Don't Mess With Texas BBall

The Texas Courts
Mavs, SA, Rox: Don't Mess With Texas

By Skin -- DallasBasketball.com
We’ve all been told that Texas is a football state so many times that we accept it without stopping down for a moment to ponder the Mavs, Spurs and Rockets and whether that’s still the case. Of course, it’s hard to argue that idea when you think about how wildly successful the Cowboys and Baylor have been the last few years, but the amount of success Texas hoops is having on the high school, college, and pro levels the last couple of turns around the sun has been pretty eye-opening.
And it should have and could have been a lot bigger than this a lot sooner.
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You want to engage in the banter of barstool hypotheticals? Try this on for size. Where is the state of Texas hoop-wise if Larry Johnson’s SAT scores had never been questioned at SMU? I like to maintain that there is no Big 12 and the SWC finishes the 80’s strong with one of the three best basketball conferences in the country every year.
The LJ disaster started a chain of unfortunate events that helped pave the way for the hog exodus and the unraveling of a truly great sports conference. Can you imagine if LJ had stayed, you would have three teams heading into the 90’s that are consistent top 10 finishers in the Ponies, Hogs, and Horns; which in turn would have greatly improved the Aggies and Red Raiders. And it’s not like the Cougars didn’t have a recent past of greatness to build off of as well. Arkansas would have been crazy to leave that behind.
Quick LJ diversion: in the 86-87 Dr. Pepper tournament, I witnessed the most amazing example of dominance I’ve ever seen on the high school level. Lincoln (If I remember correctly) had a three-on-one fast break against Skyline and when the cat in the middle of the break realized LJ was the one, he slowed his roll and waited to set-up the half court offense. That’s what experts like to refer to as intimidation.
LJ stays in place and the Jimmy Kings, Jason Waltons, and Ray Jacksons of the state might have had more of a reason to stay close to home. But hey, there’s no reason in crying over spilled LJ. Look at what is going on in our own backyard.
On the high school level, Texas has been in the mix three years in a row for the crown of the mythical national champion with Lincoln being honored last year and Willowridge making a claim the previous two. Highly touted Dallas area players like Daniel Horton, Chris Bosh, and Bracey Wright are starting their freshmen years at major national programs while down in Beaumont, Kendrick Perkins is being touted as the closest thing to Shaq since that dude in THE GREEN MILE. The scene is healthy.
The player most commonly cited as the reason Willowridge put on a 24-month clinic in hoops dominance before last year, is now running the point in Austin and a pre-season Top 5 ranking has expectations running high for Rick Barnes program. TJ Ford is arguably the best player in college basketball after having become the first freshman to lead the nation in assists. My favorite Ford stat is that he averaged 8 steals a game in high school. AVERAGED! Think about that for a moment. During the course of a32 minute game, Ford went up to some shook cat and picked his rock eight times. That must have been an unpleasant experience for some skinny kid.
The knock on Ford is that he doesn’t have a jumper, but neither does Kidd and boy does he suck. I’ve always maintained that high schoolers that can blow by anybody have no reason to develop outside shots because there’s no sense in shooting jumpers when you can take layups. Skin’s five star guarantee: by the time Ford leaves Austin his jumper will be fine.
Down in Lubbock (or maybe I should say over in Lubbock), Brian Dennehy has the Red Raiders on the brink of competitiveness and the Aggies have just landed their most gifted player since Stephon’s older brother brought NYC playground ball to College Station. Melvin Watkins hopes that Antoine Walker can be the kind of guy they can finally build around. Both teams are still playing the background, but at least they have reasons to be optimistic, as does Baylor as Dave Bliss is starting to get a handle on the situation in Waco.
Having said all that, none of the excellence happening at the amateur levels in Texas can begin to compare to what is brewing for the Mavericks, Rockets, and Spurs. As everyone marvels at the Lakers and Kings, realize that the future of Western Conference dominance is right under our noses.
I don’t need to tell you how great the Mavericks are, but I’m a homer so I will. Can you imagine how good Dirk is going to be when he really figures this thing out? When I think about it my melon bleeds and my ability to communicate is reduced to that of Keanu Reeves. As we march on through what has already been an amazing season, realize that Dirk is three years away from his prime. THREE YEARS! Oh by the way, Nash and Finley seem to be doing fine as well.
The downside is that the Mavs may not even be the best team in the state for the next few years as the Spurs have positioned themselves to be the team to beat starting in the 03’-04’ campaign. Even after signing Duncan to the inevitable full clip this upcoming summer, they’ll still have the room to throw the golden egg at one of the other big-name studs on the market – a list that includes Michael Olowokandi, Gary Payton, and of course, Jason Kidd.
Here’s the scary part, if Kidd comes to San Antonio, it would probably happen in a sign-and-trade so that the Nets don’t let Kidd walk for nothing (similar to the Grant Hill scenario that netted the Pistons Ben Wallace and other fodder) and at least end up with good young players like Parker and Ginobili. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that the Spurs add both Kidd and Olowokandi. Then again they may just end up resigning Duncan and a bunch of also-rans, but the scene down in San Antonio is far and away the most compelling this upcoming offseason.
As for the Rockets, they may be the scariest team of all. Now that his migraines seem to be under control, Steve Francis is a legitimate MVP candidate. Early in the 2002 season Franchise has raised his statistical output in scoring, rebounds, and all three shooting percentage categories. Cuttino Mobley and Eddie Griffin look like brilliant complementary players and sky’s the limit for Yao. I know he’s looked shaky so far, but you see those occasional flashes of brilliance that make you swallow hard if you’re not a Rocket fan. He’s no Bradley, as his base is much stronger, making him harder to move. Championships are won in the paint (don’t bring up Jordan – exceptions to the rule don’t come around very often so we’ll have to wait and see if LeBron is what everyone says he is) and the Rockets have a knack for lucking into dominant post play.
As Shaq ponders the future of his health and the Kings all go to prison or return to their homeland, the future of the NBA is right here in Texas and UT has a legit shot at an NCAA championship in the next two years with no seniors in their starting five. You can insert your own corny Timbuk Three reference here if you want, but I prefer to keep it simple - Texas hoops has never been stronger and it’s gaining momentum.



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