Burnt Orange Nation - Romancing Each Other Since 2004

Next Game

Nebraska Cornhuskers Corn Nation
@ Texas Longhorns Burnt Orange Nation

Saturday, Feb 13, 2010, 3:00 PM CST
Frank Erwin Center

Longhorns Basketball Schedule

Next 5 Games

Nebraska Corn Nation	Sat 02/13	3:00 PM CST
@ Missouri Rock M Nation	Wed 02/17	8:00 PM CST
@ Texas Tech Double-T Nation	Sat 02/20	1:00 PM CST
Oklahoma St.	Wed 02/24	8:00 PM CST
@ Texas A&M I Am The 12th Man	Sat 02/27	1:00 PM CST

Last 5 Games

Kansas Rock Chalk Talk	Mon 02/08	L 68 - 80
@ Oklahoma Crimson And Cream Machine	Sat 02/06	L 71 - 80
@ Oklahoma St.	Mon 02/01	W 72 - 60
Baylor	Sat 01/30	L 77 - 80
Texas Tech Double-T Nation	Wed 01/27	W 95 - 83

Final - 2.8.2010	1	2	Total
Kansas Jayhawks Rock Chalk Talk	34	46	80
Texas Longhorns Burnt Orange Nation	24	44	68

Complete Coverage >

Second Half Open Thread

by Peter Bean on Feb 8, 2010 9:05 PM CST Comment 696 comments

Let us never speak again about what just transpired.

696 comments | 0 recs

Game Preview and Open Thread: Kansas at Texas

by Peter Bean on Feb 8, 2010 2:29 PM CST in Basketball Comment 652 comments

Next Game

#1 Kansas Jayhawks @ #14 Texas Longhorns

Monday, Feb 8, 2010, 8:00 PM CST
Frank Erwin Center * Austin, TX
Television: ESPN (Knight & Musburger)

Ken Pom Ratings: Texas #11 / Kansas #1
Ken Pom Predictor: Kansas 78-75 (65 possessions)

Live In-Game Tempo Free Stats

Opponent blog: Rock Chalk Talk

Longhorns To Debut New Uniforms Tonight

posted by Peter Bean about 1 hour ago

14 comments | 0 recs

Complete Coverage >

First, the good news: we're capable of beating Kansas at home, and the home team has won the last six regular season meetings in the series. Next, the bad news: we're in a deep enough rut that we just lost to an average Oklahoma team. And finally, the news that could be good or bad: the team isn't seeing the big picture yet.

I honestly don't know what to expect. The smart money is on Kansas, but let's talk about some of the things Texas will have to do to emerge victorious:

1. Balbay and Bradley control Sherron Collins' penetration. I was beginning to think we wouldn't see a single collegiate player that Balbay couldn't handle, but he was lost in the first half against Tommy Mason-Griffin's jabs, head and shoulder fakes, and vicious quick stepbacks. Collins is a more straightforward point guard, and he relies on his strength as much or more than his quickness to drive. That doesn't bother Balbay nearly so much, and so long as Collins isn't getting star treatment from the officials, I like Balbay to give us good minutes taking away some of what makes Kansas so lethal. I'd expect Avery Bradley to spend some time on Collins as well, particularly if Balbay's struggling on offense, in foul trouble, or not guarding Collins well, and after what we saw AB do with TMG, I'm more confident that he can give us quality in that defensive role, if we need it.

Take away Collins penetration and you make Collins more of a jumpshooter, which is not his greatest asset (although he's solid) and force one of the wings to step up and have a good game. Xavier Henry would be the guy you worry most about, but he's tracking Texas so far this year: awesome in 2009, fading fast in 2010. Tyshawn Taylor has the quickness and talent to be a dangerous player, but things haven't clicked for him at the college level and I'm pretty sour on his prospects -- more so than most. Still, he's certainly got the capability of making plays if tonight's his night. In any case, we'd rather Kansas beat us because other guys stepped up than because we let Collins be Collins. Easier said than done, so the defense of Balbay and Bradley are probably the single most important key to the game. That, and...

2. Play to strengths offensively. We've talked about this ad nauseum, so I won't belabor the point -- you've heard it all before -- but this team neds to work inside out, appreciate that there are 35 seconds with which to get a shot off, and run sets that get the ball to the right guys in the right positions. If we're not setting up Damion James to be a focal point of the offense, we're doing it wrong. If we're not driving to the basket and looking for buckets 12 feet and in to start the game, we're doing it wrong. If we're not attacking with an eye towards getting to the line, we're doing it wrong (miserable FT% be damned). If we're not shooting quality threes as a result of already having done the previous three things well, we're doing it wrong.

3. Get 20-25 quality minutes from Dexter Pittman. There's no way to get around this problem: we've got to have Dexter play well, play smart, and play paced for a 40 minute game. When Pittman sits, we either go with a small line up with Gary Johnson, which is terrifying against this Kansas frontcourt, or we stay bigger by subbing one of the guys who gives us absolutely nothing. I guess it's possible Chapman or Wangmene has a good game, but Wangmene has been terrible all year and Chapman's a scary defensive and rebounding proposition against Aldrich and the Morris twins. This just can't be said more plainly: Dexter Pittman has got to be a smart, solid basketball player tonight or we lose.

Hopefully, he comes with his head checked tonight, because he's been a frustrated mess of inefficiency the past month, and while some of it is the fault of others, the bulk of the blame has to go on the big guy himself. It's up to him to control the things he can control, and not take himself out of the game with dumb plays made out of frustration. Play solid, Dexter. You must.

652 comments | 0 recs | Share

2010 Texas Junior Day Attendees

by GhostofBigRoy on Feb 8, 2010 1:00 PM CST in Recruiting Comment 47 comments

These names are subject to change and some players may end up attending a different Junior Day. In general, the great majority of the the first Junior Day attendees will receive offers, although some players invited to the first Junior Day may attend the second due to scheduling reasons. Some players, like New Mexico offensive linemen Matt Hegarty, cannot attend due to scheduling reasons. Players who have been approved for an offer but do not attend a Junior Day will almost certainly have to find another way to get to campus to receive their offer.

Continue reading this post »

47 comments | 0 recs | Share

Longhorns To Debut New Uniforms Tonight

by Peter Bean on Feb 8, 2010 12:44 PM CST in Basketball Comment 28 comments

A spokeswoman for Nike emails with the following:

Tonight the Longhorns will debut new uniforms that are dramatically lighter and that are designed to pay tribute to the basketball program and heritage of the University of Texas, including unique call-outs to the Longhorn logo, campus landmarks and the school motto.

Texas is one of several teams in college hoops utilizing these Nike HyperElite uniforms, which are 70 percent lighter than a traditional elite level basketball uniform, and celebrate the rich spirit, tradition and culture of the nation’s top basketball programs.

Images of the new uniforms are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

28 comments | 0 recs | Share

Big XII Projected Standings by Tier

by awiggo on Feb 8, 2010 11:00 AM CST in Basketball Comment 8 comments

For the second week in a row, we'll take a look at the conference standings by adding what we project to happen to what has already occurred to get our best guess at each team's final Big XII record.

A quick review:

Tier I
Projected Wins: All home games and road games against Tier III teams.
Toss-Ups:Road games against Tier II teams.
Projected Losses:Road games against Tier I teams.

Tier II
Projected Wins: Home games against Tier II and Tier II teams.
Toss-Ups: Home games against Tier I teams & road games against Tier III teams.
Projected Losses: Road games against Tier I and Tier II teams.

Tier III
Projected Wins: Home games against Tier III teams.
Toss-Ups: Home games against Tier II teams are toss-ups.
Projected Losses: All road games & home games against Tier I teams.

This time last week Baylor was knocking on the Tier I door. However, due to their loss in College Station over the weekend, the Bears remain in Tier II. Even with splits last week Texas and Missouri deserve their Tier I rankings, along with Kansas and Kansas State. Texas A&M and Oklahoma State remain in Tier II alongside Baylor. And the bottom five stay consistent too-Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Colorado, Iowa State, and Nebraska.

The big winner last week was clearly Texas A&M. The Aggies gained a full game in their projected record with a win at Missouri on Wednesday. The big loser of the week was Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had the only two toss-up games and lost both. Travis Ford's team has now lost three straight, sits at 4-5 in league play, and probably needs to win five of their next seven to feel safe on Selection Sunday.

For the week, the tier system went 7-2 (A&M over Missouri and OU over Texas were the two surprises.).

Team	Actual Record	Projected Record	Toss Ups	Projected Losses
1. Kansas	8 - 0	13 - 3	@ A&M; @ Ok State	@ Texas; @ Missouri
2. Kansas State	6 - 3	12 - 4		@ Kansas
3. Missouri	5 - 3	11.5 - 4.5	@ Baylor	@ Kansas St
4. Texas	5 - 3	11 - 5	@ A&M; @ Baylor	@ Missouri
5. Texas A&M	6 - 3	9.5 - 6.5	@ Tech; vs. Kansas; @ Iowa St; vs. Texas; @ OU	@ Baylor;
6. Baylor	4 - 4	8.5 - 7.5	@ Nebraska; vs. Missouri; @ OU; @ Tech; vs. Texas	@ Ok State;
7. Oklahoma State	4 - 5	8 - 8	@ Iowa St; vs. Kansas;	@ Texas; @ A&M;
8. Oklahoma	4 - 4	6 - 10	vs. Baylor; vs. A&M	@ Ok State; @ Colorado; vs. Kansas St; @ KU; @ Texas
8. Colorado	2 - 7	5 - 11		@ KSU; @KU; @ Missouri; @ Nebraska
10. Iowa State	2 - 6	4 - 12	vs. Ok State; vs. A&M;	@ Missouri; @ KU; @CU; vs. Missouri; @ KSU
10. Texas Tech	3 - 5	4 - 12	vs. A&M; vs. Baylor;	@ OU; @ Baylor; vs. Texas; vs. Kansas St; @ Nebraska; @CU
11. Nebraska	1 - 7	3.5 - 12.5	vs. Baylor	@ Texas; @KSU; vs. Missouri; vs, Iowa State; @Ok State

Thoughts on the week ahead after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

8 comments | 0 recs | Share

"There are 5 people in the North O-Zone Stampede line and 3 people in the Regular line."

This is the current status of the lines outside the Erwin Center. I'll be there at 3:15, and I advise all of the BON student readers to do the same. It's, I dont know, only a game against our biggest basketball rival and the #1 team in the country.

about 12 hours ago txtwstr7 2 comments 0 recs

Morning Coffee Talks 2010 and 2011 Recruiting Narratives

by GhostofBigRoy on Feb 8, 2010 8:50 AM CST in Recruiting Comment 17 comments

Is the 2010 recruiting class the greatest of all time? For a shot period of time before and directly after the 2010 recruiting class officially signed, before every Texas fan began obsessively worrying about the future of the offensive line, the most common question on the lips of Longhorn recruitniks was whether or not the 2010 group represented the greatest recruiting class to ever become Texas Longhorns.

In terms of historical groups, the Worster Bunch of 1967 is most commonly referenced. Led by namesake Steve Worster, a bruising fullback who would go on to star in the Wishbone attack conceived in 1968 by Emory Ballard, the group set the standard for every recruiting class that would come after, both in terms of the hype that accompanied the class to campus and the eventual success of the group. Just how highly regarded were they?

A confidential poll of SWC Head Coaches taken for Texas Football for the 1967 recruiting class revealed that Texas has signed seven of the top eleven recruits for 1967 as well as 12 of the Top 22 recruits. People like Eddie Phillips, Cotton Speyrer and linemen Jim Achilles, Mike Dean and Bobby Mitchell, as well as defensive players like Bill Zapalac, Scott Henderson, Bille Atessis, and Greg Ploetz. Defensive back recruits included Danny Lester and Freddie Steinmark.

Billy Dale, a member of the class, summarized some of the Worster Bunch's accomplishments:

The record of the "Worster Bunch" during our four years at Texas was 35-2-1. This class produced 14 All-Southwest Conference members, two Academic All-Americans, five consensus All-Americans, six inductees into the Longhorn Hall of Honor and one Heisman Trophy candidate.

Compelling success, no doubt, but missing the most important number associated with the group -- two. That would be the number of championships won by the group, in 1969 and 1970, accounting for half of the national championships won by the Longhorns and making the '67 and 68' clases the only two in Texas history to win two national titles, a feat future classes are not likely to match.

There are multiple problems with comparing recruiting classes across such a great span of history, particularly because of the changes in scholarship limits and the fact that the game was still mostly segregated in the late 1960s. As a result, it's probably worth simply saying that the on-field success of the 1967 class has been unrivalled. All told, the Worster Bunch is essentially incomparable.

Continue reading this post »

17 comments | 0 recs | Share

2011 Texas Big Board: The Quarterbacks

by GhostofBigRoy on Feb 8, 2010 7:00 AM CST in Recruiting Comment 19 comments

More photos » Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

The Longhorns may have trouble finding a quarterback to back up Gilbert, Wood, and McCoy in the 2011 class. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Browse more photos »

Quarterbacks on 2011 roster -- Garrett Gilbert (2012), Connor Wood (2013/14), Case McCoy (2013/14)

Needs -- Zero or one. Philosophically, the Longhorns prefer to take one quarterback in every class, so they will certainly go after one.

Targets --


Name	School	JD invite?	Commitment odds	Quick take
JW Walsh	Denton Guyer	Will not attend	Committed to Oklahoma St. (2/1/2010)	The best combination of running ability and passing ability in the class -- big-time ability and has remarkable arm strength for a dual-threat quarterback.
David Ash	Belton	February 13	60%	Stock dropped during junior season as a result of an ankle injury that slowed him most of the year. Looked like no. 1 target after 2009 summer camp. Pro-style quarterback who can make some plays with his feet.
Michael Brewer	Lake Travis	Unconfirmed	50%	Undersized for a quarterback at around 6-0, but is a Texas legacy, as his father played quarterback for the Longhorns. Proven ability to lead after taking Lake Travis to a third straight state championship. Reportedly was offered a grayshirt by the Texas coaches and wasn't particularly happy about it.

Other names to know -- Dominic Merka (Crosby), Aaryn Sharp (Stony Point), Ryan Polite (DeSoto), Dexter Foreman (Manvel), Deuntre Smiey (Lufkin)

Overview -- Personal favorite Walsh committed to Oklahoma State without visiting for a Junior Day -- a big loss for the Longhorns, though Walsh might have been more inclined to head elsewhere anyway to pursue better opportunities. Hard to blame him for looking after his own best interests and the recent hire of former Houston offensive coordinator and Airraid expert Dana Holgorson probably played a large role as well.

In fact, with Wood and McCoy in the 2010 class, it will be extremely difficult for the Longhorns to land any of their top targets, even Ash, a player I'm not as high on as Walsh, but a guy who probably compares better to Garrett Gilbert than Walsh, who is more in the Colt McCoy mold, but much more highly considered coming out of high school. The overriding point here is that there will be limited opportunities for a quarterback in this class and even if the Longhorns do receive a commitment from one of their top targets, a transfer from a quarterback in the 2010 or 11 class is likely and even probable.

If Texas offers Ash and finds that he isn't wiling to commit, they may have to pursue targets not currently on the radar and the greater concern here is pure numbers rather than pure talent -- the 2011 quarterback will be the ultimate insurance policy.

19 comments | 0 recs | Share