It wasn’t the energy from the crowd that Dylan Disu missed the most in his nine months on the Texas sidelines with an injury. It wasn’t swishing jumpers or blockings shots or running the court for a dunk or slapping hands with a teammate after a defensive stop.

Instead, said the Longhorns forward, he yearned for those intangible moments when a team comes together and becomes something more than five individual players on a court. He felt that at times in Texas’ 96-85 win over LSU last Saturday in Houston, which marked the 6-foot-9 graduate forward’s return after undergoing foot surgery at the end of last year.

And Disu wants to feel that a lot more as the full-strength Longhorns attack the rest of the season, starting with a nonconference game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday at Moody Center.

More: After what he saw in the Marquette loss, Rodney Terry wants more toughness from Texas

“Whenever the team is clicking and everyone is playing together and the ball is moving, yeah, that’s a really good feeling,” Disu said after a workout at the UT practice facility this week. “I did miss that, when you get that feeling that no matter what the other team does, they can’t stop what you’re trying to do. When everybody’s working together, that’s a great thing.”

Disu proves his points against LSU

Every Longhorn worked together against LSU, at least on the offensive end. Texas scored a season-high in points, including 17 from Disu, who also pulled down four rebounds and dished out five assists in 20 minutes. But Disu knows No. 19 Texas (8-2) will need to tighten up its defense if it wants to contend in the rugged Big 12 and make another long postseason run.

“We’ve got to play defensive better,” he said. “Obviously, LSU is a good team, but 85 points in the Big 12 isn't going to get it done for us. And so that's something that we've emphasized in practice, and it just starts with talking and being more together and playing together better.”

While head coach Rodney Terry loves Disu’s ability to stretch the floor and provide more rim protection, the forward’s dedication to communication could be his most valuable asset.

“When Dylan was out, he became an extension of our staff,” Terry said. “He was one of those guys that knows our scouting report like the back of his hand, and he could go out and give the scouting report to the team. Really, just his presence in the huddles and on the floor (against LSU), that was a game-changer just by itself.”

Fitting in revamped frontcourt

Disu changed the game for the Longhorns in last year’s postseason. He averaged 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in just 19 minutes for the season, but he became Texas’ best player in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments, when he averaged a team-high 17.8 points and nine rebounds a game while shooting 72.2% before injuring his foot in a round-of-16 win over Xavier.

But this team has a different dynamic with much different players. Disu will join a loaded frontcourt that also features returners Dillon Mitchell and Brock Cunningham as well as new faces in Ze’Rik Onyema and 6-foot-11 Kadin Shedrick, a Virginia transfer who’s averaging 12.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.

How will Disu fit in that revamped frontcourt? He’s looking forward to finding out.

“I think that this has the potential to be one of the best frontcourts I've played with,” said the Pflugerville native, who spent two seasons at Vanderbilt before transferring to Texas prior to the 2021-22 season. “I've never played with another true big five man like Kadin that can score with his back to the basket and block shots the way he can. Our roles can expand as the year goes on, but right now, my role is to stretch the floor, protect the rim, be a playmaker and help the team win.”

Friday's game

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-5) at No. 19 Texas (8-2), 2 p.m., LHN, 1300

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Return of Dylan Disu a holiday gift for Texas men's basketball team