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Post UC Irvine Post

Posted by The General on November 15th, 2009 under Basketball

One of my favorite things to do is show up to Horns basketball games 60-90 minutes early, grab a Hat Creek cheeseburger, and watch the guys go through drills. You see a lot of things that you can’t pick up during a telecast or even watching the game, because guys let their guard down a little bit. Here are a few observations from the shootaround and the game:

1) J’Covan Brown has a very sweet stroke. It is pure, smooth, and he has a quick release. It is good that he has a quick release because he can’t jump. He got denied by the rim on a dunk in the layup line type dunk drill, and it wasn’t like a miss, it was the top half of the ball against the rim.

2) We had an alleyoop drill. I haven’t seen Texas do this before. We had managers throwing the alleyoops. We ought to let the players do it. I think this is good. I think it is obvious from the game that it has been a point of emphasis, and I like it.

3) Jordan Hamilton also has a sweet stroke, but he has a little wind up in his stroke that slows him down a bit. When he tries to shoot it quickly, he isn’t nearly as accurate. It shouldn’t matter a whole lot in college because of his size.

4) Gary Johnson spent a good bit of the shoot around shooting threes, and he was using a little more shooter friendly form than his normal high clipped release. It gave him a little more arc on his shot. Last year he would spend the whole shootaround knocking down elbow jumpers. By my count, he went 12-20 including a couple of 4-5 in a row runs from two spots.

5) Shawn Williams did drills with the post group. So, did Damion James which isn’t particularly noteworthy except that he was with the guards last year. Shawn also has a fundamentally sound stroke, but he has a very wide base. This usually means he isn’t going to get his shot up quickly.

6) Clint Chapman was MIA from the pregame and not on the bench during the game.

7) Doge looked more comfortable shooting the ball, and his release was higher, which is good. He did not make many shots.

From the game:

1) The veterans didn’t try to force anything. This is a good sign. The presence of the young guys offensive prowess may be enough for everyone to relax and play within themselves.

2) Defensively, the young guys were out there giving max effort. I did see that Jordan and Avery both lost their men off the ball a couple of times. It was like they lost focus when their guy was standing still. Avery’s ungodly speed allows him to get away with this, but Jordan can’t. Barnes mentioned this post game, and I think that this is one limiting factor in Jordan’s playing time.

3) Shawn Williams didn’t seem to have the same problem. He is going to see more playing time because he is taking care of business on the defensive end. Also, 6 rebounds in limited playing time is pretty impressive. I like Williams alot, though I don’t want to toss his salad like ipowers does.

4) It is tough Gary Johnson that Wangmene is a little better fit in the lineup because he doesn’t need the ball.

5) Speaking of Wangmene, the dude is ripped. He has added some serious upper body strength since last year.

6) Avery Bradley doesn’t jump, he levitates. Also, judging by the shootaround, the two dunks we saw in the game weren’t full jumps. He has more ups than he showed in the game.

7) J’Covan was real amped up. I think he will settle down a bit after a few games. His temper is probably going to get him a technical at some point. Barnes pulled him when he started to show it after consecutive non calls on drives to the basket.

8 ) At some point I was lamenting our offensive performance when I looked up and we had a 25 point lead on 50% shooting.

9) We are going to need to play alot of four out and one in to open the lane for our perimeter guys. There just isn’t much room with Damion and Dexter both in the paint.

10) When we play an up tempo team our offense will look better because the floor will open up.

11) Avery Bradley can enter the ball into the post. Justin Mason even had a nice entry into Big Dex.

12) Dex is a monster. The more touches he gets, the better for the Horns.

13) Damion does not want to wait until December to be the Horns all time leading rebounder.

14) Lexi Wangmene has stone hands.

15) I love sporting venue vendor nachos.

16) Lexi Wangmene and the freshman desperately need playing time.

17) Jordan Hamilton’s wrap around in traffic then crossover to the goal was pretty sweet.

18) Barnes is going to ride Hamilton until he gets what he wants on defense.

19) Damion James looked very relaxed and in control.

We will learn more about this team when they are challenged. That probably does not happen until USC or Michigan State. I think the fact that we could play so poorly on offense and put up 89 points on 50%+ shooting is one helluva good sign for the season.

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42 Responses

  1. Joe Pfäffikon said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    Iowa already lost to UTSA. Pitt barely beat Wofford. Should be an easy CBE.

  2. nordberg said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    “8 ) At some point I was lamenting our offensive performance when I looked up and we had a 25 point lead on 50% shooting.”

    I kept doing the exact same thing. And this is going to be commonplace for this team. We’ll bitch and bitch and bitch… and then we’ll look up at the scoreboard and we’re beating OU by 20 with two minutes to go in the game. The amound of “garbage buckets” this team will get will be staggering.

  3. nordberg said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    And as you all know, “amound” is French for “amount”.

    The more you know.

  4. MerHorn said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 8:37 pm

    I hope Barnes riding Hamilton does not mean Hamilton forgetting how to play offense and becoming a head case for stretches of the season…Barnes can have this effect when he gets in players heads.

  5. nordberg said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    I think that can be a concern for guys like Varez Ward or Justin Mason. But Jordan Hamilton isn’t going to forget how to score.

  6. dick said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 8:47 pm

    Very impressed with the freshmen, especially S Williams. I thought he was just going to be a shooting specialist with length to help with zone defense but he looks like he will be able to contribute in many ways even in conference play.

    We are going to wear a lot of teams down this year. The anteaters were gassed by halftime today.

    How the hell does Lucas fit in once he’s eligible?

  7. Hornmatic said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 9:02 pm

    Post game quotes:

    Barnes on J’Covan-

    J’Covan Brown wore us all out. I’ve never seen a guy that amped up, ever. We got through practice yesterday at 4:30, but he stayed up on the floor for another hour. At 5:30 he was still here. I came here at 7:30 last night for the team meeting, and he was already on the court, sweating. This morning they said after pre-game meal he went ahead and went to the practice facility to shoot some.

    Pittman on J’Covan-

    I don’t think J’Covan was nervous. He was amped. I think he was ready to play. He’s a competitor. He loves the competition. I don’t think he’ll back down from anything.

    ——————

    *goose bumps*

  8. Hornmatic said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 9:09 pm

    Oh, and Hat Creek is the shit. I scoffed the first time i paid $7.50 for one last year…but then i ate it. Infinitely better than the $6 school cafeteria buger you get at the Center Court Club.

  9. Juice said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

    J’Covan fist bumped everyone he could find, including the officials, before the opening tip. Then he got the ball taken from him on consecutive trips (and once a few minutes later). Yes, he was amped. Wangmene is ripped, but moves a little like Frankenstein. We will collect a ton of garbage buckets with James and Dex.

  10. EnglishAg said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 9:42 pm

    Justin Mason even had a nice entry into Big Dex.

    *snigger

  11. EggNog said:

    November 15th, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    Interesting quote from Pittman about there being no starters on this team, that anyone can start on any given night. That tells me the guys are buying into what Barnes is selling.

  12. Sailor Ripley said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 12:46 am

    Great stuff, TG.

    The J’Covan stuff from Barnes is awesome. Hopefully Lemmy will give SLX some time off of the tour and he can give us some thoughts too.

  13. kevwun said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 7:19 am

    I wonder if J’Covan is going to have surgery on his foot after the season to deal with the screw that’s giving him trouble?

  14. Orbea said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 7:24 am

    The first time we really find out about this team is in Dallas when we play UNC. Iowa is just terrible this year, Pitt is down and without their two best players, and USC is in turmoil following the departure of Tim Floyd. There should not be a game in the first nine that we don’t win by 10 or more.

  15. jonestopten said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 8:44 am

    “6) Avery Bradley doesn’t jump, he levitates. Also, judging by the shootaround, the two dunks we saw in the game weren’t full jumps. He has more ups than he showed in the game.”

    I agree with that on the dunks, but we did see his ups: the elevation he gets on his jump shot is otherwordly. What an amazing athlete.

  16. texoz said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 8:59 am

    I’m still in awe of the first game. We only saw flashes of things to come. I’ve been watching basketball for a long time and what I saw last night reminded me of watching Phi Slamma Jamma. Not in style or type of basketball, but the feeling I got watching them. That was a special group as is this one. However, I think this UT team is deeper, much deeper than Slamma Jamma.

    The three areas of weakness/concern will be team cohesion, foul shooting and smart play from our PG. If Barnes can strengthen the latter two and maintain the first (team cohesion) going into conference play, I think this team will be one of the best college teams to ever step onto the floor.

  17. kafka said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 10:19 am

    That is a smart move by Gary to work on his 3 point shot. Power forwards who are good 3 point shooters are great for floor spacing when you ave a dominant big man like Dex.

    Glad to see that Shawn Williams red shirt was burned and that he is a good rebounder and defender (in addition to being a good shooter). Jordan needs some competition at small forward.

    Barnes should play a lot on zone D this year to keep Dex from getting attacked when playing man to man D and to stretch Dex’s minutes. Dex should much more effective defensively and rebounding when playing zone than when playing man.

    J’Covan has a screw in his foot?

  18. Mysterious Package said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 10:47 am

    Really excited about J’Covan, what is wrong with his foot?

  19. kevwun said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 11:16 am

    He’s got at least one screw in his foot from a previous injury and he’s said a screw is giving him a little trouble. Says it hurts when he pushes off. I imagine that it’s limiting his jumping ability and speed some. This isn’t new, though. He’s been dealing with it since before he’s been on campus.

  20. SkyMonkeyHorn said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 11:51 am

    Ladies stop all the jumping up and down in your tutus.
    Check out the “Physicality” of this team.
    Does it remind you of some teams. Give you a hint they wear Green and White from up north with several large lakes around them. OK for the uniformed this team plays defense like the old Michigan State teams that used to kick everyones ass and it will get better .
    When they all listen to RB about using their arms ,keeping then in the passing lanes, with the length of this team , speed and quickness this team will make teams cry and yell for mom……
    Dog played well and his shoting form lookd good but did not score again…..Patron cried some watching him !

  21. Homesick Alien said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    Stop me if I’m out of line…

    But watching them yesterday, I was reminded of ’90s Kentucky or UNLV.

    I was absolutely flummoxed by the depth and athleticism of this team.

    There have been talented UT teams before, but I don’t think there’s one that could touch this one, talent-wise. I know that’s a bold statement. If I’m wrong, show me.

    This team could be completely scary good.

    If Barnes is able to make this team better over the course of the year {which is his job, obviously}, then wow.

  22. Homesick Alien said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    Also, when I remembered late in the 2nd half that Jai Lucas was still to be added to this squad, I drooled some more.

  23. nordberg said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    Ho hum, another McDonald’s All-American to bring off our bench.

  24. The General said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    I didn’t realize how much of the game the effing MAAC soccer game cut off. If it was 21-19 when the television audience joined the broadcast, then you missed all the worst parts of the game.

  25. The General said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 7:02 pm

    I forgot to mention:

    We had the first “We Want Dick” chant from the Ozone. Allsome. I hope the kid sticks it out for four years because of this. I will giggle uncontrollably every time this happens

  26. ipowers said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 8:41 pm

    I have been telling everybody on this site that Shawn Williams was more than just a shooter, but people like Trips still insisted on referring to the rankings on rivals or his scouting reports that he got from his “AAU coach friend”. He didn’t get any opportunities to put the ball in the hole and he’s playing out of position at the 4, but that will come. He has always been a good rebounder and he showed what he can do in the open floor when he took it off the glass and busted out with the dribble and led the break for a bucket. He can stroke it and put it on the floor. He is lacking behind Hamilton and Bradley in the physical (strength) department right now and that probably won’t come until the offseason, but when it does watch out.

  27. dick said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    Shawn Williams will be here for 4 years too. I’m looking forward to watching him over his career.

  28. ipowers said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    3 years Dick

  29. Blake Borron said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

    4 years ipowers.

  30. dick said:

    November 16th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    If he’s good enough to leave for the NBA after 3 years, then he would have far exceeded anyone’s expectations and we’d all be pretty happy.

  31. ipowers said:

    November 17th, 2009 at 1:14 am

    What leads you to believe that he wouldn’t be ? Who’s expectations are you talking about ? Barking Carnival’s ? Remember all u experts expected him to redshirt this year too. The shit that kills me is that u talk about him as if he was ranked in the 200-300’s coming out of high school. He was a top 50 player in the country. I have seen him play more than anybody on this site combined. Stop arguing with me and just take my word for it. I think I’m more informed about this than any of u are. Goddamn !!!

  32. Blake Borron said:

    November 17th, 2009 at 8:47 am

    Nothing to do with BC’s expectations. Just what I’ve seen from him. He was NOT a consensus top 50 player, and no I’m not treating him like he was is the hundreds just because he won’t leave to go to the NBA early, that is God-awful logic. Bradley could be a three year player but he was #1 in ESPN, am I treating him like like a…errr, uh…top 50 player? That’s idiotic logic. It depends on the player, not the ranking. You may have seen him a lot, but you are so obviously biased whenever you open your mouth about him that nobody believes anything you say. Plus have the time you say it, you’re almost incommunicable and sometimes just flat-out ridiculous.

  33. The General said:

    November 17th, 2009 at 10:30 am

    ipowers,

    Your assertion was that Jordan Hamilton couldn’t hold Shawn’s jock. That is still ridiculous. He looks like an excellent complimentary player that can hit the open shot and do all the little things. It is still a leap to think he will be able to skip his senior year in college for the draft. There are 200 top 50 rated out of high school players eligible for the draft every year. 64 players get drafted.

    Chill the fuck out. Everyone likes the kid. If you don’t want to read that Jordan Hamilton is better, then stop reading every single comparison of the two on all the interwebs.

    Regards,

    TG

  34. SkyMonkeyHorn said:

    November 17th, 2009 at 11:50 am

    I PEE,
    “I have seen him play more than anybody on this site combined. Stop arguing with me and just take my word for it. I think I’m more informed about this than any of u are. Goddamn !!!”

    We are not able to argue with you since you have to have a brain to argue.
    Besides we know that you have inside info on your son,Right ?
    Hey Shawn did well even on the lowdown side, he did rebound well and he was in the right spots to screen and made the right pass, his fastbreak was a little like JH’s break.
    You may be right that in 3 yrs he will be strong enough to be good/ outstanding just like Conner A. was maybe better then Conner, I hope so but lets talk about it in 3-4 yrs. Kid is goood……

  35. ipowers said:

    November 17th, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    For the last time – never said that Jordan couldn’t hold Shawn’s jock. All I said was that Jordan couldn’t do anything that Shawn couldn’t do. Name one skill Shawn doesn’t have. He can shoot the ball, handle the ball, rebound the ball and defend. All he is lacking is size and strength. You idiots think that talent is the difference with these kids. Jordan is more mature than Shawn is and that is mainly due to him being physically bigger and stronger. He doesn’t have a skill problem. His body will be where it needs to be in 3 years. I am so biased huh ? I have seen him do some amazing shit with my own eyes, take my wod for it. I only vouch for him as much as I do becuase BC has dogged him since day 1 and it’s was ridiculous to treat a kid like that. Once again I am not his father. My last name is Powers not Williams, for the last time. Check nbadraft.net and read some of my articles since u clowns are convinced that I don’t know shit. I’ve been told that before and I always have the last laugh. Remember everybody thought I was crazy when I said he wouldn’t redshirt and that he was going to play significant minutes.

  36. ipowers said:

    November 17th, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Complimentary player huh General ??? Watch u telling to chill the fuck out. U don’t know me like that.

  37. The General said:

    November 17th, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    What are you going to do? Kick the shit out of my internet? Vomit unintelligible sentence fragments until I scream to make the bad man stop? Continue to offer no content to this site other than Shawn Williams is Black Jeebus?

    Williams is the 11th guy in the rotation. I think complimentary player is a compliment. Like I said up yonder, the kid does some things really well, but he has a long way to go.

  38. ipowers said:

    November 17th, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    He’s a freshman on the 3rd ranked team in the country that is 2 deep at every position. Yeah he’s a complimentary player, but you make it seem like that’s all he’ll be. His role will increase year after year and he will be one of the main options on offense. Hell, he would’ve been on last years team had he been on the team. Bottom line is the kid is more talented than you people on this punk ass site give him credit for. How do u know that he can knock down an open shot and he never took a shot in the game last week, so other than pregame drills you haven’t seen him really shoot the ball. Like I said, relying on other people’s scouting reports. I know the kid better than u do and that makes me more qualified to talk about his skill level.

  39. Homesick Alien said:

    November 18th, 2009 at 10:21 am

    I have it for Vince Young the way ipowers does for Shawn.

  40. SkyMonkeyHorn said:

    November 18th, 2009 at 10:51 am

    Vince was D1 football ready when he came to UT,Mature and strong enough to do the job. The point being that Shawn is not at that point,give him 2-3 years and he may be a go to player.

    “I know the kid better than u do and that makes me more qualified to talk about his skill level.”

    How do you know that just because you see him at the house? There are a few people that travel around and see kids play AAU and Nikes, Vagas, the Peach. Does he always play against top flight kids during HS season ??? Please .You know everybody in the gym when you see a kid?

    You may know something but when you say you are the “more qualified” then you reinforce what people think of you. I know you dont give a shit but Shawn may be getting some shit just beause of your crap. A lot of posters have said decent things about Shawn but not to your satisfaction . Nobody is going to change their minds so why do you persist in being a ass about it . Everyone has a opinion just like you do.

    Iam PEE,,
    Do you know what palgiarize means ? Or maybe plagiarism ? Just saying now but…..

  41. ipowers said:

    November 18th, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    Asshole. I have obviously been on the circuit and seen him play against the top players in the country and put up great numbers. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t be able to make the case that I am more qualified, I would be just like that the rest of u clowns watching him on TV. I was there in Vegas when he had 36 going into his sophomore year at the Adidas Super 64 against an EBO team that was absolutely loaded team full of guys 2 years ahead of him. I have talked to Dave Telep over at scout.com, who has a vote for the McDonald’s game and told me that “there will be kids who make the McDonald’s team who are not as talented as Shawn”. I was on the other end of the phone when he told me he was going for 50 after he found out he didn’t make the McDonald’s team and he went out that night and damn near did it with a 45 point game. It takes a lot of talent to be able to basically call your own shot like Babe Ruth did and go out a do it. I have had talent evaluators from across the country tell me that Shawn has the potential to be a GREAT player and then I get on this shit and read about him being a Conner Atchley type, are you fucking serious ? I know for a fact Coach Barnes told him that he thought Shawn was a pro. Kids mature at different stages, I will concede that point. The only point that I have ever tried to make was that his talent and skills should never be in question. There is not a lot of difference with these kids from a talent standpoint. The majority of it is maturity. I know this because I’m on the circuit every summer and see these kids regularly. That’s all I have been saying about Jordan and Shawn. You guys have made it seem like I got a problem with Jordan or that I said Shawn was better than Jordan. Shawn is just as talented as Jordan. That open court play that Jordan made the other day when he went behind his back and got the 3 point play. I have seen Shawn do that on numerous occasions. I wouldn’t be dumb enough to say all this shit without having visual evidence of it. As far as him playing against top flight kids. He played on the preseason # 1 ranked team in the country last season. They played a national schedule every year since his sophomore year, like I said you don’t know what I know about this kid. I’m on the circuit every summer and I have seen all of these kids. Like I said go to nbadraft.net and read my articles. Obviously somebody thinks I know what I’m talking about.

  42. ipowers said:

    November 18th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    And by the way Vince Young didn’t come in setting the world on fire as a Freshman, even with all that maturity u say he had.

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  • srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux   12 hours, 29 minutes ago

    Ga. Tech — last in the ACC in free throw shooting at 64% — 13 for 13 tonight.

  • srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux   12 hours, 39 minutes ago

    A poll of media buyers from the major agencies overhwhelmingly showed that advertisers believe that the NCAA will expand, and the tournament will join the BCS on ESPN.

  • whiskey wrote a new blog post: The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour   12 hours, 41 minutes ago

    In the midst of March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, house guests, nice weather outside and a host of other distractions I still managed to come across quite a few interesting college football stories this week. Here we go.

    Mike Leach and Craig James were apparently in the same room this week and nobody wrestled.  Bummer.  Leach

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  • srr50 commented on the blog post March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux   12 hours, 53 minutes ago

    Anderson finds out what going to the paint is like when there is a big who knows how to defend the low block.

  • srr50 wrote a new blog post: March Madness Open Thread Part Deaux   13 hours, 3 minutes ago

    So far on Day Two, no buzzer beaters, but there was the obligatory #12 over #5 with Cornell thumping Temple 78-65, but the Ivy League school was everyone’s “inside” pick for an upset. Still the day hasn’t come close to generating the action that Thursday had.

    Today
    #5 Texas A&M 69 #12

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Barnes worst team   13 hours, 28 minutes ago

    I wasn’t trying to say they quit. They just didn’t play hard a lot of the time. Lazy = lack of effort. Example, our transition defense was about 75% effort and 25% stupidity. We loafed down court a lot. The kids didn’t like to lose so they would fight back,

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Barnes worst team   15 hours, 1 minute ago

    This the most disappointing team because our talent level is higher than those others.

    The DGib/Buckman team was the least talented, barely, after the injury to LaMarcus and Tucker’s suspension.

    Last year’s team was the hardest to watch. Just watching AJ Abrams, who I don’t hate as much as most, run around like a

  • uthookem commented on the blog post Barnes worst team   15 hours, 7 minutes ago

    Agreed on Damo being my favorite Longhorn basketball player, I wish him all the best.

    This was definitely the worst, by far.

  • Trips Right commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem   16 hours, 20 minutes ago

    Don’t have time to address each and every comment now, but I wanted to say thanks to everyone for contributing to the site this season. It’s made it a lot of fun to follow a team that’s tough to watch at times.

    Also, I wanted to thank you for the kind words as

  • Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day Two   16 hours, 21 minutes ago

    And that’s all she wrote…relatively boring day so far. A&M out to a nice early lead.

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  • Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem   16 hours, 24 minutes ago

    Trips,

    Great work all year long. Love the passion. The fact that you kept writing these (even around the birth of a child), is fantastic, shows your commitment, and is a little freaky. :-)

    I think you showed great restraint in this post. It would have been easier to “go off” on Barnes.

  • ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Barnes worst team   16 hours, 25 minutes ago

    Second awesomest thing — Magnus gets his woman to go to Hooters with him.