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Memphis Recap and thoughts on the future

Posted by Trips Right on March 31st, 2008 under Basketball

Basking in the afterglow of the Horns win against Stanford Friday night, in my “better than I deserve” seats at Reliant Center 10 rows behind Mack Brown and Vince Young, I noticed something about the layup lines of the two teams that would play the night cap. Michigan State seemed to have a pretty good collection of size and athletic ability. There were big strong posts and smaller skilled guards going through a variety of warm up drills. The one thing that really stuck out to me was how short Tom Izzo is. Weird. Then I scanned the other side of the court and saw the proverbial next level. You know, the holy grail that inane sports talking heads are always carping about. Such and such needs to take his game to the next level, or this team needs to play at a higher level. It’s also known as “taking the next step”, “raising your level of play”, “the light coming on”, etc.

Well, I saw the next level in college basketball at the other end of the floor. It was something I recognized because I had seen it before, only in different forms. I saw it the first time I tried to guard Travis Best in an AAU game or Tim Hardaway in a pickup game. I experienced it first hand when Darren Hancock jumped over me on a dunk when I tried to pick up a charge in a juco game. It’s a level of performance that I could never attain because I wasn’t blessed with that type of skill and God given ability. The Memphis layup line was striking in its size and athleticism. It had it all. They looked like an all-airport team if you’re Dick Vitale or an all-shower team if you’re Jerry Jones.

Twenty minutes later, my suspicions were confirmed. The Tigers had one of the top 13 or 14 teams in America down 50-20 at half. It was like Memphis was playing Athletes in Action. I turned to my buddy and said, “Holy shit, they look like the ‘90 Vegas team.” You know, the juggernaut with a starting five of Anderson Hunt, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Larry Johnson, and George Ackles. With Moses Scurry coming off the bench. Jerry Tarkanian = John Calipari, it’s certainly not a stretch.

So I get home, I write my recap on the Stanford game. Then I begin to write a preview of the Memphis game. Two players into the personnel scouting reports I got a pit in my stomach. There was no way we could guard these guys. I mean shit, Mitch Johnson to Derrick Rose, Anthony Goods to CDR, Fred Washington to Robert Dozier. And when I compared them to their Texas counterpart it didn’t get much better because these guys were bigger, stronger, and generally quicker and more skilled at every position 1-5. They were/are, in street parlance, the truth. There wasn’t a magic zone, or box and 1, or any personnel group that could be used to force them into misses. If Memphis was going to miss, it was because they just missed, not because a Texas player contested a shot or forced them out of a comfort zone. Going in you knew Derrick Rose could ward off a smaller guard and raise up over him. CDR would back down Abrams and raise up over him. Robert Dozier would catch it in the high post and raise up over the backline of our zone. Etc. and so forth. They could get any shot, anytime they wanted it. The only question was whether or not the shot would go down. And they did, at a 50% clip. Hell they were 23-41 inside the arc. Tip your cap.

On defense the story was even worse, as Memphis’ perimeter size really matches up well against our undersized guards in terms of contesting shots. It was obvious our perimeter players 1-5 were intimidated by the explosiveness and length of Memphis defenders which enabled the Tigers to contest and even alter seemingly wide open looks. Texas had never seen that type of athleticism before and it created panic and hesitancy which led to turnovers and some runouts in the first half. Nine turnovers in the first half and 19-62 shooting out of our starters was a recipe for disaster. Only 5 late second half 3’s by Abrams made this game respectable.

The lone bright spot was the first 6-7 minutes of the second half when Rick Barnes went to a box and 1 with Mason on CDR. CDR had been murdering our zone from the high post and the junk D really confused him and the rest of the Tigers allowing the Horns to cut the deficit to 5 points. After a few ill-advised shots including Connor’s one dribble pull-up in the corner and a running 1 handed Connie Hawkins-esque shot, DJ’s offbalance floater against his body, and a variety of Damion James pullup misses, the Horns found themselves down 20 again. Ballgame.

It was a trouncing to be sure, but the game itself serves to set the bar for the Texas program, illustrating what type of talent and skill is necessary to play for and win the whole enchilada. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who the best teams are and why they are the best. Hell, I called the final four here in my January 7th article “Who’s the Best Team?” There’s a reason these four are going to duke it out in San Antonio. Here’s what Texas needs to do to join the party in the future.

Bigger Guards
You saw the value of having bigger guards that know they can get their shot whenever they want it. It’s such a luxury knowing that your counterpart can’t get to your jumpshot. And it f*ck’s with your head knowing a defender can get a piece of your jumper. I’m not saying you can’t have AJ Abrams or a DJ Augustin on your ballclub, it just puts you at a huge disadvantage strategically to have two of them on the court against an elite team, especially if your 3rd guard is 6-2. UCLA has Collison and Westbrook, UNC has Lawson and Ellington, Memphis has Rose and Anderson, Kansas Chalmers and Robinson. Of the eight starting guards, only Lawson, Chalmers, and Robinson are shorter than 6-3.

Hybrid Forward
Each of the 4 teams starts a small forward that could be classified as a third guard. It’s a forward that can rebound, shoot, handle, dish, and generally do it all. Douglass-Roberts, Marcus Ginyard, Josh Shipp, and Brandon Rush not only make it tough for teams to zone placing the all important third shooter on the floor, but they also are a tough matchup for the opponent that has to man, because they can take a bigger forward to the hole or shoot over a smaller defender. Texas has a hybrid forward, he’s just playing out of position as a 4.

Interior Scoring
Notice how I didn’t mention post scoring, because Memphis has anything but a traditional post up game. They do get points in the paint, however, by driving and finishing because all of their perimeter players have elite size and ability to finish at the rim. And their frontcourt is probably one of the best finishing frontcourts in the nation. UCLA ofcourse has Love, UNC Hansbrough, and Kansas has Arthur/Jackson for points in the paint. With Texas’ starting personnel, the Horns will always step on the floor at an officiating disadvantage because they can’t put consistent pressure on teams to defend the rim. If Big Dex, Chapman, Gary Johnson, or Wangmene were playing at their junior year level in yesterday’s game, you would have seen a totally different perimeter defense out of Memphis. The Tigers couldn’t sit on jumpshots like they did Sunday, instead they’d have to be worried about collapsing to help their interior teammates. Plus the free throw shooting differential game in and game out would be more favorable to the Horns. The good news is that there is talent in the pipeline, we just have to continue to develop it and at some point make post play a bigger part of our attack.

So here’s hoping that DJ and James stay because we could be really special if young postmen like Dex, Chapman, Wangmene and Johnson continue to develop at their present rate. If Mason continues to improve, he could be that big guard we need at the two or at times at the one. His defense, improved shooting, and ability to rebound and handle would make him one of the elite off guards in college basketball. Even if DJ leaves, as long as we can get James to stay, we could go with a lineup of Pittman at the 5, Atchley at the 4, James at the 3, Mason at the 1, and Abrams at the 2. We’d be susceptible to teams that pressured, but we could always counter by bringing in Balbay and/or Brown (if he signs), to matchup with those type teams. In any event, Texas has seen the mountain top, and I’m certain that Rick Barnes knows how to get us there. It should be a fun climb.

Hook Them

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14 Responses

  1. bighornfan32 said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 8:13 am

    Wholeheartedly agree. As I was watching the first few minutes, I realized the game was over. Their size was just better at nearly every position, critically the guards. Rick, go get some 6-3+ guards.

  2. Gooba said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 8:16 am

    ‘90 UNLV lost. Yeah Memphis has impressive athletes but more than that they out toughed us. Only Mason and Pittman had the fire we needed the whole time they were in there. Mason was fearless. And you could tell when Pittman came in he knew this game was about intimidation and he tried to throw it right back at the Memphis bench. At the start of the 2nd half James seemed to finally get it too. This is the 3rd year Memphis had been to the regional final, the 1st for most of our guys. Keep the team intact and next year or the year after, we will be the tougher team.

  3. 8straight said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 8:45 am

    For some reason I kept thinking about our 5′9″ corner backs.

  4. Facebook User said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 8:52 am

    I found this on ESPN and thought it said a lot:

    DJ FACE

    I also thought Gary Johnson brought the requisite toughness.

  5. dick said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 9:09 am

    ‘90 UNLV with Scurry won the NC. ‘91 lost 1 game but lost in Final Four to Duke.

  6. Bartoncreek said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 11:21 am

    Agree, Trips. After seeing Memphis up close and personal on Friday, there was no doubt in my mind that we were in big trouble. We needed to be very hot and Memphis needed to be cold for it to be close. That was not the case and the much better team won easily.

    Rose and CDR were just a flat mismatch on DJ and AJ at both ends of the court. Worst team that we could have played with regards to matchups.

    We will be very good again next year even if Augustin turns pro. I believe it would hurt us worse if James leaves. He could be a monster at the 3 for us next year if he continues his improvement. I have no problems with Mason at the 1, as you know. His ballhandling, decision making and toughness have improved so much just during the course of this season. He will be ready to be the point next year if needed. Balbay is the unknown factor there. Hopefully he is for real and he and Brown can give AJ and Mase plenty of rest at the 1 and 2. Suddenly, we have more size and depth if this happens. GJ, Chapman, Pittman, Wangemene and Athcley give us plenty of depth at the 4-5. James plays 30+ min. a game at the 3 and is the key to the team. Connor can spell him at the 3 for 5-10 mins. a game. That way we can stay big. That is how I see it, but it is a long way til next year.

    Congrats to the team. A great season and we went about as far as we were really capable of going. Much better than I ever thought we’d be. It was fun watching them develop.

  7. honkskillet said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 11:51 am

    Good points. Funny you should mention DJames being a Hybrid forward playing out of position at the 4. I think barnes realized the value James at the 3 when he tried to put GJohnson into the starting lineup. Unfortunately GJ at that time wasn’t ready for prime time. Not really his fault. You cannot expect a freshman to step right into big 12 play and not be lost. If augustine jumps, and I am not sure he should for his own sake, then Mason and Abrams should fill the 1 & 2 and James will become that 3 mismatch. Barnes did a great job developing our post players during the year and by next season Atchley, Johnson, Dex, Wingmaniac, and Chapman should provide a deep rotation of ever improving 4’s and 5’s.

  8. Kafka said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 5:28 pm

    Great post and responses.

    I expect that Damion, Dex, Wingman, Mason, Connor, and Chapman will all improve quite a bit by next year.

    Damion needs to improve his ball handling and driving to the bucket. Wingman has very little experience and should be much better next year (I hope that he challenges Connor at the power forward spot).

    Mason improved a lot this year and needs to keep improving his ball handling and shooting. Connor needs to get physically stronger, work on his catching, and learn how to execute the normal suite of post moves. Definitely agree that Connor needs to move to power forward. Chapman needs to get stronger and faster.

    Dex nees to really work on his fitness and get as explosive as possible. I would love to see him at 270.

    Gary Johnson is a warrior but is undersized at power forward. Do you think it is crazy for him to consider switching to small forward? I don’t know if he is fast enough to guard small forwards.

    I will be amazed if Augustin is a horn next year but I think there is a decent chance that Damion may play one more year for UT. He will be a monster if he gets to play small forward for the horns next year.

    How do you think Chapman compares to Matt Hill? Chapman seems to have a knack for the ball and converts well on his shots. He also has some good bulk (which useful at center).

    I hope one of the new recruits will challenge Abrams at shooting guard.

  9. RansomStoddard said:

    March 31st, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    I knew it was going to be a long afternoon when I saw Augustin’s eyes in the first five minutes. They were like saucers. “Not ready for prime time” came to mind.

    My “coming to the light” moment in basketball came my freshman year at Baylor when I got in a pickup game, thinking I could compete since I started for my high school. There was a stocky baldheaded guy who proceeded to destroy me and everyone else without really breaking a sweat. When he dunked over me to end the game, I slunk off the court and tried to regain some dignity by sniffing that he was “pretty good”. Two guys started laughing and said, “yeah, that Vinnie Johnson, he’s not too bad”. It was humiliating.

  10. MIA said:

    April 1st, 2008 at 5:08 am

    It has been my opinion since the days of Chris Mihm that post play has been our weakness. I have not made up my mind whether Barnes doesnt like it, or just haven’t had the right players to implement the strategy. It’s importance is paramount at the higher levels of play. With excellent post play and solid D a team can completely control the tempo of a game.

  11. uncle rico said:

    April 1st, 2008 at 8:44 am

    i totally agree with everyone that this game was over 5 minutes in. the effort texas brought was great but in the end we just had awful matchup issues with memphis and they didn’t prove to be undisciplined at all. you just have to tip your hat to them.

  12. scagnetti said:

    April 1st, 2008 at 9:47 am

    right on tripps…
    could not have examined the beat down any better.
    i too am excited for next season. i have confidence DJ sticks around – along with damion – his parents are serious about that degree. damion needs that team as he has said before. so i think everybody comes back, and we’re here again in 50 weeks.
    here’s to hope in all honesty, memphis’ starting five turn to the association!

    hook ‘em all!

  13. Facebook User said:

    April 1st, 2008 at 10:01 am

    …his parents are serious about that degree.

    It just never seems to work this way. He can, like so many others, come back to school in the summer, if it’s really important. Seems like he’ll go to the camps and get an assessment and go from there. If he’s round 1, I have to believe he’ll split.

  14. El General said:

    April 1st, 2008 at 10:26 am

    We need to send Barnes out to Stanford to figure out to teach the post entry pass. We have not had it since Royal Ivey left, and we haven’t consistently been good at it since Mihm and Chris Owens were our bell cows.

    For Damion to make the transition to the three, his perimeter defense is going to have to improve since the three guard offense is so common in college. The good news is that he only lacks (IMO) technique and repetition.

    Don’t get your hopes up for J’Covan Brown.

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