Texas will have probably its best team ever. They return Dexter Pitman, one of the top two or three big men in college. Surprisingly Dameon James did not go pro and he tested out athletically in the top couple of NBA prospects in the draft combines. He is an incredible rebounder. They have added what are considered two of the top 10 incoming high school players in the country. Avery Bradley is a 6/'3" off guard who is incredibly athletic and projected as a first rounder in the NBA. He has been rated as high as one by SI though John Walls is probably better. Jordan Hamilton is a 6'7" small forward who is also top 10 rated. Recently J'Covan Brown, who failed to qualify last year, and has been by many reports just dominating in pick up games, is also eligible and can possibly play the point. This gives the Horns a potential starting lineup of 5 NBA draft picks with 4 of the 5 being first rounders as projected by nba draft net There is incredible depth with approximately 5 or more players on the bench who have had substantial and even starting experience. Incredible.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't jai lucas on the team also...now I'm not sure if he's eligible but nevertheless should be an exciting season...go horns
texas will be playing kentucky in the 2010 ncaa basketball championship game. check out the avery bradley alley-oop from kevin durant: http://texas360now.com/profiles/blogs/open-run-in-austin-game-1.
We also have the return of Alexis Wangmene up front, who redshirted this part year to take care of issues at home. Justin Mason, a 3 year starter, could find himself out of the rotation altogether... that says something about the infusion of talent on the perimeter.
Yep, Jai Lucas transferred from Florida, and he's eligible to play for the Horns this season. There's a chance he'll be the starting PG. I can't wait to see the lineup of: Jai Lucas Avery Bradley Jordan Hamilton Damion James Dexter Pittman
He needs to drastically improve his conditioning before I'll even consider him as one of the top post players in the nation. I wouldn't even consider him the best big man in the Big 12. Don't get me wrong, Dex is the man, but he can barely stay on the court for 5 minutes.
The latter part of last season, he was consistently playing 25-30 minutes per game without any problems. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=31583 I think the conditioning was more of a problem early in his career.
J'Covan Brown would have likely been a top 20 player if not for all the extraneous baggage he brought to the table even early in his prep school playing career. He's overcome a lot of obstacles already. IMO, the environment at Texas gives him his best shot to overcome the ones remaining. We'll see how it works out. Everything you said is true, but what has raised expectations is that J'Covan has spent this summer playing the pickup games with current and former UT players, aka NBA players. Reports from these games are that J'Covan is the real deal and does just fine with the NBA players J'Covan has been on campus a while playing pick up games and stuff with the guys. My buddy told me that J'Covan looks flat out sick. He is ferocious and attacks the rim like a madman supposedly. He said J'Covan looked really really good. posts from http://forums.hornfans.com/php/wwwt...6011131&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=
A cool vido showing how much Pittman has slimmed down even from last season. Also shows some of the new guys playing with Kevin Durant in a pickup game. http://barkingcarnival.com/2009/08/26/cool-open-gym-video-of-2009-horns/
Texas has everything. They can play slow and muscle you inside with Pittman's interior presence. They can spread the floor and run and gun all day with their ridiculous athleticism and talent at the guard/forward position. With Abrams and his shot chucking ways out of here, we'll see a much more team-oriented offense, and thankfully Barnes won't be tempted to play Atchley any longer. Truly the best team Texas has ever had, but they need to cash in this year, as the team could get gutted due to the NBA Draft. Nothing new to Barnes though. He'll just reload like he always does.
PG: Jai Lucas/Jcovan Brown/Dogus Balbay SG: Avery Bradley/Justin Mason/Varez Ward SF: Damion James/Jordan Hamilton/Harrison Smith PF: Gary Johnson/Alexis Wangmene/Shawn Williams C: Dexter Pittman/Clint Chapman/Matt Hill Thats a ridiculous team. Destined for final 4 if they stay healthy.
From what I am hearing. PG: Jcovan Brown/Jai Lucas/Dogus Balbay SG: Avery Bradley/Justin Mason/Varez Ward SF: /Jordan Hamilton/Shawn Williams/Harrison Smith PF: Damion James/Gary Johnson/Alexis Wangmene/ C: Dexter Pittman/Clint Chapman/Matt Hill Thats a ridiculous team. Destined for final 4 if they stay healthy.[/
yeah I'm sorry to tell you that's not gonna happen.. I don't see Texas getting into the final four in the first place, much less winning it..
