HORNS LAND 4-STAR RECRUIT/AGGIE FRESHMAN TRANSFERRING
Fresh off Texas' upset win over North Carolina this past weekend, Shaka Smart and the Longhorns had more big news, Monday.
Four-star high school guard Andrew Jones has committed to Texas.
Jones took his official visit to Austin over the weekend, and was in attendance for the Longhorns' buzzer-beating victory over the third-ranked Tar Heels.
Kansas, Arizona, Louisville, Texas A&M, Baylor and others were also involved in his recruitment over the past couple of months, but Smart and his staff had made it a priority to keep the MacArthur High School product in state.
Ranked No. 35 in the ESPN 100, Jones is the third commitment in Smart's first full recruiting class since taking over at Texas. He joins four-star center James Banks (No. 56) and three-star guard Jacob Young.
Meanwhile, the news was not so good for the 24th-ranked Aggies.
Texas A&M freshman Elijah Thomas, a top-50 player coming out of high school, has decided to transfer.
The 6-foot-9 forward from Lancaster played in eight games this season, averaging 3.8 points per contest while compiling 20 rebounds eight blocks and six assists.
Thomas has struggled with injuries and missed several weeks of practice.
The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Thomas was ranked No. 31 in the country coming out of Lancaster High School by ESPN, and chose Texas A&M over Illinois, LSU, Oklahoma State and SMU. He joined a freshman class that included Tyler Davis (ESPN, No. 27) and wings DJ Hogg (No. 35) and Admon Gilder (No. 69).
"I'm just hoping to find somewhere that I can get an opportunity to show what I can do," Thomas said. "I have no bad feelings about anything. I appreciate everything Coach Kennedy and the staff did for me