Texas G Arterio Morris to enter NCAA transfer portal

The Texas Longhorns suffered a blow at the guard position on Monday with the news that rising sophomore Arterio Morris will enter the NCAA transfer portal, joining rising redshirt freshman Rowan Brumbaugh.

A consensus five-star prospect ranked as the No. 16 player nationally and the No. 1 point guard in the 2022 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Morris represented a significant recruiting coup for former head coach Chris Beard and the Longhorns. Morris chose Texas over Arkansas, Kansas, Memphis, and others.

Morris was arrested for misdemeanor assault after a physical altercation with his ex-girlfriend, an incident that threatened to derail his Texas career before it started, but Beard declined to comment on the arrest and never suspended Morris, whose trail was postponed last month.

In a deep and experienced guard corps, Morris played sparingly as a freshman, averaging 11.8 minutes per game and struggling with his shot selection at times, but also flashing the ability on both ends of the court that made him such a highly-regarded prospect. Morris finished the season averaging 4.6 points per game on 41.1-percent shooting, including 33.3 percent from three.

With the departures of Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice, as well as the entrance of Tyrese Hunter into the 2023 NBA Draft while maintaining his eligibility, Morris was expected to play a much larger role in 2023-24 for new head coach Rodney Terry.