Since Cameron Ridley went down nine games ago, Prince Ibeh has had one the best stretches of his Texas career. It all went right in practice.

Prince Ibeh would step to the line, dribble, lift the ball even with his face and thrust his arms into the air, spinning the ball off his fingers at the highest point. They wouldn't all go in, but Ibeh made more than he missed with a record 17 straight dropping in one post-practice session.

Yet negative thoughts crept into his mind attempting the same routine during games. Ibeh would think about past misses and wonder if this will be the attempt the ball finally goes through. Ibeh, never better than a 51 percent free throw shooter in his career, had hit a mental wall.

Ibeh started out the 2015-16 season 3-of-21 from the free throw line, and two of those makes came on second-chance opportunities following a lane violation. It got so bad for Ibeh that his made free throws at The Frank Erwin Center were met with sarcastically robust cheers from Texas fans.

“It frustrating,” Ibeh said. “I’d keep going back to practice and I’d knock free throws down, and I’d go back in the game and just keep clanking off.”

This psychological cage surrounded Ibeh for more than half of the season, but he seemed to have slipped it Tuesday in Texas’ victory over TCU. Ibeh dominated the game for a career high 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five blocks.

Oh yeah, Ibeh made 5-of-6 attempts at the free throw line.

“Once he saw it go in once or twice he settled down and shot it the way he can,” said Texas head coach Shaka Smart.

Teammates describe Prince Ibeh as Texas' defensive anchor.

“It’s kind of a relief,” Ibeh added. “I’ve gone up there and thought about the past a lot and it’s blocked me in a way.”

Known as shot-swatting connoisseur throughout his career, Ibeh knows a little bit about building a defensive wall, and he may have knocked down a big metaphorical one with that effort at the free throw line. Though, the foul shooting itself may have just been the latest symptom in an issue that’s plagued Ibeh his entire career.

Except now, after three seasons, Ibeh might have found the mental cure.

***

Ibeh arrived quite late to the sport, ninth grade, for the national recruit he would become.

Tall for his age but unfamiliar with needed basketball motor skills, Ibeh did not truly develop into a college prospect until the end of his junior season. It’s at that time he began to feel comfortable on the court, which coincided with high-major programs recruiting him hard.

His recent journey at Texas is more than a bit reflective of that high school experience. It's just taken him a while to reach a comfortable place.

Prince Ibeh averages two blocks per game this season.

Despite contributing immediately with the Longhorns, Ibeh’s never really established his place in the rotation. He averaged 10.4 minutes per game as a freshman and 13.6 as a sophomore. As a junior Ibeh mostly idled on the bench at 10.6 minutes per game and put the worst numbers of his career.

Feedback proved scarce and Ibeh could not figure out what he should emphasize in his game. If he’s honest, the game wasn’t always fun.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Ibeh said. “I didn’t know how I should go about things.”

That feeling began to dissolve with the arrival of Smart and his staff.

The Longhorns’ new coaches laid out right away what they expected from Ibeh – energy and a disruptive defensive presence – but they also attempted to show him what he could become. Assistant coach Darian Horn worked him in the post every day to help him develop an offensive skillset, and the staff sought to highlight his positive attributes instead of focusing on his offensive limitations.

The early returns for Ibeh were spotty this season. Ibeh clearly fell behind Cameron Ridley in the pecking order as he struggled to adjust his aggressiveness under the new officiating points of emphasis. Through Texas’ first 11 games Ibeh averaged a career-low 9.5 minutes per game and he committed a foul every 3.1 minutes

Opportunity came, however, when Ridley broke his foot in practice, thrusting Ibeh into the starting lineup. Forced into extended minutes because of a lack of frontcourt depth, Ibeh responded. He’s averaged 24 minutes in the nine games since Ridley’s injury, playing more than 30 minutes on three occasions, something he had never done at UT before this season. Ibeh is also more under control averaging a foul once every 6.9 minutes played.

“He’s been getting better and better in the games we’ve played since Cam hurt his foot,” Smart said. “I’m just proud of him.”

Though still not yet a big offesnive threat, Ibeh's worked with Texas assistant coach Darrin Horn to expand his offensvie game.

Despite the inconsistent flashes throughout his career, Ibeh’s always been viewed as a potential NBA talent because of his 6-foot-11 frame and natural athleticism. An NBA scout told Horns247 earlier this year Ibeh is “worth a second-round flier” singularly because of his natural attributes.

But Ibeh had never realized that potential over an extended period of time. As Ibeh would tell it, he’s never had the opportunity to establish a rhythm. This stretch without Ridley is Ibeh’s first run of extended minutes since high school.

“Rhythm plays a huge part,” Ibeh said. “I can’t even begin to explain. The more you’re out there and the more experience you have with things, time just slows down and it becomes simpler for you.”

With a steady flow of opportunity, the game is starting to freeze for Ibeh. Entering this nine-game stretch Ibeh had just eight games of seven points or more for his career – he did not reach the eight-point plateau as a junior. But in the last nine games he’s done so three times.

The knowledge he can play without fear of getting yanked for a small mistake has freed Ibeh to play within himself. Before, if he got a touch in the post he felt like he had to make it. Now, he’s comfortable knowing opportunities in the paint, and for minutes, will come.

“A lot of it had to do with me knowing I’d be out there regardless," Ibeh said. "In the past I’ve played timid. When you think about it, when you try to play mistake free that’s when you make the most mistakes. You limit yourself and that’s what I’ve been doing for a long time now.”

***

It might not have felt like it to Ibeh, but his free throw misses were a small problem for Texas in the grand scheme.

Smart, in a drastic tone change from previous years in Austin, always states he chooses to focus on what Ibeh does well as opposed to what he can’t do. So when Ibeh’s biggest issue in a game is, as junior guard Isaiah Taylor puts it, “getting the ball to the rim” Ibeh is in good shape.

With Ridley out, Ibeh has transformed into Texas’ rock in the middle. Potential met, or at least scratched, at the right time for the Longhorns.

“He’s really is that anchor for us,” Taylor said.

If Ibeh’s being honest, the free throws were just another hurdle for him to clear. After all, the center is easily having the most fun in his Texas career this season.

He’s playing, and he matters.

It's starting to feel like his junior season of high school all over again.

“This is kind of when I feel things are going well and I’m in the grove of things,” Ibeh said. “I’m feeling more involved and apart of the winning process.”

Maybe Ibeh’s free throw issues were a last symptom kicked from an overriding problem, or maybe it’s just a bad habit that will still need work. Either way, Ibeh feels needed and happy.

He’s swatted away the biggest mental block of all.

“If Prince Ibeh has fun playing basketball the results are going to be good,” Smart said. “The mind is a powerful thing. It really is.”