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Thoughts on Texas A&M Win

Posted by Trips Right on January 24th, 2009 under Basketball

First off I’ve got to say I can’t remember a more whiny son of a bitch than Mark Turgeon. On no less than 6 occasions, Turgeon could be found inside the arc as a ball is being inbounded complaining to an official about a call. This douchebag makes Kelvin Sampson look reserved by comparison. Getting beyond the train wreck that was TAMU coaching etiquette, I thought the game was played predictably well on the defensive end of the floor. Each team was able to dictate tempo on the defensive end effectively, until Rick Barnes decided to go to an even smaller lineup in the second half to spread the floor. The smaller group of Ward, Abrams, Mason, Atchley, and James was a huge boon for Damion James specifically, allowing the talented wing to take Bryan Davis off the dribble at the four spot or pull up for uncontested jumpers. Defensively, the Horns were able to do an unbelievable job rebounding the basketball with their small lineup, mitigating any size advantage the Aggies might have had. The Horns ended up outboarding the Ags 35 to 27 including 7 more offensive rebounds.

On a macro-level, it appeared the Horns have indeed decided to make their small, spread the floor personnel group the core of their identity as a basketball team. Sure Dex and Hill come in to play matchups and provide depth, but it’s apparent to anyone watching that Barnes has handed over the car keys to his talented wings Damion James and Gary Johnson instead of going to an interior centric attack with Pittman and Chapman. If Texas can continue to rebound out of this smaller lineup then all the better. On to the players.

AJ Abrams
AJ followed up a solid shot selection ball game with another really good game tonight. Unless you’re Dickey Simpkins you won’t mistake AJ for AI, but Abrams did some nice things off the dribble tonight with 4 dimes. His modest 10 field goal attempts were anything but Iverson-esque. Defensively, AJ played a whale of game finding himself guarding TAMU’s talented wing Josh Carter for the better part of the ball game. Barnes’ strategy to have AJ on Carter with help coming from a variety of sources was not only interesting but effective in holding the gunslinger to just 8 attempts. AJ’s quickness was key here and give him credit for defending with passion.

Damion James
Following up a great second half against ou and a good offensive game at Tech, Damion James came to play tonight in a big way. The hybrid forward took advantage of mismatches throughout the night taking bigs like Bryan Davis off the dribble and shooting over undersized wings like Josh Carter. This has been the idea all along. James needs to continue to be aggressive on the offensive end because he’s a mismatch the second he steps on the floor. Credit Barnes for realizing DJ is at his best when the floor is spread and he’s given a two way go depending on his defender. When James is placed in a big plodding lineup, he’s relegated to roaming the perimeter seeking out midrange J’s because he can’t take bigger defenders off the bounce or back down smaller wings when the key is congested with low block players. Lift the baseline in a half court setting and DJ can showcase his explosion to the goal or the back to the basket power game he developed his freshman year.

Connor Atchley
Connor continues to play like a shell of the player he was last season or the season before, but the 6-10 senior showed flashes tonight attacking the glass and driving to the cup. His defense on Elonu and Davis was Connor Atchley caliber and he helped the Horns win the battle of the boards. He needs to see the ball go through the net a time or two from distance, and when he does this offense can be really be good.

Justin Mason
Mason was able to play solid defense on Roland for the most part but Justin continues to play tentatively on the offensive end. He did have 3 dimes but they were offset by 3 brutal turnovers. I’ll continue to say it, Mason needs to be off the ball to attack the glass and the basket to be the player he can be. When JM’s on the ball, he’s as uncomfortable as one of Scipio’s dates trying to figure out Sting references.

Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson continues to reward Barnes for making GJ one of the top options. A 6-14 night with 6 foul shots is a productive one against an TAMU frontcourt with a size advantage. Defensively, Gary really did a solid job on Davis all night. When GJ got caught in a switch to Elonu, he didn’t give up anything easy. I’m really excited about this kid’s future.

Dogus Balbay
Dogus does what Dogus does. He’s going to come in and run the show. He’ll get people the ball where they need the ball when they need the ball. Defensively he’ll check your ass all over the floor with quickness and strength. His rebounding, 5 boards in 17 minutes, is gravy.

Varez Ward
I thought Varez gave the Horns some key minutes when they put him at 3 in order to bump DJ to the 4. Not only was Ward able to effectively guard Carter, but Damion was the beneficiary of some mismatches against Bryan Davis. No turnovers means he earned more minutes next ballgame.

Matt Hill
Hill once again was an energy guy off the bench. He came in and grabbed two boards, set some hard screens, and gave the Horns some big fouls. He’s becoming more of piece than the stick to Barnes’ carrot.

Dexter Pittman
Dex had a disappointing game considering all of the point blank looks he got tonight. His 2-5 should have been 4-5, but still he pulled 3 offensive boards, took 5 foul shots, and had 7 points in 7 minutes. Dex needs to understand that he can’t continue to squander point blank bunnies if he wants more playing time. The train’s leaving the station.

Coaching
While Turgeon was playing official, Barnes was pulling levers like the Wizard of Oz. The move to shadow Carter with AJ paid big dividends in limiting catches for TAMU’s most talented perimeter player. Offensively, Barnes’ personnel moves allowed James to find room to maneuver inside and out against a pretty solid Aggie defense. All in all it was about as routine a win as a team can have against a bitter rival. It’s certainly a win a team like Texas can build on. Especially a team that’s testing its new identity.

Thoughts?

Also, please see awiggo @ BON for his wrap up.

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19 Responses

  1. Scipio Tex said:

    January 24th, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    Great write-up. I like our forward-o-centric offense. When DJ and GJ combine for 43, I’m fairly certain it means Longhorn victory, irrespective of opponent.

    I also thought Barnes extending pressure in the 2nd half was crucial in forcing some dumb Aggie turnovers and getting Damion’s confidence up with some rim rocking dunks. Or at least that’s how it looked on the streaming video I was squinting at.

    Damion has that Vince Carter trait when Vince was at Carolina – get him a couple of easy dunks in transition early and his interest and intensity level goes through the roof.

  2. srr50 said:

    January 24th, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    I really liked that stretch in the 2nd half when Barnes extended the pressure full court. It really seemed to disrupt A&M’s flow, and the pressure effectively put the ball in the wrong player’s hand when they did get across the timeline, and that led to poor shot selection.

    I really was happy to see that if A.J. and Connor were going to continue to play Blind Man’s Bluff behind the arc, we at least had good shot selection. I think we only attempted 8 three pointers tonight.

    A&M takes on it’s coaches personality, as they were pretty chippy all night long.

  3. Mark Turgeon said:

    January 24th, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    My skill players really suck. Bad.

  4. Tommy said:

    January 25th, 2009 at 12:10 am

    how is UT v. A&M not worthy of ESPN or ESPN2 its a rivalry game w/ a top 25 team grrrr.

  5. SkymonkeyHorn said:

    January 25th, 2009 at 8:00 am

    Kudo’s to DJ and GJ, they played like they were in High school. The play of the 3’s was 100% effort and talent by both. I remember both in HS playing like contolled animals and letting their talent come through. I hope Barnes has seen the light about his tight ass offensive scheme.
    The transition game showed that Dog and AJ are making good passes for easy baskets and creating mis-matches on the offensive end. The pass that AJ made across midcourt to DJ was a great pass without a dribble in the second half spurt.
    The pressure during the second half should be a major part of our defense. Like someone mentioned above the pressure takes the ball out of the other teams PG that results in easy points, hope we start pushing the ball after defensive rebounds even if we do not get a basket,we will cause other teams to worry about our transition offense and that will slow down their offense to our advantage. If we keep rebounding out of our small lineup and push harder and Barnes lets the team be players the dance continues to shine bright.

  6. scagnetti said:

    January 25th, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    first off, great writeup, good win and encouraging progress.
    i too thought mark turgeon has turned into a whiny little bitch. but thats the key, hes turned into one.
    i had the pleasure of covering a few wichita st. games when he was there, and was quite reserved with game calling when in kansas. i wonder if college town has made him look to luby’s for nourishment, and the quick pak store for gossip, in that he seems a different coach and man on the sidelines.
    its no surprise to see that aggieland has turned him into a sour grape.

  7. Art Vandelay said:

    January 25th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    This team can make some noise if Conner can hit some three’s. It will spread the defense even more.

    I’m nitpicking here but the Horns don’t hit the floor hard enough when there is a loose ball.

    Bryan Davis just fouled his roommate.

  8. Bob in Houston said:

    January 25th, 2009 at 4:09 pm

    “how is UT v. A&M not worthy of ESPN or ESPN2 its a rivalry game w/ a top 25 team grrrr.”

    I think last year Kansas-Missouri was stuck on ESPNU. (shrug)

  9. 8straight said:

    January 25th, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    Chemistry is a funny thing. In a year when it looks like we could go non-stop in the paint with all the big bodies we become a face the basket team. Maybe this will wake Connor up from his slumber. Has Chapman fallen off the planet?

  10. Bob in Houston said:

    January 25th, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    I don’t know that I’ve given up on Atchley, but it’s clear that he can’t be counted on right now.

    Fun fact to know and tell:

    Texas may be near the bottom fifth of the nation in FT shooting, but no team’s opponents have shot FTs worse. Fifty-eight percent. Really.

    Ken Pom Stats

  11. Bartoncreek said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 7:54 am

    Interesting stat. Just further proof that bad FT shooting is contagious.

    Like I said after after the Tech game. This team can only be as good as Damion. He is our one matchup problem. It is good to see him stepping up and good to see the O go through him.

    Also, I thought AJ played a great game. He showed a much better handle than he has in the past and had some nice feeds. He seems like he is willing to take on more of a point guard mentality. That is really his only shot at ever playing in the league. His defense on Carter was nothing short of outstanding as well. Very impressed with his game and hope that he can continue to develop some PG skills down the stretch.

    Thanks, as usual, for the writeup, Trips.

  12. hiphopopotamus said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 8:32 am

    I’m getting the sense that you’re not a Mark Turgeon fan.

  13. Scipio Tex said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 8:47 am

    The fact that Josh Carter – 6′6 with a solid body – allowed a 5′9 guy to guard him with impunity is odd.

    That’s like me shutting down Dexter Pittman.

    Or Trips Right shutting down Hank Dudek.

  14. Trips Right said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 9:23 am

    Fuck you. I was the El Paso defensive player of the year. I held Antoine Gillespie scoreless in a pick up game, until he decided to post me. Oh wait…

  15. Scipio Tex said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 9:27 am

    Fuck you. I was the El Paso defensive player of the year.

    Trips beat out a barb-wire fence and a drunken border guard.

  16. Trips Right said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 9:42 am

    I’m moving our annual meeting from Vegas to Juarez.

  17. The General said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 11:49 am

    There’s nothing like taking the gambling/booze/clean state run prostitution trifecta off the board and adding murder/kidnapping/inexpensive diseased prostitution in its place.

  18. The General said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 11:55 am

    Note to draft eligible shooting guards: Please include Josh Carter in your film of Josh Shipp being guarded by AJ as Exhibit A in the case of These Guys Don’t Belong in The League v. Two Shooting Guards Without the Minimals.

  19. Bob in Houston said:

    January 26th, 2009 at 12:24 pm

    Or, AJ could be a little bit better defensive player than most of us think.

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