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Win in Oklahoma: Grades are in

Posted by Trips Right on February 7th, 2008 under Basketball

On one hand I want to rip out my own larynx watching the Horns play offense in a half court setting. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Rick Barnes’ team defend the high ball screen better than this team did last night. Mix in a little hot shooting from AJ Abrams, and a tremendous supporting effort from Gary Johnson and Justin Mason, and you have yourself a nice ten point win against the Oklahoma Human Rain Delays. My Lord is there a more boring offensive basketball team in the country outside of the Ivy League? Is there a worse set of guards in college basketball? Ugghhhh. On to the grades…

DJ Augustin. C+.Just like the Aggie game, DJ continues to dominate the basketball and kills any chance of ball movement leading to easy buckets. To make matters worse, his refusal to enter to open post men is mind boggling and his lack of assists off of dribble penetration is inexcusable. He still dropped 7 dimes and had 2 turnovers on a decent shooting night. He needs to start being more of a floor leader by getting every body involved.

Damion James. C. The good news is that Damion continues to rebound like a warrior and defend his heart out. The bad news is that again, he disappeared offensively going just 1-6 from the field. The common denominator in both of his disappearance acts was he did so against teams with big, physical frontcourts. That will take care of itself once his J starts dropping again, but this team still needs more from him. Get to the rim. Get to the line. Score Damion, score.

Connor Atchley. B. Connor is what he is. He’s a solid interior defender and a decent position rebounder that gives you a perimeter presence on offense. His ability to quickly come over and help on Griffin was key in the second half surge that gave the Horns the win. I’d like to see him shoot more from the perimeter but the good news is that Connor shows up every night ready to play.

AJ Abrams. A-. What can you say, the kid really stroked it last night in what was for the most part a defensive struggle. His shooting was the obvious difference in the game, and it really broke the back of a good defensive team. If he’s off, just a little, Texas has a hard time winning that game. AJ still is a liability guarding shooters and penetrators on the perimeter, but he plays hard and when he’s feeling it, Texas becomes a dangerous offense. No turnovers is also a plus from a guard that played 40 minutes.

Justin Mason. A.Look out if Justin continues to stroke it. He was 3-3 from downtown, played his usual active defense, and rebounded well from his small forward position. He’s gaining confidence shooting the ball, and that will be key for Texas down the stretch. One of the best games of the year for a player that continues to improve.

Gary Johnson. A.He played like the defensive and rebounding warrior that everyone expected and did so against a pretty physical and talented player in Taylor Griffin. Gary also showed confidence with his back to the basket offensively eventhough he was just 2-6. His continued improvement will be big for Texas. Great game for Gary.

Wangmene. C-. Alex gave up baseline on a double team which led to an easy bucket for Griffin. He also took a wild out of rhythm low post attempt which led to points on the other end. Wangmene seems to be pressing at this point and his continued mental lapses cannot be tolerated. Frankly the kid should lose minutes to Pittman and Chapman. His 4 boards in 9 minutes keep him from getting a D.

Clint Chapman. B. Clint wasn’t a good matchup for the banging OU frontcourt, but in his defense he really didn’t get any opportunities. His one post move looked fluid but just didn’t go down. It seems like we say that every week. Again, Clint needs to get stronger, but the talent is undeniable.

Pittman. C. I thought this would be a game in which Dex could exploit Oklahoma if we were committed. I knew it would be a grinder but our inability to move the ball and enter the post really hurt Pittman and made him a virtual non-factor. The way we are using this kid continues to puzzle me. Giving him 2 minutes in any game from here on out just doesn’t make sense.

Lewis. Incomplete.He played 4 minutes? Weird.

Coaching. B+. Great defensive gameplan from coach by taking the ball out of Taylor Griffin’s hands and forcing the young player to make decisions with the basketball. It was also nice to see him use most of his front court horses, running them at the OU star which eventually wore Griffin down in the 2nd half. The kids also played hard and never seemed to get down after letting OU get out to a couple double digit leads.

Offensively, we continue to get bogged down in a half court setting, a sign that does not portend well for March Madness. Again, I’d like to the Horns to run some more motion and jar whatever is ailing DJ from getting off the basketball. Perhaps Mason running more point is the answer. We’ll see. In any event, it was a nice road win in a hostile environment.

Thoughts?

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6 Responses

  1. Nordberg said:

    February 7th, 2008 at 9:15 am

    Granted, I was hitting the bottle last night, but I don’t remember Lewis playing.

  2. Crown & Coke said:

    February 7th, 2008 at 10:09 am

    Mason was outstanding and AJ’s sharp shooting led the way, tip of the hat to both of them.

    As for D.J., I think the most frustrating offensive sequence of the night was right around the 3:00 mark when we had finally built a small lead. Off the rebound, DJ pushed the ball up the floor and pulled up for just a moment.

    Good, I thought, he’s gonna chew some clock. If there’s one thing our offens can do it’s mindlessly pass the ball around the perimeter, right?

    Instead, with about 20 on the shot clock D.J. drove wildly into the lane before heaving the ball in the air for a turnover, and then fouling the player who recovered the ball.

    Fortunately, OU didn’t capitalize and we cruised to victory. However, come tournament time I can’t help but think it’s these kinds of mental lapses that will eventually seal our fate.

  3. Texoz said:

    February 7th, 2008 at 11:22 am

    Do we run any plays for Conner’s hook shot? If not, we really should. He’s been nailing that at a really high % this season. I’d love to know the actualy % for that shot.

  4. RansomStoddard said:

    February 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    I’m going to make a sign that says “pass the ball DJ” and take it to the next game. How you can be the nation’s number one point guard and never throw a ball into the lane is baffling.

  5. Bartoncreek said:

    February 7th, 2008 at 2:48 pm

    I have been critical of DJ for the last 10 games or so. Unfortunately, he keeps proving me right. He can’t make a post entry pass and rarely drives and dishes. At this point, I prefer when Mason runs the point. He looks to penetrate and pass and DJ can slash from the wing or shoot a j. Mason protects the ball well also. DJ has the ability to be a great point guard and has been one in the not so distant past, but this 10 game spurt of forcing shots and not creating has got to stop.

    I completely agree on Chapman and Dex. They need some minutes. I would like to see us rest AJ at least 5-10 minutes a game and go big with DJ and Mason at the 1 and 2 (they can alternate between them), but Barnes has no interest in resting AJ it seems. He is going to play him and DJ 38+ minutes a game no matter how bad either of them is playing.

    Johnson went from one of the worst games that I have ever seen at A&M to back to back very good performances. Can you say enigma?

    A good win for us, but we are painful to watch. I have no idea what the answer is at this point in the season. We are just so damn inconsistent game to game and player to player. Mason has been our MVP over our last 5 games. Who would have guessed that? He had played like complete crap for 5-8 games before that. We are the definition of helter skelter.

  6. Clap Brown said:

    February 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    The Horns will go as far as AJ’s shooting takes them. Good coaching and fatigue can take away DJ’s game. If AJ’s shots are falling, it opens things up for everyone on the court. We can’t afford his 2/12 nights though.

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