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Texas Hoops: What We Know After Two

Posted by Vasherized on November 19th, 2009 under Basketball

Vasherized: “Ho hum, another sloppy 30 point win with 21 turnovers and continued charades from the free throw line.”

Trips Right: “Meh. Get back to me when we beat Michigan State by 20.”

See what he did there? That’s his way of saying this team is really damn good. I think. I don’t drink and do syllogisms at the same time very well and his clipped El Paso diction can lead to multiple interpretations. Better off texting. Or as HenryJames practices it, sexting.

Anyway, just two games into the season we are seeing some trends develop:

Suffocating defense

They lock down the perimeter, cut off passing lanes, and at one point last night forced the PG to literally hand the ball off to the shooting guard like he was a running back. One of the biggest liabilities of last year’s team was our lack of defensive options due to having small guards. The presence of Avery Bradley changes all of that, and he also happens to brings a Ray Allen jumper to the table on offense. Avery got hit with two tacky fouls early and rode the pine the rest of the first half before taking out his frustration on some poor Western Carolina scrub with a nasty dunk from an ill advised location eight feet from the basket. Along with his brethren Earl Thomas and Aaron Williams, physics doesn’t apply to witches. Then the crowd of 3,800 rose to their feet and screamed for five whole seconds before they stopped the action so some guy from Boerne could attempt a field goal from a recliner in mid court. Gotta love gameday at The Sponge! Through two games, the high scorer on the opposing team finished with all of 10 points. If we can make it to April with that stat, Huckleberry likes our chances.

Hockey-style Line Changes

Barnes is really playing around with matchups early on to see what combinations thrive and which ones cause Trips to start bar fights in Milwaulkee. The starting lineup of Brown, Ward, Mason, James, and Pittman actually might be one of our weakest. Mason and Ward are basically the same player.  One of them on the court is fine but playing them together minimizes your options on offense because neither is a great passer or scorer. Bradley’s minutes will continue to climb at the combined expense of these two. It’s a good problem to have. In the second half of both games Barnes has subbed in five for five. A glance at the box score minutes reads as follows: 22, 21, 21, 22, 17, 19, 22, 14, 19. That’s depth, folks. It sends a message that we can win in a lot of different ways and no one person on this team has to be on the court for us to win. That wasn’t true of the T.J. Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Kevin Durant days. At one point in the UC-Irvine game we went on a 10-0 run with four freshmen and Gary Johnson in the game. One of the benefits of having guys like T.J. and K.D. on campus all summer is that our freshmen don’t play like freshmen. Mike Williams they ain’t.

Scorers Abound

Say it in a Bill Walton voice for profundity. The first game was all Dex and Damion with steady double digit contributions from our stud trio of freshmen. Against WCU, Damion again led all scorers with Varez Ward and Gary Johnson earning  their minutes (10 pts each). 10/11 guys saw double digit minutes with the lone offender being Shawn Williams who only logged four. (Let the Interweb alarms sound in the direction of ipowers.) One thing you don’t like to see is Justin Mason go scoreless in 23 minutes. One thing you do like to see is 4-5 guys hit double digit points every game and you’ll see that all year. Hamilton and Bradley need more minutes. It will pay dividends when we get our first real test. In March! (Just seeing what it’s like to be a Kansas fan…)

Cleaning the Glass

Again, we’ve played two heavily outmatched opponents but we knew heading into the season that this would be the best rebounding team of the Barnes era and we’re seeing that with a +17 rebound margin through two games. The biggest battle on the glass so far has been Damion fighting Dexter for who gets the stat. Another good problem to have and James is the best rebounding forward in the country. We’re scooping up loose balls at a high clip and those turn into more offensive possessions for a team that collectively understands the motto: Feed The Beast. In the half court set, Barnes has made it known the first look is always to get it to Dex in the paint. Why wouldn’t you when he converts 80% of his shots and picks up free throws along the way? J’Covan, Bradley, Hamilton, and Damion have green lights to take open 3’s. With that arsenal we could average 4% 45% behind the arc for the season and you take that all day long. For the last three seasons we average 42%, 39%, and 39%. But our guys know this is an inside-out offense and it starts with Dex and Damion inside. On turnovers and fast breaks this team gets upcourt faster than it takes Scipio to braid his ponytail while driving to work and that’s fucking fast. I think we’re about 4/12 on alley oops but it’s worth a few misses when the payoff is Damion James taking flight. 

A pissed off and dangerous 0-2 Iowa is next up on Monday in Kansas City. They’ve already lost to Duquesne by a deuce and UTSA by a dozen. Ouch. Take Texas and the under, Iowa might not score 40. A matchup with Pitt looms in the finals …

Trips Right: “Meh. Get back to me when we win by 30.”

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31 Responses

  1. Bob in Houston said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 2:54 pm

    I was watching on one late possession… WC took a full 25 seconds to work the ball past the FT line. I was impressed.

  2. nordberg said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    Balbay, Ward, Mason.

    Barnes should have an assistant whose sole duty is to make sure that no more than one of these three are on the court at the same time.

  3. Lo Primero said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    Excellent writeup. My only quibble is with this:

    “J’Covan, Bradley, Hamilton, and Damion have green lights to take open 3’s. With that arsenal we should average 4% behind the arc for the season and you take that all day long.”

    I was hoping for a higher 3-point percentage, though on the bright side Damion should have monster rebounding numbers.

  4. Sundance said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    I’m sure the 4% 3 pointer average is a typo, but it did occur to me that 4% might still be an improvement over last season.

  5. Vasherized said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

    Is 45% high enough for you greedy bastards? Any and all statistical errors, anomalies, or typos should always be directed at Huckleberry. This is edict, people.

  6. ipowers said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    That percentage will be greatly enhanced by Williams hitting ~98% of his 3’s.

  7. uthookem said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    Fuck ipowers. The Williams does not miss any shot.

  8. TripWire said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:32 pm

    ipowers! Good to hear from you.

  9. ransomstoddard said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:33 pm

    Lots of talent on this team enables Barnes to experiment alot. I suspect we will see many different lineups for the first 10-12 games. Not sure I see the improvement in the Whirling Dervish that others gush about. He is just as likely to penetrate to the rim and miss a layup as he is to untie his shoelaces with his ears. The Tazmanian Devil was never a good hoops player.

  10. srr50 said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    Then the crowd of 3,800 rose to their feet and screamed for five whole seconds before they stopped the action so some guy from Boerne could attempt a field goal from a recliner in mid court.

    Hey, cut that out, that was a legit crowd of 7,500 last night.

    Instead of the usual pathetic November UT basketball crowd, it was the Mid-December mediocre crowd.

    That’s a step up.

  11. Vasherized said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    I was in attendance so that allows me to disparage our rabid fanbase. I never trust those numbers they give out anyway. The joint looked to be about 1/3 full.

    Hopefully we can sell out Michigan State.

  12. ghostofagroundgame said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    The important thing is that it is going to be a really fun year. And we aren’t going to be smaller than all of the other elite teams. For once.

  13. croomraider said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    Major Game two note – - – The refs were HORRIBLE!! Bradley came in playing great D in the first half and got two weak fouls then sat the bench the rest of the first half. Barnes sent the wrong message to him. Meaning, you play aggressive and foul then your barely gonna play. I hate that call, let our great players get in foul trouble, cuz in the meantime they will rip so many balls it will be ridiculous! Isn’t that the advantage of having depth??? It was frustrating watching Bradley sit the bench. Mason shouldn’t barely see the floor come December. Ward took way too many shots! Even when Bradley finally came in, ward would never look at him. I wanna see Bradley, Hamilton, and Jcovan in at the same time. They did it game 1 and it was DEADLY! Bradley, hamilton, Jcovan, James, Pitt are our BEST starting five… if not, then they should at least play together for 5 plus minutes a game.

    Floor level crowd always sucks at the ERWIN center. The intro music put me to sleep! The hype factor is embarrassing. I’ll be sitting in the Mezz the rest of the season going crazy.. GO HORNS!

  14. uthookem said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 4:08 pm

    “He is just as likely to penetrate to the rim and miss a layup as he is to untie his shoelaces with his ears.”

    ransom, that was greatness…and on that note, time to head home for the day.

  15. Bob in Houston said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 4:13 pm

    srr, does Barnes still count the house?

  16. snowman said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    i miss ipowers

  17. Texoz said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 4:55 pm

    fyi, North Carolina is playing Ohio State on ESPN tonight. 8:30pm central

  18. srr50 said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 5:00 pm

    srr, does Barnes still count the house?

    He still keeps a discerning eye, but it is (slightly) better, and it does’t visibly rankle him like it used to.

    It was a legit 7,500, the arena level was much better than past November games against Joe Palookas, while the top was basically populated by CloseToJumping clones who just wanted to be left alone.

  19. Orbea said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

    Iowa may be pissed off but they are not dangerous. Last year they went 15-17 and 5-13 in conference. Then the lost their best players. They play slow-mo and are vertically challenged. I said before the season started that we would win by at least 10 and after seeing Texas play I think it will be over 20.

  20. The General said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    There were more people there than I expected. The lower bowl was moderately full. I couldn’t go down and steal a seat behind the bench like the first game.

    I am fine with the Whirling Dervish throwing up point blank misses because our rebounders are so strong. His misses are probably more effective than our lobs, though I hope the lobs keep coming. I put the ineffectiveness more on Damion and Dex catching poorly than on out guards.

  21. The General said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 7:02 pm

    It is going to be really hard to get in rhythm offensively with the minutes this widely distributed. I know this can’t happen, but I wish we could just sit Dexter, Damion, and Mason until there is a real game. The freshman need game minutes badly.

  22. Mysterious Package said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    I second Nordberg. Balbay=Mason=Ward

  23. Blake Borron said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 8:13 pm

    Time for Ward and Mason’s minutes to go down and Bradley, Hamilton, and Williams’ minutes to go up, up, up! Get the freakin’ talent on the freakin’ court.

  24. Actual Attendance said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 10:22 pm

    Turnstile: 7,456 (From Texas Sports)

  25. Bighornfan32 said:

    November 19th, 2009 at 10:33 pm

    Anyone wanna fill me in on what/who ipowers is?

  26. UT wildcatter said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 1:02 am

    ipowers is the leader of the Jordan Hamilton Resistance Group, his messiah is John Con err– Shawn Williams, the man to lead us through the invasion of super-talented freshman and take his birthright as El Ultimo Hombre in the land of pre-frosh.

    Just wanted to get that NCFOM and PCU cogeneration in their. NICE

  27. TexasFan101 said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 8:03 am

    I thought the crowd was alright considering the officiating. There were very few changes of possession without stoppage of play. WCU was hacking, and the refs were calling ticky tack crap on the other end. I don’t know how you end up in the mezzanine this early in the year. I paid ten bucks and sat the entire second half in row one at mid court yelling at the refs for their over active whistles.

  28. croomraider said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 4:08 pm

    I agree with everyone here. Get more minutes for our freshman! We all know balbay, ward, johnson, mason will combine for less then ten points against good “D”! Pittman and James won’t be able to just dominate either, so get our YOUNG GUARDS ON THE FLOOR! Play them together! It’s gonna be NaStY!

  29. EggNog said:

    November 20th, 2009 at 7:35 pm

    The young guys are getting enough playing time.

    Barnes has always been a defensive minded coach, that won’t change with these freshmen. Barnes would be doing the players and the program a disservice by not expecting them to play defense, and his method has always been to pull guys for defensive lapses.

    We won’t beat the best teams in the nation with our talented youngsters unless they are playing defense. When they go cold, or a team really shuts them down offensively, then it will be up to the defense to bail us out.

  30. croomraider said:

    November 21st, 2009 at 11:59 am

    Bradley is our best defensive guard…. play him 30 minutes

  31. ipowers said:

    November 21st, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    Wow. U got a fake ass ipowers up there acting like they’re me. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

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