Barnes will never make it to the top in the tournament. Rick Barnes's Law - when fans of a Rick Barnes-coached team brag about how well he's doing, that team's season has peaked at that moment. The law was intact this year. Tennessee fans bragged about Rick Barnes when they reached #1 in the polls, but the team made a slow decline to a Sweet 16 exit. This version of Rick Barnes is better than Shaka. However, we didn't get that version for the last four or so years of his tenure at Texas. He needed a change of scenery, and I still don't think he is back to his 1999-2007 ways anyway. The coach most similar to that version of Rick Barnes is current Chris Beard.
Does this save Smart if they win it? Isn't Lipscomb the school UT used to open every season with because Rick Barns went there or coached there?
This does make it easier to live with him returning next season. At least we got to see what a locked-in Texas team looks like during this NIT run.
UT looked really good playing some decent teams. What happened to them during the regular season? Did they have a lot of their better players out with injuries?
The hallmarks of UT under Shaka have been inconsistency, poor outside shooting and raw big men. Last night you got to see what the team looks like when the guards are hitting shots, which is atypical. Many games this season were defined by spurts and, more often than not, cold streaks. Kerwin Roach's suspension didn't help down the stretch, but relying on him as the number-one scoring option shows how little guard depth this team has had. I've never been too upset by the lack of success with big men. Jaxson Hayes was essentially recruited as a Stretch Armstrong doll and developed into a lottery prospect. College big men can get by on potential more than any other position and I don't think it's an indictment to let them leave largely "untapped." However, Shaka's inability to recruit and coach guards who can consistently make a shot has been this team's Achilles' heel for years. We'll have to see how some of those young guys that got some good run over the NIT do next season.
Texas was better than their record all season. The advanced metrics showed it, they just couldn’t put it all together.
This. Successful teams in college basketball, generally speaking, are teams that have stellar guard play. My favorite college bball players are excellent guards who aren't quite good enough to turn pro while in school and they play 4 years of college ball. Like a Jevon Carter at West Virginia for example or even a Javan Felix. Guys like that are sooo important and we just haven't had it. Shaka has recruited big men well and that's great but that's not the answer... what has been sorely lacking is excellent college basketball guards and excellent three point shooters.
Roach never developed correctly, he was still making dumb decisions for four years The Steph curry airball on the fast break last night was a moment. Also I don’t like how our nba prospects never got the ball. Jaxon Hayes should have got more touches
You saw that too? Jericho Sims has been at total disappointment, but maybe he's showing flashes that might translate to next season?
Yes, Roach was trying to show off against Lipscolm with that and his 360 dunk. He only proves that he takes really bad shots and his 3 point shooting is not good enough.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...hman-Jaxson-Hayes-2019-NBA-Draft-13759338.php Frustrating. Texas wastes first round talent year after year Turner, Allen, Bamba and Hayes... all big men Texas has put in the first round the last 4 years and we haven't done anything with them. Not sure what Shaka's strategy is but he needs to come up with a long term vision to build a successful program.The recruiting has felt disjointed. These bigs are nice to get but they aren't staying and the program hasn't been able to put together a team the last few years to take advantage of these talents. Guard play is huge in college basketball and Shaka has done terribly bringing in guards. The first round bigs are nice but a first round guard would have a much greater impact.
What's frustrating, he was always a one and done, as were the other guys. Raw bigs aren't gonna do a damn thing as college freshman. The roster construction has been an absolute joke for a decade now. Random one and done's and guards who can't shoot.