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1. Patrick Bateman said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 12:33 pm

   I think AB had had an extremely good freshman season and very much agree that he’s hit that freshman wall. AB still has a lot of work to do. Comparing him to the 24 year old Hill may be a disservice to Avery, but I understand where your trying to go. I think that’s a really good comparison as well.

   The answer to your questions about what Hill can do is ball handling and finish at the rim vs. far better physical specimen than Kyle Lomers. He can get there though and it’s nice to see AB hunt for his offense, something he rarely did in the first 15 games. His FT shooting has really improved as well. 11 of 13 the last 12 games. The lack of FTs is distressing and a good explanation of what he’s hasn’t mastered, which is finishing in the paint or drawing the foul. I think he’s definitely gotten better and think he can get himself into the top 20 with another year under his belt. Improve his handle and his driving is all that is holding him back. His rookie wall reminds me very much of DJ Augustin his freshman year……

   Good thoughts….

2. Blake Borron said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 12:37 pm

   George Hill is physically intimidating–he’s ripped and extremely strong. Bradley is extremely weak and has TERRIBLE upper-body strength. This directly correlates with his miserable finishing ability (or lack of).

3. ursa major said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 12:38 pm

   Is Kyle Lomers Josh Lomers alter-ego? Or is Kyle the “girl” he sometimes dresses up as?

   Either works.

4. Patrick Bateman said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 12:43 pm

   Ha, ha…..Got me there Ursa. Was typing fast. Good catch.

5. Nickel Rover said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 12:47 pm

   Ugh…if Hamilton and Bradley ditch for the NBA I’ll start to move out of the Rick Barnes camp because this team doesn’t have a great contingency for that event. Especially if Varez Ward can’t come back healthy.
   That would take away probably the 2 best shooters on the team and replace them with Dogus, Ward, Brown, and Lucas. Nightmare on MLK part 3.

6. Orangeblood79 said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 12:52 pm

   I’m so fucking sick of this team.

7. jonestopten said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 1:02 pm

   “Comparing him to the 24 year old Hill may be a disservice to Avery, but I understand where your trying to go.”

   “George Hill is physically intimidating–he’s ripped and extremely strong.”

   Both of those things are true, but I don’t think it is much of a stretch to project Bradley’s first two years in the NBA being as productive as Hill’s, even if he begins that journey as a 20-yr-old rookie.

8. nordberg said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 1:12 pm

   “I’m so fucking sick of this team.”

   You know what this year has been like? Imagine six months ago someone tells you that in six months, you’re going to get to fuck Heather Graham. “Wow, Heather Graham!! Holy shit, I can’t wait!!”. And every day for six months you hear about how you’re going to fuck Heather Graham. Then the day comes, your doorbell rings, you run to answer the door, and…..
   And Listeater is standing there. “Hi, my name is Heather Graham, let’s fuck!!”

   That’s what this feels like. Fucking the Listeater, when you’d spent six months thinking you were going to fuck Heather Graham.

   The end.

9. kevwun said:

   March 12th, 2010 at 1:17 pm

   That is the most awesome analogy in the history of analogies, imo. Seriously, I usually don’t like them because they rarely ever actually describe a situation well, but that one is perfect.

10. Blake Borron said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 1:47 pm

    This team makes me feel like I have all this weight on my shoulders and I can’t get it off my back to just breath and walk freely.

    Yeah there are times that it goes away, like when we get another football recruit not named Chet or Taylor. Or when I think about a starting lineup of Myck Kabongo, Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton, Tristan Thompson, and (god willing) Rakeem Christmas in two years and a bench of J’Covan Brown, Cory Joseph, Sheldon McClellan, DeAndre Daniels and Shawn Williams. Or when I look at the 2012 recruits and imagine Isaiah Austin, Winston Sheppard, J-Mychal Reese, L.J. Rose, and Justin Anderson forming the best recruiting class in history.

    But it only lasts so long and then I return to this year’s basketball team and how hard it is to be so invested in something only to be completely let down. Damn you Rick Barnes.

11. Hank Dudek said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 1:51 pm

    Unlike Hamilton and Brown, Bradley can make this move to the NBA because he has the defensive skills to play on the next level.

    If I were Avery, I would leave if the recruiting class is not going to give them a chance to win next year. He really needs to work on his ball handling and he can do that while he is banking a check. He has been the bright spot this season.

12. Rick Barnes said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 1:52 pm

    Nordberg…

    Your analogy begs the question, “Who the hell told me I was going to get to fuck Heather Graham?

    The answer in my case:

    Trips.

13. Jigglebilly said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    I think I would rather watch Precious & Monique rub one out together than watch our first round game.

14. texasengr said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    Hank,

    I think Gary Johnson has been brighter than AB.

    GJ barely looked like he belonged on a basketball court a couple years ago. He looked like the guy you made fun of at tryouts. Everything about him was spastic and oafish. Now he’s scoring 20+ and looks poised to replace Damion James.

    Perhaps my opinion is clouded because of what the players have been doing for me lately.

15. sa said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    frankly, I’m really not sure why anyone is so excited about AB right now. I’m amazed he’s still being projected as a mid first rounder. George Hill is playing his ass off right now…putting up MUCH better #’s in the league than AB is doing in the big 12. maybe I’m just missing something (or a lot of things)…but I’m thinking AB has a lot to show before we start comparing him to a productive NBA SG. and I’m not a spurs fan.

    I will say this…Chad Ford put out a “which underclassmen are going to leave” article today. AB & JH are both listed as 50/50. which admittedly probably means that he has no freaking idea.

    anyways…conceptualizing next years UT squad with no AB and JH is just scary. if JCB were to leave for whatever reason, this team could absolutely horrible. the BU beatdowns will presumably continue.

16. Scipio Tex said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    “All true, but Bradley being a Barnes type of player leaves him as the horse in Animal Farm. “I will work harder,” says Bradley. Yes, right up to the point of exhaustion. And we don’t even have the benefit of watching practice. Stockholm Syndrome comes to Cooley Pavilion?”

    Fantastic paragraph. Avery Bradley is Boxer.

    An Orwellian aside (because I love Orwell): Orwell sent the manuscript for Animal Farm to a famous American publishing house. They thanked him for his submission but demurred, replying that they didn’t think the public would be very interested in “a book about animals.”

17. Scipio Tex said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    As for Bradley and the NBA, his issue is that he doesn’t have the handle to play PG yet, which is the position he must play in the NBA to succeed in any meaningful way.

    He could give you some energy and a little Andrew Toney mid-range game off of the bench as a combo guard, but you’re talking about a 15 minutes a night guy. I don’t think that’s what Bradley wants. If you try to play him as a pure 2, the big guards in the league would demolish him.

18. Blake Borron said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 2:55 pm

    In their defense Scip, it’s a pretty tough analogy to derive if you don’t already know the correlation. I was only in 7th grade when I read it, but I certainly wouldn’t have seen any comparisons to the Russian Revolution unless I had been told about it.

19. dick said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    I would have thought that the only way we lose JH and AB to the NBA was if we had an awesome season so I was ok with the possibility. Now we have to deal with the nightmare of losing those two for next year plus the shietty season we are goin through now.

20. Burnt Orange Wookiee said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    “If you try to play him as a pure 2, the big guards in the league would demolish him.”

    Couldn’t agree more. A team’s defensive ace on the perimeter would kill him. Imagine the Thunder’s stopper Sefolosha taking him to task right now. Wouldn’t be pretty, heck the better PG defenders would likely take him out (think Westbrook, Rondo, Paul).

21. magnusbleuveigner said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Avery does have some weaknesses, but the question he’ll ask himself is, will he improve on the bench under NBA tutelage, or on the court with Barnes in his ear whipping him like a Pony Express horse.

    I see the same weaknesses and have stated them all year. He is timid. Very timid, and doesn’t look to get in the lane.

    Many young players turned out to be damn good after disappearing on the end of the bench for a couple of years in the league. I hope he sticks around for a number of reasons, but wouldn’t fault him if he bailed.

22. jonestopten said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 3:12 pm

    Thanks for the kudos, Scip.

    On, AB — no, he doesn’t want to be a 15 minute a night guy (Hill played about 10 a night as a rookie, if memory serves), but he sure as hell didn’t have this season in mind when he signed with Texas.

    There’s no stat for it, but it just looks to me like Bradley is not having any fun. I think that matters in college basketball. It’s one reason kids stay–because the NBA damn sure isn’t “fun.”

23. I HAVE JOCK ITCH said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    why are ppl comparing AB to george hill?? I had to goggle george hill to find out who he was…which means hes horrible and im an NBA fanatic. AB upside is tremendous. I have to admit he needs to dribble a basketball 12 hours a day in the offseason; my neice could rip him. But, AB has poise and that’s something no one can coach; outside of Damion James Texas most poised player was AB. …..AB. also needs to attack the rim more often; he should shoot at least 10 free throws a game. AB, may never reach his full potential at Texas though after all he is coached by Rick Barnes. Gibson and Aldridge nevered reached their full potential at Texas because most of the time Rick Barnes basically puts his players in a position to fail because he lack basketball smarts as a college coach.

24. blackscholes said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    The low basketball IQ of much of this team makes me want to vomit.

    No mas.

25. nordberg said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 3:42 pm

    Kirk Bohls quote:

    “Texas is making us wonder if it was truly as good as its high ranking once suggested.”

    REALLY??

26. Burnt Orange Wookiee said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    Ah, the unintentional irony of a Kirk Bohls quote.

27. 3_from_the_corner said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 4:12 pm

    While Gary is becoming a fine player, he cannot replace Damion James. No one can. We’re F-ed in the biggest way without him next year. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a player improve over 4 years the way Damion has. He’s absolutely unstoppable and has made himself a ton of coin. I’m happy for him for that, but wish Texas could have given him and the rest of this class the senior year they deserved.

    Gary is screwed next year. Right now, Gary doesn’t see double teams because he’s got pitman and james to keep them honest. One of which is always on the floor with him. Next year, he’ll be our only clear ‘threat’ and have a world of trouble getting ‘his’ shots. He’ll have matt hill and clint chapman to help him out. Good luck, Gary!

    I’ve said it before that the time to win in this program was now. That time has come and gone and I have almost zero hope for next years team. Barnes has screwed up every frosh this year in one way or another and without a strong senior class to help carry us, we’ll be domed no matter who comes in. This team is going to suck outloud. I don’t care who’s coming in. Do you think they’ll have any better year than the 3 froshes we brought in this year. They won’t. We’re watching this program take a very wide turn to a very bad place. It may take a year or two before things completely fall apart and we get the changes needed at the top to pull us free. Unfortunatly, by then it will be too late.

28. Bob in Houston said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 4:18 pm

    The freshman wall example from ’07 isn’t DJ Augustin as much as it was Justin Mason, who actually broke down.

    I’m wondering if RB wouldn’t rewarm to coaching if it meant seven scholarship players again.

29. Hank Dudek said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    texasengr,

    I love Gary Johnson on offense. If he had Dexter’s height and frame we would be undefeated because he is our only legitimate post scorer. Unfortunately, he is 6’6″ which is more reason to love the fact that he scores over guys 2 or 3 inches taller than him. He also has a nice mid-range game. If he can get a handle he could really light it up next year.

    I live in Atlanta and I have seen Chris Bosh, Jarrett Jack, Anthony Morrow and now Derrick Favors look like average players for Georgia Tech thanks to the horrible coaching. I see Avery as a much different player with the kind of specialists out there helping guys develop their skills.

    Who would have thought Gibson would make it in the league for so long? Speaking of, is he getting any run anymore?

30. Patrick Bateman said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    Must be a hell of a NBA fanatic if you don’t know who George Hill is. That’s a funny statement.

    It’s not necessarily about whether he could improve his ball handling getting a check in the pros or back here at Texas, but the size of the check he’s getting. The difference b/w the 25th (around where he’s projected) and the 15th pick, that he may be able to work himself into is about 1.6 million thru the first 3 years of his contract. Of course, he could stay and blow out his knee. Also, the big money is generally in the 2nd contract in the NBA, but then again, AB may end up not good enough to ever be more than a bench contributor b/c he doesn’t have a position currently.

    A lot of stories abound about how rookies would actually do better staying in college and getting big minutes rather than waste away at the end of the bench. Look what’s happening to Thabeet this year. A lot for AB to consider. I think he should at least look at his options but believe he’d be better coming back.

    In 07′, Mason broke down and DJ appeared to hit a wall. I was amazed he stood up as well as he did that season. He scored single digits in 3 of his last 5 games and only shot above 28% once in those five games (2 of 13 form 3pt). I remember in both tourneys, he just looked like his legs were dead….

31. Patrick Bateman said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    Gibson is sooo lucky he went to a team with a point forward so that he could simply be a spot up jump shooting PG with no responsibilities to create. I hope Damion can be as lucky and go to a system like GS or PHO runs so that he can play a more wide open game and show off his athleticism.

32. Burnt Orange Wookiee said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    Bateman gets it on Gibson. Any time a casual basketball guy brings up D-Gibby as one of the examples of successful Longhorn players I almost cringe. Look, I’m happy for the guy. He has a role in the league and can hit that 3, but…

    That team would be mediocre at best, likely bad without Lebron James. I don’t think many people realize what a true freak Lebron James is. Anyone looks better playing with a point forward that passes better than most of the PGs in the league and can barrel through the lane like few ever have. I can’t wait for Lebron to add some post moves one day, he’s already near unstoppable as it is.

33. I HAVE JOCK ITCH said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    I agree that gary johnson is a good player..But, he’s only 6’6 you cant dominate the post at that size next year the team has no chance with the front court players they have coming back. Damion James is one of the rare players I have seen in college basketball..He can score 20 without the team running one play for him….It’s not like Rick Barnes has plays anyway; DJ can rebound over anyone in traffic; he’s only 6’7 but plays 6’9.

34. Hank Dudek said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    Gibson is very lucky and should give a percentage of his contract to Lebron. I will give him credit for stepping up in his rookie season when they needed an outside shooter. Bottom line is the guy can shoot it even if he is a 6’0″ two guard.

35. Burnt Orange Wookiee said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    Definitely agree, Dudek. The kid did what he needed to given the opportunity to solidify a spot. And he is in fact still playing with the Lebrons. He’s not a starter, nor should he be, but he fills a great role in limited time. I’ve watched several cavs games and he’s great from beyond the arch in his limited time. Comes in, hits some treys and heads back to the bench. He knows how blessed he is and couldn’t seem happier in the position. Who wouldn’t be? By all reports Lebron James is an awesome teammate, the kind of guy players don’t just want to play with, but want to just hang out with after the game.

36. EggNog said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 9:59 pm

    Gibson was starting during the Cavs’ 13 game win streak. Williams and West were injured, Gibson was starting “PG” even though Lebron mostly had that duty. It really is the best place for Gibson to be.

    As for Bradley, I feel for him. After our injuries, only Bradley and Johnson played hard defense for us. Johnson plays great defense on the wing but his lack of size is easily exploited in the post by anyone knowing what they are doing. Either way, he gives great effort. Bradley is the only wing guy we have that plays anything resembling defense I can’t imagine how frustrating it has been for him busting his ass out there only to watch his teammates let their guys score at will. Having Varez Ward back will make a big difference to him.

37. skymonkeyhorn said:

    March 12th, 2010 at 10:27 pm

    I’m thinking that the freshmen all return and Travelocity will have grown taller to be 5′ 5.5″ without his lifts.

    We get Ward ,Dog, and Ipower’s kid back plus add Tristan.

    Everybody comes back and we have a large cluster fuck rotation again. Barnes will try getting a tall white stiff hot for the season.

    I suggested a Hawaiian Luau during the season to have some fun. I am changing that item, we should lock up the team at “Perfect 10′s” for 24 hrs. and have Jack rescue the team from the strippers. See who the last man standing will be.
    My money is on JCB with Ward a thong behind.

    “The Freshman Wall” is not a myth. Bradley spectacularly smashed into it about three weeks ago and now it is crumbling on top of him. And Rick Barnes charted this course for him even before injuries ”
    Barnes did indeed chart the course trying to sail to a place called the FF and ended up in the Sahara Desert and is still trying to find the answer .

    A deep intervention by Sir Eddie R. is the answer. Rick is still trying to find the Question….

38. texoz said:

    March 13th, 2010 at 6:30 am

    There are some some mighty good points and spectacular literary references in this thread, but I can’t remember a single one because one poster had to reference the Listeater and another one had to drop a neutron bomb.

    I think I would rather watch Precious & Monique rub one out together than watch our first round game.

39. shawn said:

    March 13th, 2010 at 9:49 am

    Wait til myck kabongo arrives I got a good feeling about him

40. Barking Carnival — Blog — Damion...prepare for glory said:

    March 13th, 2010 at 10:08 pm

    [...] had a good feature up on Barnes’ misuse of Avery this season. Bradley has been Texas’ best guard and best [...]

41. UT_64 said:

    March 13th, 2010 at 11:26 pm

    For those who think losing Ward wasn’t a big deal, look no further than what happened to Bradley. His gas tank is completely empty, and Barnes getting no minutes out of Ward was an absolute killer. Recall that Ward was starting, while Bradley was coming off the bench.

42. Raylene Finkenbiner said:

    March 19th, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    I’m sure I’m not in the minority by any means, but I do intend to improve. I suppose my main problem is that I find large numbers of comments overwhelming, I can honestly say that I’ve skipped reading entries at friends’ blogs, just because there’s already ninety comments on it, and I a) don’t want to get lost in the shuffle, or worse b) don’t want to be obligated to spew out forty comments of my own.

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