NEW ORLEANS -- The University of Texas men's basketball team hit Bourbon Street on Friday night like so many others -- free of worries, free of responsibilities ... just young and free. But they could not free themselves of the painful memories of a season that ended sooner than expected with a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament to Temple. "Damn, we should still be playing," freshman James Thomas said in a loud baritone, as thousands of revelers soaked in the debauchery, ambivalent to one Longhorn's pain. "This will not happen next year. I guarantee it." You can prepare a convincing list of reasons this might not happen to the Longhorns next year. But how did it happen this year? Coach Rick Barnes said one does not know the inner workings of a team unless he or she is a part of the squad, but he knows veteran observers could see there were weaknesses in his team. And when you have the particular weaknesses the Longhorns had this season, NCAA Tournament success is hard to come by. "This time of year, it's about guard play. There's no question about it; this is a guard's tournament," Barnes said Friday. "Our guard play has to improve. We have to handle the ball better. "We haven't been a great ball-handling team all year, and I'm sure if you ask anybody about it, we've hid it pretty well. I'm talking about fumbling passes, having the ball tipped from behind, not putting the ball where it needs to be to make the good, clean play. We've got to become a much better ball-handling team." Junior point guard Fredie Williams improved tremendously throughout the season, turning himself into a defensive force, but he is admittedly a below-average ball-handler. Freshman Royal Ivey leveled off after a solid start, but he was playing out of position at the point, rarely getting an opportunity to play his natural shooting guard position. Senior Chris McColpin, a former walk-on, battled gamely and had his moments, but he struggled against quicker players at the point and was a liability on defense. But point guard was not the only spot where Texas struggled to take care of the ball. Shooting guard Darren Kelly and swingman Maurice Evans led the team in turnovers, and Thomas and Chris Owens, post players who rarely handled the ball away from the basket, were third and fourth in miscues. Barnes said the team will get something it was lacking with the signing of Willowridge guard T.J. Ford, an excellent ball-handler who should improve the team's ball protection next season. Barnes also said having his young team for a season gave him insight into what each individual needs to work on before next year. Six of Texas' top eight players in the rotation in terms of minutes were in their first season with the Longhorns, and four of those were true freshmen. Knowing he had only two contributors returning from last year's squad, Barnes established the modest goal of simply making the Tournament to keep the program on the rise. All things considered, the Longhorns' 25-9 mark, just one victory shy of matching the school record for wins in a season and including victories over Illinois and Iowa State, is not bad. "I told (the freshmen) I wanted them to be one of the winningest classes to come through Texas, and they got a great start this year," Barnes said. The finish was the problem. The Longhorns raised expectations with an eight-game winning streak leading into the Big 12 tournament final. Losses to Oklahoma there and Temple here brought the season to an end with a resounding thud. "I don't think anybody thought this group would do what they've done," Barnes said. "Last year's team I wanted to play deep into the Tournament, but with this group, I wasn't sure we could play deep into the Tournament, because we had so many young guys. "But the way the season went, you started getting excited, and you start thinking, `Hey, this group can be special.' Truth be known, they've done what we needed to do for this program, just to get us here. "But we're all disappointed. We wanted more. We acted like a team (Friday) that has never been in this situation." Evans is one of those who never had been in that situation, and he did not perform up to his expectations against Temple. The junior transfer hit just four of 16 shots, including one of nine 3-pointers. "I left Wichita State to go into the NCAA Tournament, compete for a national championship and get exposure," Evans said. "I had an opportunity to get all of that, and I didn't take advantage of my opportunities. "I still have room to grow as a player. I have to continue to work hard in the offseason and see what happens." Evans was not the only Longhorn to struggle from the field in the Tournament. The team hit just 27.6 percent of its shots from the floor in the first half and 39.4 percent for the game. Part of a season-long problem, the shooting woes had as much to do with an offense that didn't run smoothly enough to get good looks for shooters as it did with guys not being good shooters. "It's incredible that we were able to win as many games as we did shooting 40 percent this year (actually 41.1)," Barnes said. "If there is anything I could go back and change, I would make us make more shots." There were far too many accomplishments for this season to be one to forget, but more than a dozen nights of horrid shooting produced memories even Bourbon Street cannot erase. But there is always next year. "I'm excited about next year," Barnes said. "There's going to come a time when we are going to do something in this Tournament; I really believe that. And I feel it'll be soon." ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
