not sure i want to derail this thread, but is it just me, or is there a weird lack of coverage in houston about this? the final four is here in 6 freaking weeks!!!
i think once the tourney gets going, we'll be hearing about it a ton. but you're right...i had forgotten it was this year until someone said it around Christmas time.
Gary Johnson was my favorite player on last year's team and he's showing me why this year. The guy is the glue man of this team. Can he take it to the next level? Who knows. He does remind me of a Chuck Hayes type, but has a better offensive game. If he can improve his defense, I think he could definitely crack an NBA roster. Although it is incredibly early, he's being projected to go around the time the Rockets would pick. Same for Tristan Thompson. Personally I think they both need another year at the college level to mature.
I think Hamilton is a lock to go this year. Thompson might be more 50/50. I think with another year of developing his offense, he could go the Lamarcus Aldridge route and devleop into a top 5 type pick. Plus, he would have the chance to play with his point guard from last year (Kobongo or whatever), which probably would make him look that much more impressive as well.
Don't forget Hamilton can rebound, too. He's currently leading the team at over 7 per game. I'd love to have him as well. His build reminds me of Rashard Lewis...but without all the crying.
Pretty cool anecdote from Barnes about 2003's team: http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2011/02/18/t-j-ford-the-straw-that-stirs-the-drink/ ... Last night on his statewide radio show, Barnes told a fascinating story about the 2003 Final Four team and Ford’s leadership ability. The #4-ranked Horns final regular season contest was in Norman against #5 OU. It was the first time in school history that UT had been involved in a match-up of two AP Top Five teams. It was also senior night for a group led by Hollis Price. There were balloons stored under the ceiling ready to be released at the end of the game. OU built up a 15-point lead with just over 12 minutes to go. Texas called a timeout. Forward Brian Boddicker had given up two straight offensive rebounds, and Barnes ignored the rest of the team to spend the entire timeout ripping Boddicker to shreds. Barnes told him, “You are done, sit down, you are not playing the rest of the game.” Boddicker tried to say something and Barnes just cut him off at the knees, reiterating that his night was over. As the team began to work their way back to the court, T.J. approached Barnes. T.J.: “Coach do you want to win?” Barnes: (sarcastically) : “Yeah, I want to win.” T.J.: “Then you need to put Brian back in.” Barnes: “Did you not hear me? He is not going to play.” T.J.: “The I guess you really don’t want to win.” Barnes said he looked at T.J. then went down to the bench and told Boddicker he was going to give him one more chance. Boddicker hit two straight 3-point shots in the next minute and soon Texas had cut the lead to 58-52. Ford, who only had 4 points in the game at that time, scored 14 points in the last 10 minutes, including a game-clinching jumper as Texas came back to win 76-71. Barnes said as the team was walking off the court after the game, someone slapped him on the butt, hard. Barnes whirled around, and there stood T.J., smiling and saying: “Hey, you are one helluva coach!”
Can't say I'm not nervous, but I'm also glad at the same time that this team is getting another test on the road while trailing. When you get "win-happy" and beating teams by double digits, you lose some of that swagger you've gained through winning these close games on the road. Hope Texas can pull away with the win though. I'd hate to go down on a day where teams have been getting upset left and right.
Hamilton's really struggling to find his touch, and Thompson's given Barnes absolutely nothing in the low post. Nebraska's really taking advantage of Balbay's incompetence on offense, and it's really hurting Thompson because they're laying off of Dogus and essentially shadowing our bigs on the block.
At least they fought until the last second. This changes things up a bit as far as getting a #1 seed goes? I'm honestly not sure since there have been a few top 10 upsets today.
That was a terrible look. I would have felt a lot better about that shot had J'Covan handed it to Jordan for the deeper look with some space. Honestly, even with 3:30 left in the game and an 11-point deficit, I had a feeling Texas was going to come back... and Nebraska did everything they possibly could to help the Longhorns come back. It's a damn shame it came down to all of that. Nebraska's defense was very good, and they really forced Balbay into situations he wasn't ready for.
Unbelievable 11-pt comeback with just under 2 min, but the point differential in the paint was just too much. A couple of terrible 3-pt fouls by Nebraska late in the game... I honestly though the Horns were going to pull it off. Hopefully this adds fuel to the fire, and the Horns steamroll through the rest of the conference schedule and secure the 1-seed in the Big 12 tourney. Left on the schedule: vs. ISU @ Colorado vs. K. State @ Baylor
Out of those games... and not to overlook ISU or Colorado... K-State and Baylor are the ones I'm worried about. K-State game is at home but K-State is still a great team. Baylor was playing tough against Texas in their last meeting in Austin, going to be a huge game for them. My question though is... with this loss... how does this affect the chances of getting a #1 seed in the tourney? Does this mean that Texas will now have to win the Big 12 tourney assuming Kansas also wins out?
Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what he was thinking there. I mean, don't get me wrong, he was open, but he had plenty of time to take a step or two up and then take the jumper. Shooting it from that far away was not the shot the Longhorns needed in that situation.
If the season were to end today, no - but it does reduce Texas' margin for error. If it's between KU and Texas, Texas still has it as of today. But if we lose again and split the B12 Title, then KU beating us in the B12 Tourney almost definitely gives them the #1 over us. Hopefully, Duke or Pitt fades a bit and both KU and UT get a #1 seed and solves that problem. I think a bigger concern is whether this game + the Baylor game have exposed any weaknesses that other tourney teams will try to exploit.
I should have said "probably" instead of "almost definitely". In the scenario of us losing another game and KU beating us in the B12 Title game, KU would have split with us and end with 2 B12 losses to our 3. But we'd have a better non-conference resume, so I'm not sure how that might affect things.
UT deserved to lose. To come out and play like they did in the 2nd half was pathetic. In the NBA or college, when one team plays tenacious D and the other does not, you can pencil in the winner. UT didn't ratchet the pressure up until less than 2 mins left and almost pulled off a miracle. Nebraska completely choked for about 30 seconds and lost an 11-point lead. That part of the game blew my mind. I think the UT players have lost their edge from a couple of weeks ago and needed this loss to put them in their place. Now they should realize that showing up isn't enough and if they don't play hard defense on every possession, they are not a special team. Maybe it would have been better if Nebraska had chopped the lead down more going into halftime. Their lack of effort to start the 2nd half reminded me of last year. I'll be very interested to see if they can come out and destroy Iowa State on Tuesday. Their performance the last 4 games finishing the season will tell us of they are a serious Final Four contender.
Don't you look like a damn fool with this post after what Nebraska did to your team today, lolololololololololololololololololololol.
