Emmanuel Mudiday ain't going to Texas... He is a heavy lean to Kentucky... Unless coach Calipari bolts to the NBA next year which I expect him to, then Texas better hope they can bring in Justise Winslow,Oubre,Lattin,and Robinson in next year's class...
I'm in the same boat as you. I didn't go there but I've lived in the Austin area for nearly 14 years. I'm a fan of their teams...at least, I was. Since the inception of the LHN, I've lost all touch with the program. Even in the few instances I have access to the channel, I don't watch. But, that means I saw exactly 2 basketball games on tv this season. I have no idea how the baseball team is doing. They've screwed themselves and it's not going to get better anytime soon...until major changes are made in the athletic department.
^^ I'm all for giving a guy a chance, and stability, or whatever. But given trajectory, this year's performance, and the apparent running to the doors by many players, ummm... how do you not fire your head coach? If this was a publicly traded stock, I'd put together a LBO package real quick. It's got so many positives. Branding. Location. Fanbase. Media. Conference. It just needs a management change.
first holmes and McClellan, and now julien lewis. texas basketball is not looking good. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...onghorns-guard-julien-lewis-transfer/2159763/
from what I've been told by a guy who hangs out with a lot of the basketball players (I go to UT), this is almost certainly the straw that breaks the camel's back
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Former Texas G Sheldon McClellan confirms he's transferring 2 Miami:"I believe the ACC is the best conference & I want 2 compete w/the best"</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/346809355636723713">June 18, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Former Texas guard Sheldon McClellan on why he's transferring to Miami:"Coach (Jim) Larranaga really got my attention.He's a player's coach"</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/346810671230484480">June 18, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>More guard Sheldon McClellan on Univ. Miami coach Jim Larranaga: "He's a motivator. He has a strong desire to maximize my potential."</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/346811820188782592">June 18, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Former Texas guard Julien Lewis told FOX 26 Sports he is transferring to Fresno State.</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/350422530428895233">June 28, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
His dumb move was going to UT (please note, I am an UT alum and the only teams I am a fan of besides the Rockets are the Longhorn teams). Rick Barnes has turned into a talent killer. he brings players in that are highly rated, and they don't develop, don't excel, and end up worse off draft stock wise by the time they leave. Now players are jumping ship, and when people realize Barnes is poison to their NBA hopes they will stop coming to Austin. Barnes needs to go. He is doing more harm than good now.
Ioannis Papapetrou signs pro deal Texas' leading returning scorer, Ioannis Papapetrou, has signed a lucrative deal to play overseas with Olympiacos BC. Texas has confirmed Papapetrou's departure, which was reported earlier by Eurohoops.net. Olympiacos also posted a story on its website that Papapetrou, a native of Athens, has inked a five-year deal. A source told ESPN.com the deal was worth approximately $2 million. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Papapetrou's departure is the latest hit for coach Rick Barnes and the Longhorns' program, which has lost Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton, Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph early to the NBA and also watched as Sheldon McClellan, Julien Lewis and Jaylen Bond all transferred out of the program following last season. Papapetrou had spurned an earlier offer to play professionally in Greece. But according to a source close to the situation, Olympiacos increased the offer in the past few days as Papapetrou was preparing to return to Austin. Papapetrou averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds last season, but was set to be the key piece for a young Texas team this season. He was a mismatch at both forward spots, and showed NBA potential recently while playing for the Greek national team at the U-20 European Championships.
Mid January of 2010, UT was 17-0 and had the best team in college basketball. It's been a downward slide ever since. After this coming season, it's probably time for a change. The Rick Barnes era has run its course. Seems like something happened that permanently affected his relationship with players in a negative way.
From 02-10 i always thought we had a better chance of losing Barnes to a bigger hoops program, but things went south quick. He made his bed, people say he's a victim of all the early entries, but he knew that risk when he recruited them. He should have recruited players that would stick for 3-4 years for some continuity. Suddenly one bad year, and the program is barren. If there aren't some positive signs this year it's time to move on, and I obviously don't have high hopes.
The weird thing is that all these players that transferred this last year were those 4-year guys that were supposed to provide a foundation and continuity. It will be interesting to one day learn what on earth happened here, because players used to pretty universally love Barnes. Like you said, things fell apart quickly. I don't see any way the team this year is remotely interesting or good. On the surface, it seems like they will be both younger and worse than last year's already bad and young team.
That's b.s. How does Calipari do it? Self? Roy Williams? They all recruit players that could potentially bolt after a season. Yet, they're contenders year in and year out. You need to have a mix of the players likely to stay 3-4 years and the top talent that could leave early. That's where Barnes is getting killed. He's going to far in either direction. Seasons with 3 or 4 players that might be good enough to leave as freshman with no depth OR a roster full of depth but no real talent that can carry the team. My biggest problem with his coaching is the complete lack of fundamentals the players show. Why are his teams historically bad free thrown shooters every freaking year? It also seems they're consistently a bad turnover team. Yes, he teaches good team defense. But it's not so good that they're able to overcome their poor offensive abilities...especially when they don't have a player or players that can score the ball. This has to be his last year. 2013-2014 could be a historic year at UT, coaching wise. If Mack, Barnes, and Augie have bad seasons, there's going to be enormous pressure from the alumni to overhaul the athletics program. Figures that I finally have the LHN after switching to Uverse and the basketball team is going to be really really bad.
