Editor's Note: This is the first piece of a five-part series looking at Texas' 2017 basketball signees. In these stories we will analyze the prospects, include Q&A's or write interesting features about the newest Longhorns. This week Horns247 features Houston Westfield shooting guard Jase Febres.
A typical day for Jase Febres right now usually involves plenty of stops.
There’s school, of course, but during fifth period he’s in the gym. He puts up 100 shots from five different areas from mid-range, then moves back and puts up 100 more shots from five areas along the 3-point line.
After class is let out, he makes his way to a local track or treadmill to get in a mile run (he’s down to a time around 5:20, he said, when he’s at his best). Then four, sometimes five, days a week he spends his evenings with PureSweat, a training group that works with collegiate and NBA athletes.
Even with all of that, though, Febres is still bored. After signing with Texas last fall as a part of the 2017 class, he’s ready to finally get on campus later this month.
“[On a scale of] 1-10, I’m a 10,” Febres said on his excitement to arrive on campus come May 28. “I’m excited to start fresh and get to work.”
Febres has already has to undergo plenty of work to get where he is now. The current four-star shooting guard out of Houston Westfield didn’t hold many major offers at the beginning of last summer. He sat out injured during the first part of his final AAU season, but once he came back he saw his stock skyrocket.
He hit 20 of his 31 3-point attempts at an event in early July while putting up close to 30 points against D1 Minnesota, which fellow Texas signee Jericho Sims played with, and Team Exum-Elite. The calls and offers soon came in, including one from Shaka Smart in late July.
Even with 23 offers in hand, Febres quickly cut his final two schools down to Big 12 rivals Texas and Baylor by the end of September. Actually, on the night of Sept. 29, he went to bed thinking he was going to pick Baylor. But when he woke up the next morning, his mind immediately shot to the Longhorns.
He made his call and pledge to Smart that afternoon.
“I don’t know what it was,” Febres said. “I just woke up. I told myself the first school that comes to mind I just knew that I need to go to and pick. That was Texas. I figured it worked out pretty well.”
Sorry For The Wait
Now, Febres see his opportunity for an immediate impact. Texas hosted Febres and other signees Sims and Royce Hamm (PG signee Matt Coleman was participating in the Jordan Brand Classic), on April 15 during the Longhorns’ football spring game. Smart made sure they all knew starting spots were not yet assigned for next season and to “stay hungry.”
After all, the Longhorns are coming off an 11-22 mark, which ties the program record for most losses in a season.
Febres, described by Smart as a "very, very good shooter," should be a big-time shooting threat, a much-needed help at Texas, who hit just 29 percent of its 3-pointers last season. But he’s also working to become more of a defensive player. He would rather be known as one of the more versatile players on the roster, instead of just with one threat.
“[At] Texas, while it didn’t have the best season I’m thinking I can show them, ‘ok, you have one more person that can provide the next shot, one more person they can rely on to lead the team, even though I am a freshman.’ I can still push everybody and lead in my own way.”
All of this is fueled by the fact he's always felt slightly underrated. He wasn't ranked nationally until this past fall and he felt overlooked through much of his recruitment process. So he's out to prove a few people wrong.
In order to make that immediate threat, Febres is working on his ball skills with PureSweat while working consistently on his pick-and-rolls, which he called a major aspect of the college game. He’s also learning how to work better off the ball.
There's isolation drills, ball screens, footwork drills — anything that he can do to improve right now. He's also paying close attention to the conditioning plan Smart told him to focus, which includes plenty of pushups and sit-ups.
"I think he’s capable of getting on the floor and helping right away, absolutely, I think he’s capable," said Westfield head coach Van Price, who compared Febres' style and game close to former NBA star Allan Houston when asked.
“I think his shot is going to translate right away along with he’s a pretty good defensive rebounder for his position. I think that’s two things that he’ll be able to help with right away.”
But it’s also his on (and off)-the-court intelligence that had teams swarming this past fall. Febres, who plans to study business or marketing, is already planning a possible future shoe business with women’s basketball signee Chasity Patterson, another Houston native.
The duo met on a visit to Texas in September and once Febres saw a snapchat from Patterson talking about her fashion interest, the idea clicked.
“If I did complete the goal of where I wanted to be basketball wise, I could partner with different fashion or different shoes; open up a boutique for footwear,” Febres said. “That’s kind of the mindset I have.”
Got the Dub Tonight 
But first, Febres will have his shot at Texas. He’s already close with Hamm, whom he talks to every day, and has gotten to know Coleman and Sims through a group text with all the signees. Come the end of this month, they will all be together on campus and Febres should no longer be bored. He has plenty of big plans for what’s ahead.
“I think our mindset is to help take over,” Febres said. “We’re talking that we can come in, put our stamp [on the program] and create a big impact.”
SG Jase Febres, Houston Westfield
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 180
National ranking: No. 86
Position ranking: No. 18
State ranking: No. 7
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