Varez Ward Out For Season

Texas got dealt a blow today as it's been announced that sophomore guard Varez Ward is out for the season. He was getting plenty of playing time through the first three games, averaging 23.0 minutes, 6.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists, so he will not be a trivial replacement. That said, in my opinion, he was probably their fourth guard option, or maybe even the fifth. Here are the stats from the five scholarship guards:

Avery Bradley: 2 starts, 23 minutes per game, 9 points per game
J'Covan Brown: 3 starts, 21 mpg, 12 ppg
Varez Ward: 3 starts, 23 mpg, 7 ppg
Justin Mason: 4 starts, 18 mpg, 2 ppg
Dogus Balbay: 0 starts, 21 mpg, 4 ppg

With J'Covan Brown emerging as a real star, I think Texas still really has the depth to go forward with their four healthy guards. You can't go wrong with Bradley and Brown together, and I love what Dogus Balbay brings to the table. Justin Mason isn't a spectacular talent, but he's a savvy senior who you can trust out there in extended minutes. You can throw each of those guys about four or five more minutes per game and they'll still be fine. Coaches normally worry a bit about giving so many minutes to freshmen, who occasionally wear out from their first long season, but Brown is not a true freshman, and Bradley is a superfrosh who should be able to handle it.

The only real worry is, what happens if another guard goes down for one reason or another? They have two other guards on the roster eligible to play, and both are walk-on freshmen, with one combined minute played thus far. So there are no more backups.

The Longhorns have four very good guards that they can challenge for a Big 12 title and a 1 seed in the Tournament with. But one more injury or suspension will really give them problems.