DeLoss needs to pull the plug on Barnes. Has anyone done less with more than Rick? He signed two of the most promising young talents in America in Bradley and Hamilton, and he returned a 6'11'' behemoth in the paint and an absolute animal in Damion James. He needs to unchain J'Covan Brown, and quit playing Jai Lucas, who's built like a 7th grader and brings nothing to the table offensively. Also, Mason provided plenty of energy tonight and has a couple bright spots, but he's a huge liability on the offensive end as he can't shoot the ball. Opposing defenses sag off, and end up doubling down on Dex and Damion. Barnes needs to stretch the floor with Hamilton, Brown, and Bradley in the backcourt, and start Pittman and James in the frontcourt. Gary Johnson would be the first man off of the bench to relieve Pittman. I'm sorry, but Justin Mason is overrated on the defensive end of the floor. If you watched the game tonight, he was caught in no-man's land a number of times and was beaten to the cup on back doors cuts, failed to properly box out his man, and lazily fought around screens in the 2nd half. Mason hasn't progressed at all during his 4 years at Texas - he's the exact same player he was his freshman year. Also, Pittman's been a huge disappointment. Besides hammering down a dunk or dropping in an occasional baby hook over his left shoulder, he's incapable of doing anything offensively. He's not aggressive enough in the paint, and frankly, having Mason on the perimeter limits Pittman's game to the point to where Dex is simply a non-factor unless he's handed a gift from J'Covan or another driving guard. I'm sick of hearing about his weight loss - it's time for Pittman to show up and assert himself along side Damion James as a senior leader on this squad. The tournament is around the corner, and Barnes to take control of this team if he wants to advance past the 1st round. He needs to quit throwing the immensely talented Brown under the bus and pull him out of the doghouse in crucial situations (he waited too long to bring Brown in tonight, and J'Covan was the key to bringing the Horns within 5 points in the 2nd half). Also, he needs to quit playing favorites and allow the "indiscriminate gunner," Jordan Hamilton, to get more opportunities on the floor. Sure, he makes a mistake every once in a while, but he has the ability to drop 20+ points on any given night. We lost to Baylor tonight because of a lack of offense. We needs his outside stroke and aggressiveness on the offensive side of the floor, which will free up more chances for Pittman and James.
I thought Jordan Hamilton was going to be a sure top 15-20 pick before the season started...now I dunno if he'll go in the 1st round (if he declares). Everytime I watch him play he's shooting 3s from 3ft behind the 3pt line... He needs to be more agressive.
Yes, let's fire one of the most successful coaches in the country over the last decade because he had a recruiting class that didn't pan out. Roy Williams. Umm, J'Covan Brown has been sporadic at best this year. None of the point guards are any good. He had attitude problems in high school and apparently he still has some of them. He played 3 minutes yesterday, loafed around and did nothing. Today he came in and shot 1-7 for 4 points, and the Longhorns got blown out in the time he played. They tried this already. Bradley plays hard and smart, but hasn't excelled at all. Hamilton goes wild and doesn't remotely play within the confines of the team. And Brown can't seem to get the ball where it needs to go and just likes jacking up shots. Mason doesn't play because Barnes thinks he's good. He plays because the other choices are so bad. J'Covan led the team to a 2nd half route today. He played most of the last Baylor game and we got blown out then too. He's not the solution. He doesn't make a mistake every once in a while. He makes a mistake the majority of the time. He's scored 20+ points twice this year. His aggressiveness doesn't free up chances for Pittman or James because he shoots the ball every time he gets it. Those guys could be wide open and he'll take an ill-advised shot anyway. He's not the solution either. (I do agree that Texas' best offense is probably to just let him heave the ball up every time down the court and hope he gets hot, though. Nothing else really works.) People need to face the facts: this team is simply not very good. It's not very talented. Every combo of personnel has been tried and the results are the same. It's not going very far in the tournament and there's not really anything that is going to change that in the next week.
Rick Barnes, one of the most successful coaches in the country over the last decade? He's won 2 Big 12 Championships over the last 10 years ('06 and '08), and he's taken the Horns to the Final Four once during that time period. I'd consider Roy Williams (2 National Championship, 4 Final Fours, 5 ACC Regular Season Titles), Bill Self (1 NC, 3 Final Fours, 7 Big 12 Titles), Coach K (1 NC, 2 Final Fours, 7 ACC Tourney Titles), and Tom Izzo (1 NC, 4 Final Fours, 5 Elite Eights, and 3 Big 10 Titles) to be the alpha dogs of the NCAA basketball coaching world over the last decade. The numbers don't lie. The wild card is Billy Donovan, who's been to 3 NC games (he won 2). Roy Williams may have underperformed this season, but he's one of the greatest college basketball coaches of our generation. He has 2 rings and 7 Final Fours on his resume, and he's broken numerous NCAA records along the way. Barnes isn't fit to shine his shoes. Also, concerning J'Covan Brown - he's very sporadic, but he led the Horns on a 7-0 run moments after entering the game this evening. Bobby Knight was praising his passing ability after he found Dexter Pittman for 2 easy hammer dunks at the basket. He can drive the lane and dish, shoot the 3-ball , and he's the team's best FT shooter. He's the best option Barnes has at the PG position. Would you rather have Justin Mason or Jai Lucas bringing the ball up the floor? Hamilton has attempted over 15 shots only 3 times this season, and he scored 14, 27, and 24 in those 3 games. Why start a 6'2'' SR averaging just over 3 PPG, when you have a 6'7'' HS All-American gunslinger at your disposal on a team that desperately needs more offensive production from the wing position? For you to say that Texas is "not very talented" is down right ludicrous. Barnes simply hasn't found a unit that has effectively meshed on the floor for a significant period of time, and he's mismanaged a number of games down the stretch. It's difficult to develop any chemistry when the head coach utilizes a 10 or 11-man rotation, and is constantly tinkering with the lineup. It's March, and Barnes still hasn't made his mind up. Matt Hill had played in 2 of the last 8 games, yet for some reason Barnes throws him on to the floor in a close game in the Big 12 tournament. Jai Lucas has only scored 5 points in the last 8 games and he gets tossed around like a rag doll on the defensive side of the floor, yet Barnes still plays him. Why not go with the PG who may have a few screws loose in his head, but averages 10 PPG, is the best FT shooter on the squad, and can handle bigger guards? It just doesn't make sense.
I agree with all of that. You listed 4 (or 5) guys. Rick Barnes is in the tier right below that. All of those guys are at traditional basketball powerhouses; Rick Barnes built his program essentially from scratch. Texas has a Final Four, several Elite Eights, and the 4th longest NCAA Tourney streak in the country. You don't fire a guy who's built one of the top 7 or 8 programs in the country. Sure - but you asked if anyone had underperformed worse. Roy Williams has. Which goes to the point - even great coaches have bad seasons when their recruiting classes don't pan out. It's not always just a coaching issue. He *can* do all that stuff. But he was also in the game when we got blown out by 20 points. He does lots of good - and lots and lots of bad. People always look at the scoring - but those guys do manage/run the team better than Brown, as ugly as it may look. The team does just as well (which is not to say much) with any of the guys on the court. Ultimately, Brown brings as many negatives as he does positives. Because Hamilton doesn't know when to shoot. Even the national media mocks him for taking bizarre shots and not being able to play within the confines of a team - and the national media tends never make fun of anyone. Where is all this talent? James is very, very good. Johnson is pretty good. Pittman is a trainwreck. Bradley plays hard & smart but doesn't do anything particularly well. Hamilton is a shooter that shoots 40% from the field and doesn't play defense or pass the ball. Brown is a scoring point guard that can't manage a game. Mason is a defender that can't shoot. It's not clear what Lucas can or can't do. Hill and Wangmeme are scrubs. This team is one of Barnes' least talented teams, in part because they players aren't very good and in part because they aren't consistent, meaning they can't be relied on for anything on a regular basis. That's because none of the lineups all season have worked - primarily because there's just not that much talent. Because when he does that, the defense and other parts of the game suck. He went your route just a week ago with the same team, and they had the same result: getting blown out by Baylor.
Rick Barnes isn't shooting from 28 ft with 20 seconds on the shot clock. I can assure you he dies a little when his players try. This team's poor play is a combination of many things. Bad chemistry on the court, too many immature players w/ low bball IQ, and probably Barnes' worst coaching job in his life. I am not on board with firing him because I think this is an anomaly. I think Bradley, Hamilton, and Brown have played themselves out of the draft and will be back. If it weren't for Damion James, this team would be hoping for a NIT bid.
Wow, Texas vs. Kentucky (if we make it to the 2nd round) is going to be one of the ugliest games in recent memory.
As bad as Texas has been recently, WF has been much worse, losing 5 of their last 6. Texas *should* beat WF. Texas' only hope in the 2nd round is for the play-in game winner to stun Kentucky in the first round.
How in the world is Kentucky the 2nd 1 seed but yet potentially draws the toughest 2nd round matchup?
Major, Jordan Hamilton was 5-10 from three-point range, snagged 6 rebounds, and hit both of his free throws. J'Covan Brown led the Horns back in to the game in the 2nd half. He was 7-13 from the floor, led the team in scoring with 20 points, and only turned the ball over once. Lucas and Mason "manage/run the team better than Brown (Mason had 2 points and 3 assists in 32 minutes of play, and Lucas was abruptly pulled after one minute of action; he was frantically rushing the ball up the court, making poor decisions with the ball, and was bull-rushed to the basket by diminutive guard Ish Smith)," and Hamilton "doesn't know when to shoot," and he "goes wild and doesn't remotely play within the confines of the team (his statistics say otherwise)." The numbers don't lie. Jordan Hamilton and J'Covan Brown, two players you repeatedly criticized and doubted just a week ago, were the two best players on the floor in burnt orange tonight.
I also said: This team is one of Barnes' least talented teams, in part because they players aren't very good and in part because they aren't consistent, meaning they can't be relied on for anything on a regular basis. One game does not make a season. The whole problem with the team is that players don't show up consistently. Gary Johnson, one of the reliable free throw shooters, choked in the clutch. Today, Hamilton/Brown showed up. In previous games, they were complete zeros (or negatives). That's the entire problem - there's no way to build a team philosophy when your players randomly show up and randomly don't. I said that Brown does lots of good - and lots of bad. I stand by that, both for him and most of the other core players on the team. Outside of James (and Johnson to a lesser extent), not one can be relied on to the point where you know what you're going to get on a given night.
