Basketball Articles
Texas Longhorns Basketball – Notes from inside Denton Cooley Pavilion
Posted by Sailor Ripley on September 14th, 2009 under Basketball
The Crucible
Trips and Hank Dudek have been doing a great job discussing hoops and we’re all very excited about this season’s squad and their continued excellent analysis and coverage.
In an effort to augment some of what they’ve talked about, I wanted to pass along some paraphrased comments we’ve received from a few sources we’re very lucky to have. Folks who are close to the program and get to see some things first hand.
From Denton Cooley Pavilion…
- This isn’t really news but Avery Bradley has been the most impressive player. Gerry Hamilton might argue as he loves Jordan Hamilton like Trips loves the Juarez Donkey Show but our sources seem to feel if they were choosing first in a pick up game, Avery would get the nod. Obviously no knock on Hamilton as we are clearly moving into an embarrassment of riches sort of thing here. Otherworldly was another word used to describe him. Not TJ Ford quick but gets past people almost at will. Royal Ivey couldn’t stop him. Also has a huge vertical (…just seems to hang in the air…) and he will need to hit his free throws because he’ll be at the line a lot this year.
- Jordan Hamilton was very impressive. Didn’t look as big as he’s listed and didn’t look as big as Damion James (get more reps with Todd Wright). He’s a super-athletic player (deceptive leaper). Very quick release and accurate from 24 feet. Athletic enough and big enough to get a rebound and go the distance, though he’ll have some trouble grabbing the tough rebound in traffic (a la Damion). Did toss down a few dunks in traffic. Decent ball-handler but definitely needs to work on his off hand. Not necessarily one-and-done. Barnes thinks he has a ton of room to grow.
- Varez Ward is even quicker than he was last year, a serious athlete. Still not a threat from 15 feet out. Been working on the mid-range game. Also gets in the lane at will and must learn to finish at the goal. Free throws and distribution need to be his focus for improvement.
- 25 minutes a game max for Dexter Pittman is a real likelihood but he’s an absolute man when not being zoned.
- Matt Hill has shown continued improvement, finishing some contested shots at the goal.
- Clint Chapman is still showing flashes of potential but needs to get consistent, hasn’t been able to really get it all together.
- J’Covan Brown has blown everybody away. A true 6 assists a game PG. He has a remarkable floor sense. Knows where everybody is and sees all the angles. Perhaps more importantly, he seems to be a really good kid and is well-liked by his teammates. He’s hitting his classes and getting his shit done. Obviously the pressure gets ratcheted up in season but so far, so good. It’s debatable how much anybody can affect the NCAA Clearinghouse but DeLoss was personally monitoring this situation. J’Covan will be the pointguard.
- Lots of conjecture about DeLoss’ timetable for retirement and the possibility that Mack takes over. Suffice to say, Rick Barnes thinks this will be a net-positive as respects attendance as Mack might be just the guy who can sell the bifurcation of donation/ticketing for football and basketball.
Hope that was interesting. If you have any specific questions, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
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Blues commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 55 seconds ago
Pittman plays 3 and a half minutes before getting a break.
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jc25 commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 4 minutes ago
3 for X early. Bad news if he’s hot. Good news if he goes into Jordan Hamilton mode and still cold.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 5 minutes ago
Huge early foul on Aldrich. Rick cites that he subbed Gary because Mason was being sagged off of. No shit rick.
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jc25 commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 6 minutes ago
GJ just drew a foul on 360. That probably happened a minute ago in real time.
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 8 minutes ago
I’m convinced that ESPN does this shit on purpose to drive hits to ESPN360.com
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Rob commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 10 minutes ago
I do mean 5:45 Central Time, by the way.
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Rob commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 11 minutes ago
Again, why don’t Big East games start at 6:45? It took three minutes to play 11 seconds (as I type, another foul is called).
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jc25 commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 11 minutes ago
Kevin Jones almost airmailed a FT but Ebanks got the putback. Down 7 with 43 secs left. WVU has one more timeout. ESPN360 still in standby.
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Magnus Bleuveigner commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 15 minutes ago
Loved watching Nate Rob play although I kind of like UW. They have another scoring midget in Isaiah Thomas. Not the Florida Atlantic coach.
Big East ball was fun to watch in the Ray Allen/Iverson days.
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jc25 commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 17 minutes ago
Naturally as I submit that, WVU gets an And 1 on a 3. Down 5 with 2 to play. ESPN360 is a likely possibility.
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Magnus Bleuveigner commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 17 minutes ago
Since tip isn’t quite ready. I’m going to live blog the JBPH. I’ve never seen this show but I understand the premise is each show represents one hour of the day. Seems like it would be a real boring 8 week stretch when he’s getting some shut eye. What would constitute a good episode during
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jc25 commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 17 minutes ago
Good win for Nova if they can hold on. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t stand Big East basketball, even if they have 4 teams in the top 10. Give me Duke-Carolina, give me white guys from Indiana and Iowa, give me little guys like mini’s like Nate Robinson. Somehow Bob Huggins
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Blues commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 19 minutes ago
If we play like we have been, The Jack Bauer Power Hour is going to look pretty good.
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Magnus Bleuveigner commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 22 minutes ago
Alright fellas, I’m now sequestering myself in the man-cave with the naked wife and gin. I’m actually hoping these chops are pretty thin so he can just slide them under the door when they’re ready.
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jc25 commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 26 minutes ago
Magnus, a true UT grad would make like a banana and split for the closest sports bar. Jack Bauer’s a cool guy, but unless Elisha Cuthbert is going to walk around nakeder than the day she was born, there ain’t no reason to pick a jumped the shark tv show over your jumped the
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uthookem commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 29 minutes ago
Wow…Magnus, that must be some pretty good gin. Are you eating the chops off of his naked wife?
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Magnus Bleuveigner commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 29 minutes ago
Please don’t incite me.
Forgot this fool has a man-cave. I’ll be watching. Feel free to type your thoughts in the most non-descriptive manner.
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Texastough commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 33 minutes ago
Magnus, I didn’t pick you for one to let yourself be limpwristbitchslapped like that.
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Magnus Bleuveigner commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 34 minutes ago
Power Hour. The Jack Bauer Power Hour. Now he’s happy. Fucking sit-coms.
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Magnus Bleuveigner commented on the blog post Kansas Open Thread 36 minutes ago
Ha ha. That’s the best “if we can stop….” yet. Well played.
I need y’all to paint the picture for me tonight. I’m at my friends house and this fag is watching The Jack Bauer Hour at 8. I can’t complain too much as I’m drinking his gin and about to eat chops but you’d expect
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The General wrote a new blog post: Kansas Open Thread 44 minutes ago
If we can stop Luke Axtell, we might have a chance.
By the way, Gary Johnson to get the start over Justin Mason per Craig Way on the pregame.
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Burnt Orange Wookiee commented on the blog post Game Day: Spurs vs. Lakers Open Thread 1 hour, 40 minutes ago
I have no predictions. This team has too much potential to win, yet not shown enough for me to believe that this will definitely be a victory too. That said, Tim Duncan will stomp a mud hole in Pau Gasol’s ass. Or DJ Mbenga’s…
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Kyle Lusson has never demonstrated the slightest ability to contribute offensively. If everyone else is knocking the cover off the ball and he’s saving a run a game with his glove, then I can see playing him. Otherwise…
Here’s to baseball talk on BC! Don’t make me go back to Hornfans.
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Vasherized commented on the blog post A Golden Age for Americans in the EPL 1 hour, 59 minutes ago
Yeah that was a layup. At least you finished it …
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Great stuff, hiphop. Should be fun tonight.
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Our network partners Oread Boom Kings cover the Jayhawks with great passion, wit and insight. They have a great write up that is a book end to the one I put up earlier here.
Be sure to check them out here / @OreadBoomKings.
Well, tonight’s the night we’ve all been waiting for.
The epic tilt
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J Rog wrote a new blog post: Game Day: Spurs vs. Lakers Open Thread 2 hours, 54 minutes ago
GREAT ODIN’S RAVEN. The Spurs may not need to stop Kobe tonight, because he may not play, nursing an ankle injury. No Bynum and possibly no Kobe? Merry Christmas Coach Pop.
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Vasherized commented on the blog post Duke Basketball: The Devil You Know? 2 hours, 54 minutes ago
Ah, the Barnes Mindfuck. It’s all-encompassing!
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When you skip steps on the way up/ It has a way of catching up
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First, it was the brilliance of T Boone Pickens’ hedge fund management. While the
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You had me at the Bad Street USA reference.
kafka said:
September 14th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Super interesting, Ripley.
A lot of stuff has been said about Dex’s improved conditioning but a max of 25 min/game sounds like he still has a ways to go (is that the case?)..
Hamilton is plenty big enough to play small forward.
Great news that J’Covan will be the point guard. It would have been easy for Barnes to screw up that decision (given all the returning point guards on the roster).
Wonderful to hear about Varez’s progress. Given that either Bradley or Brown will probably have the ball in their hands 95% of the time, it is good advice for Varez to focus on hitting free throws and ball handling. Varez, there is no disgrace in shooting a set shot from 3 point land. You will have plenty of time to get the shot off and it is much easier than a 3 point jump shot.
Really surprising that Matt Hill seems to be doing better than Chapman. Wonder if Barnes is trying to motivate Chapman (who appears to be more talented than Matt Hill).
It could be a real bummer if Mack retires (from a football perspective not a bball perspective). Here’s an idea, give away free tickets to the horns game to austin area college and high school students. Get the drum rockin. Way more important for the basketball program to create a great atmosphere at home games than the lost revenue.
How is Damion looking? Any improvement (in ball handling, for example)?
Vasherized said:
September 14th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Sailor just earned a one month extension on his temp contract.
Great stuff. The potential of the team is stratospheric.
Scipio Tex said:
September 14th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Thanks, man. A couple of thoughts:
Jordan Hamilton was very impressive. Didn’t look as big as he’s listed and didn’t look as big as Damion James (get more reps with Todd Wright).
I’ve heard exactly opposite of this. That Jordan was a legit 6-7 230.
Not that I care as he’s playing SF.
Athletic enough and big enough to get a rebound and go the distance, though he’ll have some trouble grabbing the tough rebound in traffic (a la Damion).
That’s an issue for Damion? I always thought he battled pretty well in there.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:32 am
“J’Covan Brown has blown everybody away. A true 6 assists a game PG. He has a remarkable floor sense. Knows where everybody is and sees all the angles. Perhaps more importantly, he seems to be a really good kid and is well-liked by his teammates. He’s hitting his classes and getting his shit done. Obviously the pressure gets ratcheted up in season but so far, so good. It’s debatable how much anybody can affect the NCAA Clearinghouse but DeLoss was personally monitoring this situation. J’Covan will be the pointguard.”
I just came…
Sailor Ripley said:
September 14th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Scip – One source looked at him and the quote was like he didn’t seem to be the 232 that he’s listed at. 232 can be thinly stretched across a 6-7 frame, I guess. I took it as more of a comment on weight than height. Perhaps we’ve all grown accustomed to the post-Todd Wright work. As you point out, if he’s on the perimeter a lot, not really and issue plus he’ll have match up advantages.
On the rebounding, that was sloppy grammar. The a la Damion was a reference to the grabbing a tough rebound in traffic. Clearly Damion is a beast rebounding in traffic. This isn’t Jordan’s forte. He can get a long or unchallenged rebound and go but in traffic, Damion still wins that.
dick said:
September 14th, 2009 at 11:43 am
yeah i think the original poster meant “though he’ll have some trouble grabbing the tough rebound in traffic (UNLIKE Damion).”
texoz said:
September 14th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
If Bradley and Brown are as good as we’re hearing, I have a few predictions.
1) We win it all.
2) One or both leave for NBA
3) Varez gets a lot of minutes next year, which is one of the reasons he probably stuck around. That, and playing in the NC.
God, I can’t wait for the season to start. As someone else mentioned, I really hope the UT sports goes all out to promote the upcoming season. If it was me, I would already be working an ad campaign. First game is two months away, Nov 15 vs UC Irvine. They should set a goal to fill the Drum even if they have to give tix away.
scagnetti said:
September 14th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Re: Avery
“…and he will need to hit his free throws because he’ll be at the line a lot this year.”
Is this a case of Avery being weak at the stripe – I hadn’t heard any FT info about him so far – AND/OR is this a function of him getting cheap fouls against weaker opponents?
panchoclaus said:
September 14th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
I was wondering about that Damion comment given his propensity to rack up 20 boards on occasion… and tapping out ones he can’t pull down.
September 14th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Is this a case of Avery being weak at the stripe – I hadn’t heard any FT info about him so far – AND/OR is this a function of him getting cheap fouls against weaker opponents?
He is a decent free throw shooter, not his strong point. He was referring to it as Bradley will get fouled frequently.
hookemtms said:
September 15th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Has anyone seen or heard from Balbay this off season? I have not seen him in any of the open run videos and was wondering if he was out of the country over the summer? Just curious and really looking forward to the best season ever!
September 15th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Glad to hear J’Covan is meshing with the team and adding some positive energy to the overall team chemistry. I know it’s too early to tell how any of them will respond while in the heat of a game but this is still a good sign…..if they can pull it together and honor their individual roles, this team will be a VERY SERIOUS CONTENDER for the ultimate prize!
I’m from Tacoma , WA so trust me when I say…….we’re all countin’ down the days!
Bob in Houston said:
September 15th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I ordered my copy of Blue Ribbon tonight. I’m really looking forward to this season…
gohornsgo90 said:
September 16th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Bob, I don’t know anything about Blue Ribbon. How is it different from Athlon/Lindy’s?
ipowers said:
September 20th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Was with Jordan, yesterday. Good kid. Doesn’t look 230 when u look at him and spend time around him, has a mature frame and has been listed in the 225-230 lbs. range for a while now, so it must be something to it. I’ve been telling Trips dumb ass that he isn’t one and done for months now but I was a crazy and a douche bag and all that type of shit, now somebody else who has actually seen him verifies what I’ve been saying all along.
Gene Lee said:
September 29th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
If Brown is as good as everyone reports, he and Bradley are the key players to a deep run in the playoffs. It comes down to guards. And we’ve got guards out the wazzuu! Having Dex inside for rebounds, scoring, blocking shots, setting screens, playing the inside-out game, etc., is all very important. But it can’t happen without the guards. Jai can help in situations; Balbay, well, he’s great on defense but a real liability after that. Maybe he can be our Bruce Bowen. Varez and Justin can both play some point, but they have some liabilities, too.
But, overall, depth and talent at guard will win playoff games. JMO.