast
- F Arthur Kaluma: 12.3 pts, 7.5 reb, 1.8 ast
- G Cole Bott: 0.7 pts, 0.3 reb, 0.5 ast
Transferring (3)
- F Devon Pryor, JR: 3.2 pts, 2.0 reb, 0.5 ast – Transferred to Oregon.
- F Preston Clark, JR: 0.3 pts, 1.5 reb, 0.3 ast – walk-on
- G Malik Presley, RSSO: Did not appear in the 2024-25 season
NBA Bound (1)
- G Tre Johnson: 19.9 pts, 3.1 reb, 2.7 ast
