Are you ever too Good?

by Xerxes on Dec 1, 2007 12:32 PM CST

As we go in to Sunday and the game with UCLA, I was thinking the horns have a chance to win if they play well to beat UCLA.

That would be the first time I have thought that a Horns BB team has a legitimate shot at beating the #1 Team in the country. This made me think of all the players Rick Barnes has recruited and got to play for Texas. If he hadn't done such a good job and gotten so many extremely talented players that have left, you wonder what kind of team he could have built. If his best choices had stayed or been able to play the Horn's starting line could be Aldridge, Durant, Johnson, Abrahms and Augustin. That team could beat some NBA teams.

It just to bad that Barnes has done so well at bringing players with so much skills that they are to talented to stay in College. Which means UT and Barnes doesn't get the all recognition they deserve for finding and recruiting the best players in the country. The kind of gifted athletes he has attracted to UT could win a National championship if they weren't to talented to stay in college ball.

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recruits

I think Barnes' typical reply to that is: if he doesn't recruit them, he'll have to play against them. If it means he only gets them for 1-2 years, so be it. That's the nature of college basketball these days.

Clearly Durant was ready to play in the NBA... I think Lamarcus made a good choice to leave when he did, and Daniel Gibson has exceeded expectations in Cleveland. TJ Ford was compelled to leave early because of health reasons. PJ Tucker, however, should have stayed another year, assuming he could keep his grades up.

He has had a lot of good role players that stayed for all 4 years, like Buckman and Paulino. Did Ivey leave early? I can't remember.

by SelimSivad on Dec 1, 2007 1:54 PM CST reply actions

Ivey stayed

He became our PG in crucial situations because Barnes didn't trust Paulino yet.

by Texas Wahoo on Dec 1, 2007 2:58 PM CST up reply actions

The 1 year rule will slowly change things

A lot of guys that would have gone straight out after high school two years ago will stay in college past their freshmen year.

That Texas Team would be sick, but probably wouldn't win a national title. You'd have to imagine UNC with all their players and Florida would have that 04 class in tact still.

I really wish Aldridge would have stayed, we were about to finally see how good he could be when he left.

Also, didn't we lose some top recruit who ended up going straight to the Jazz?

by the1austin on Dec 1, 2007 7:31 PM CST reply actions

yeah

C.J Miles committed to Texas in 2005 or 2004, but got drafted by the Jazz. Haven't heard anything about him since.

In Mack We Trust.

by Cyrus on Dec 1, 2007 7:40 PM CST up reply actions

Miles

has not done anything. That's why. He made the wrong choice in not going to UT.

by goingforthecorner on Dec 1, 2007 8:57 PM CST up reply actions

Not only that

But because he was a second round draft choice NCAA rules would have permitted him to come to college and NBA rules would have let the Jazz hold his rights until one year after he left school whenever that was. I never understood why the Jazz did not tell him to go to school and polish his game, thereby using Texas as a training ground.

by billb on Dec 2, 2007 9:23 AM CST up reply actions

you can recruit 12 one and donesevery year

and expect to compete, but if you get 1 every other year or so, and a few like augustin and tj ford who are likely to stay 2-3 years, to go with some 4-year players, you can have a legitimate chance year-in and year-out.

by billyzane on Dec 2, 2007 2:12 PM CST reply actions

i mean "can't" obviously, not "can"

by billyzane on Dec 2, 2007 2:13 PM CST up reply actions

You can't

because you can't expect to get 12 one and dones. If you could, you could certainly win it though. Look at the fab 5 at Michigan.

by Wells on Dec 2, 2007 10:48 PM CST up reply actions

i don't think that's true

yes, the fab 5 went to the final 4 their freshman years, which was amazing, but that's happened once ever. you can't expect to bring in a new starting 5 every year and win consistently.

and, it should be noted that webber stayed 2 years, howard and rose stayed 3 years and king and jackson stayed all 4 years. that sounds a lot like what I was proposing.

by billyzane on Dec 3, 2007 9:38 AM CST up reply actions

I think the reason it does not happen

is that you have to pay players to get 5 big name stars to come play at the same school.

Are you saying we are better of because we got Mat Hill rather than Greg Oden last year? I think if we had Oden last year chances are UT would be defending a national championship this year.

by Wells on Dec 3, 2007 10:13 AM CST up reply actions

no, of course not

it's debatable whether oden and durant would have meshed well enough to win a championship, but we certainly would have been better.

but would we be better this year and beyond with another freshman replacing oden this year instead of, say, damion james (who strikes me as a 3-year college player)? i don't think so. having to replace your best players every single year isn't a recipe for long-term success.

by billyzane on Dec 3, 2007 10:25 AM CST up reply actions