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1. dick said:

   February 9th, 2010 at 5:46 pm

   That was great jones. Thanks a lot.

2. exuLt said:

   February 9th, 2010 at 6:00 pm

   Epiphanous, but not really seeing a path forward here.

3. sizzlechest said:

   February 9th, 2010 at 6:21 pm

   Well put, Adam. The Knight/Wooden complex is a pretty decent corollary to Barnes and coaches that coach to the talent instead of the other way around.

4. Vasherized said:

   February 9th, 2010 at 7:31 pm

   I know there is a coded porn reference in there, I just haven’t found it yet.

   Wooden!

5. hookem625 said:

   February 9th, 2010 at 7:40 pm

   Well done. This addresses something that I haven’t seen much of regarding our troublesome woes- that being a will to win- so I definitely approve. It’s something that actually occurred to me lately after, like most, I lost sleep over unreached potential, cried about questionable personnel decisions, and screamed at Barnes for screaming at players. As it’s been stated numerous times in countless ways across these blogs, our team has problems. However one of those that hasn’t been discussed has been the lack of effort I’ve seen out of our players. I don’t by any means question their competitiveness, but that energy and effort that has propelled average players like Royal into quality contributors is something missing from everyone- with maybe the exception of James- on this team. Like a majority of our mental problems, this probably ties into Barnes but at some point you’d think our guys would get tired of underachieving and slap the floor, go balls to wall on defense, force a turnover, drive down court, get in the lane, finish with an authoritative dunk, victoriously yell at the opponent, pump the crowd up, and make life good again. Or something to that effect (I can dream right?). J’Covan seemed to do something like this last night in which he basically just said “screw it” and balled it up. I mean he even looked somewhat competent on D right?! I don’t know, this might be my mistaken optimism talking. But simply put, half our team is more talented that Royal ever was and if they would just put forth as much effort as he did, we might regain some confidence and take a step in the right direction. Playing hard truly isn’t a talent so with some positively directed effort, we might be able to play like the team we thought we’d be.

6. Jackanape said:

   February 9th, 2010 at 9:07 pm

   Avery B busts his ass everytime he laces em up.

7. jonestopten said:

   February 10th, 2010 at 5:01 am

   I agree with that–and Bradley appears to be the one freshman that Barnes trust. But it also looks like he’s not having fun anymore. Barnes has ground Bradley down just like the rest of them.

8. 2xHorn said:

   February 10th, 2010 at 6:38 am

   Lord, I loved Royal Ivey. My favorite player of the Barnes era.

   Guy used to write “40 minutes” on his shoes to remind him not to let up . . . .

   Good stuff as usual Jones.

   HOOKEM

9. skymonkeyhorn said:

   February 10th, 2010 at 9:22 am

   The majority of times I agree with the poster that said that 90% of the posters here had knowledge of the simple game called basketball.
   In a far off galaxy near the bono star posters need a legal brief to post any idea. They have strange laws to abide with that are PC. So be it.
   Rick Barnes also has strange rules to abide by and that is that defense wins games.That is pretty good if that is all the talent that you have . No disrespect but this team has tons of basketball talent( skill sets) that would make Royal All Galaxy if he had some of their skill sets.

   AB bust his ass for 40 minutes and plays harder then anyone with the exception of James. Its rather short sighted to say that the “will to win” is lacking in talented players. They have played at a high level and developed the will to win with many hours in the gym and weight rooms to set them self up to win a game that is simple.

   No one plays to lose but players are taught to play “not to lose”.

   This in itself causes players to think and not respond like the talented (skill sets) players they are. The majority of players want to please their coaches some we have are fanatical like JCB and AB, and believe it or not so does JH..

   The will to win is taught to every athletes from the time they are knee high to a frog the truly great athletes score more points be it Basketball,football etc… and it takes a team to do it.
   Who plays to lose ???

   If I was busting my ass playing defense I sure as hell would want to score points to win the game like these guys that are highly talented players. I want to posterize every frigging sooner ,red fucking raider teckie,hawk eater and mother fucker out on the field of play. Nuke the bastards, rip out their throats,cut off their balls . You get my idea.

   The talented players that come to play here are the pick of the litter according to Rick Barnes.
   Why we do not recruit tall players 6′10″ or above is a big Q for Ricky. A truly talented Big that can put on their socks and chew gum at the same time would be nice maybe Tristan will be the answer and will not be a 2-3 year project. We seem to get one evey other year a project big.
   Coach Knight would get players that fit his system to a T. Barnes gets high level players with skill sets that are 100% better then Coach Knight players. Coach Knight and the other K teach their players to win with their talent and team work. Barnes teaching them to play defense and fuck their truly gifted skill sets (except Kevin) we will win in the 50’s if we are tougher and more physical then the other team.
   To play the elite or semi-elite teams offesnse is just as important as defense, I would be happy with a 60% offense and 40% defense and we would be damn near elite. This year we have more talent (skill sets) then any team Barnes has had ,even pre Texas teams. But we look like shit 24 games into the season. We are not semi-elite nowhere close even if we end up with 20 or more wins. Remember our schedule 10-12 cupcakes.

   “Barnes has ground Bradley down just like the rest of them.” Correct de Mundo.
   Tough to force feed a Longhorn before he throws up on your ass. Our freshmen are still spinning in circles and disorganized due to the force feedings. 24 fucking games onto a season and we still do not how to play the game Barnes style. What do they fucking practice?

   I hope we get HOT and make a deep run but I am not putting any money on it !
   Now no more rants, time for coffee.
   The End.

10. scottyc5 said:

    February 10th, 2010 at 10:34 am

    This team reminds me of a much more talented version of the 2006-2007 Duke team – the team that lost to VCU in the first round. That team started 15-1 with wins over big name schools that ended p having down years, which turned out to be fools gold. Duke had the pieces to be a top 15 that year, but a combination of pouty upperclassmen (well, Soph Josh McRoberts), deferential freshman, and a coach (yes, Coach K) that couldn’t quite figure out how to use his personnel made for a frustrating season. And as a Duke fan (other alma mater), I hated that team. They were awful to watch. They finished 8-8 in conference and lost to VC-fucking-U.

    While there are several fairly strained parallels between the 2 teams, the main parallel I see is the Gerald Henderson/Avery Bradley comparison. Not in the style of play, but in their constant deferral to their less talented teammates. It’s stunning how similar it is. Gerald should have been shooting 15 times a game his freshman year but deferred to McRoberts/Paulus/Nelson. Avery is killing it out there on defense and in effort, but sometimes I wish he’d get a little of J-Ham’s “gotta get mine”. Everytime he gets the ball and pauses for 3 seconds at the perimeter, I hold my breath hoping for that jet-quick drive to the hoop we’ve seen from him. Essentially, Avery is Mikey from Swingers right now with these claws, man….

    Anyway, this season isn’t lost yet, but it’s frustrating to watch a team not be able to put it together. Hook ‘em.

11. magnusbleuveigner said:

    February 10th, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    Well done Pacman. Nice to “hear” from you in the offseason.

12. lowdenswain said:

    February 11th, 2010 at 5:55 am

    “It’s not the will to win, everyone has it. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

    Bobby Knight

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