Longhorns add third four-star in Febres
From the moment he first stepped foot on the Texas campus, four-star shooting guard Jase Febres couldn't shake the feeling that he had found his college home.
Many tried to change his mind, but after his official visits, the 6-foot-5 sniper from Houston (Texas) Westfield was even more sure than ever that Texas was the place for him.
“When I first got there on my unofficial, it automatically felt like it was home," Febres told Rivals.com. "I love the coaching staff and I love Shaka Smart.
“I guess that gut feeling kept on coming back to me after each visit there. People tried to get me to think other ways, but I just kept feeling Texas in my heart."
While Febres loved everything about the campus and coaching staff, it didn't hurt that one of his closest friends was in his ear and already committed to Texas. If Smart was close to sealing the deal, four-star combo forward Royce Hamm was the coffee-drinker.
“It was a pretty big factor, Royce was kind of the guy that kind of put me on with Shaka and he’s trusted me and thinks I’m a really good player," said Febres. "He thinks we are going to work together and push each other through things. It’s good to have a friend there that you know you can trust and who is going to help you through any tough times.”
Febres commitment to Texas is also example of how keeping focused and seizing an opportunity pays off. He had eyed a big spring and summer, but an injury kept him out of the limelight during the first two rounds of the Adidas Gauntlet. When he got a chance to show what he could do in July, he pounced and burst onto the scene with Marland Lowe's Texas Pro squad.
“When I first got hurt, my teammates were giving me lots of positive love and possibility," said Febres. "I had really wanted to show people what I could do and it was a setback missing the first two Gauntlet series.
“God gave me the chance to show what I can do in South Carolina and it paid off for me.”
Now in his second full year on the job, Smart has secured six Texans who have been ranked four-stars or better and his 2017 class is one with significant potential as Febres joins Hamm and No. 54 overall Jericho Sims.
“I think we have a very good recruiting class. Jericho is a very good big and is going to be a huge impact and one of those guys who can rebound, protect the rim and be a crafty scorer. Royce is a stretch four, a big three who can extend the defense so I think we have the all the pieces for a really good recruiting class.”
At the end of the day, Febres picked Texas because he also felt the Longhorns have a legitimate shot at winning a national championship and he sees himself as a much needed piece of the puzzle.
“I feel like we are trying to build a championship team and you have to have more than one dude who can do any one thing to win," said Febres. "I feel like shooting is the most important thing in basketball. You can’t win if you don’t have somebody that can put the ball in the basket and I think that’s what I can do and we don't really have any tall guards who shoot from deep other than Tevin (Mack)."