http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2006/news/story?id=2449610 Didn't see this anywhere. If it has already been posted...my apologies. PJ leaving is not a shock to Texas fans, but I am blown away by Mike Williams deciding to transfer. This kid was going to be our most experienced frontline player....
Ya, not sure why Mike is transferring. With PJ, Buckman, and LaMarcus gone, he would be a starter for sure and would probably play A LOT of minutes.
I guess the bright side is we will get many more Conner Atchley highlights here in Austin....although I wonder about the toughness of a player who shaves his arm pits before every game....especially a big man.
On the one plus side, the Longhorns are in on another five-star prospect, Damion Jones Jones was an Oklahoma signing but was released from his commit following the Kelvin Sampson stuff. It's down to UT and A&M. It's unfortunate to see Mike leaving. He is by fair the most "normal" and down to earth athlete I've ever met. Really cool to be around. I think it makes sense for PJ to come out in this draft. The flaws in his game are almost entirely height related - and that's not going to change. The only thing he really could've done is improve his jumper. With this being a weaker class due to the lack of HSers, and just weaker in general, it makes sense for him to come out now. Gibson, on the other hand, has a ton to prove.
Atchley is way too skinny for my taste. Looks like a couple of the big freshman coming in will see some PT: Pittman and Hill could see a lot more time then they thought they would. I'm hoping for Jones as well. If we have DJ with Durant at SF and Jones at PF, we could a very athletic team w/ a lot of fire power.
Why is everyone bailing our program? Anyone have any clue? I'm kind of worried about this year with Gibson, Aldridge, Tucker, Wiliams, Buckman, Paulino gone... Thats basically our whole rotation from this year. Atchley sucks so bad. Why do people cheer for him at games. The guy screws up every time I see him on the court.
This year's draft is so weak that it is probably better to come out this year where you can be a late-1st or early 2nd rounder rather than wait for next season. Gibson should stay because a strong showing could push him back into the 1st round, possibly a high pick if he can improve. Not sure why Mike Williams is transferring, as I said above, he was in the starting lineup. I wonder if Barnes has something to do with it, I've heard that he is a very strict coach and that some players don't like it. I've heard from a couple of people that Gibson was seriously thinking about leaving last season because he didn't like Barnes. We're gonna be an extremely young team but we're gonna have a lot of talent as well, hopefully we can pull a UNC or KU next season.
Actually it's Damion James. I would love to have James but I don't see him coming w/ Durant on board.
How does A&M make more sense? Bc their program is superior? College station loves black people? I'm not seein it.
Why would you say that? Yeah, you don't really see black people at a$m. I'ts a pretty vanilla campus.
I don't want to debate who has the better coach and team because we're not going to convince each other otherwise. I like Gillispie but to say he is better than a coach who has taken a school to 7 straight NCAA tourneys, a Final Four appearance, 4 Sweet Sixteen appearences, and 7 straight 20-win seaons has "homerism" written all over it. Ya'll had a great season by winning the first 11 games, but ya'll also finished the rest of the season at 10-10. I don't think proximity to home is a matter since he originally committed to OU. Having friends on the team could be a factor like you said though. With Aldridge, Buckman, PJ, and Mike Williams gone, James could come in and start at PF right away (assuming he's willing to play PF and if Barnes lets him play PF). But most scouts see him as more of a SF and w/ the nations best SF already on board, I think that will be the deciding factor on whether he comes or not.
I think for sure A&M will be the better team in the next two years. I will not get into the coaching debate. Barnes has more credentials but I would not trade coaches. The black people argument is stupid and ignorant.
Picking A&M would make sense for a lot of reasons for James. Gillispie is a great coach... he took a team that was 0-16 in conference and brought them to 4th in the Big XII and 1 shot away from the Sweet 16. They also have 6 of their top 7 players returning, only losing their starting SF which happens to be the position James plays. If they can continue to improve like they have the past two years, I wouldn't be surprised to see them finish 1st or 2nd in the Big XII, especially with OU losing 3 starters, and Texas possibly losing 5 starters plus their best post player off the bench.
