#7 Texas Longhorns Basketball Season Opener
by awiggo on Nov 14, 2008 8:46 AM CST
in Texas Longhorns Basketball
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PrintThe preseason top ten ranked Texas Longhorns will open regular season play tonight with a 7 pm tip against Stetson. As best as I can tell, the game will not be on television but will be shown online at TexasSports.tv for Texas residents only. Visit the TexasSports.com preview for the link.
Rick Barnes' club returns four starters and loads of front court depth from last year's Elite Eight team. Texas will attempt to replace the lone departed starter, DJ Augustin, with a rotation of point guards. Justin Mason filled in nicely for DJ at the point last season in the brief moments where Augustin was able to rest; AJ Abrams returned to Texas for his senior season to better prepare himself for the NBA and is already proclaiming point guard to be his natural position; and Dogus Balbay will also spend time at the point after serving the final game of his 11 game suspension tonight. (The suspension stems from his time playing on a European team on which other players were paid. Balbay was never paid but the NCAA ruled his participation as a violation.)
I don't have time to break down the Stetson Hatters, but I do have few things I will be looking for tonight at the Drum. The answers to these questions will certainly not come in full this evening, however, how the Longhorns answer these questions throughout the season will be telling of their future success.
- Is Damion James 1st team All America?
- Can Dexter Pittman, Gary Johnson, or Clint Chapman emerge as a consistent back-to-the-basket offensive threat?
- Which of our three options at point guards can step up to assume the position full time?
- After two years of teasing, is Pittman finally ready to contribute on both ends?
- Will the Texas guards be able to defend against bigger and more physical opponents?
See you at the Drum.
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Stetson Hatters will probably break down on their own
Yes – I bet his ball handling is badass this year
Yes – Gary for sure. You forgot about the running jump hook – ATCH
J Mace
Hopefully for 10-12 minutes/game
Yes – we will have a bigger lineup this year, right? Only one guard under 6 feet.
My thoughts
1. Damion will have a hard time getting by Tyler Hansbrough and Blake Griffin
2. Johnson lacks the height to play low post and Chapman belongs at power forward (behind Atchley). That leaves Pittman, Hill, and Wangmene. I’d like to see Hill play before I concede the spot to Pittman.
3. I would not count out AJ at all. I worry about Mason sinking into a funk like he did last year. And again I need to see Balbay play before I give him the position.
4. Pittman will contribute. I think conditioning will be less of a factor than his court sense. His limited minutes have meant he has never been fully integrated into the scheme.
5. Clearly Mason can handle himself on defense, so the question is whether we will hit teams with a second big guard (Memphis). Against a three guard offense, James can handle another big guard.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
Stampede
Who’s going to be waiting in that other line outside the erwin center with me around 5 today?
by Ricky'sDreadlocks on Nov 14, 2008 12:04 PM CST reply actions
No reason really
I guess it’s just that I missed the feeling of hanging outside the Erwin Center before basketball games, and this will be my first time to do it as a stampede member. We’ll get in at 5:30, so I guess it’s that, and a combination of seeing old friends.
by Ricky'sDreadlocks on Nov 14, 2008 12:16 PM CST up reply actions
re:
I’ll be doing my part in the alumni lower section being rowdy. We’ve got a wonderful basketball arena with so much potential for loudness. Can’t wait until UCLA.
AJ thinks he's a "natural PG"?
Most laughable thing I’ve heard from him or daddy Abrams. Now THIS I have to see for myself.
by goingforthecorner on Nov 14, 2008 3:52 PM CST reply actions
I thought it
But I didn’t say it. Kudos to you.
Perhaps the most recognizable mascot in sports, and certainly the toughest looking, Bevo is a fixture
by run Bevo run on Nov 14, 2008 5:37 PM CST up reply actions
So...
Is what the note on the texassports preview says true? Do we have to wait 72 hours to watch the game? Am I missing something?
thanks
where did you get that from? did you just log on to texassportstv?
by littlevisigoth on Nov 14, 2008 7:08 PM CST up reply actions
what an ugly first half
texas has more than 10 turnovers i think, and if it werent for abrams 3s this game would be very close
i dont follow basketball as closely, whats going on with balbay? not playing for a few games or what.
by Displaced Longhorn on Nov 14, 2008 8:21 PM CST reply actions
Missed freethrows
Doesn’t look like anyone practiced freethrows in the off season. 38% is just shameful.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
Rick had noted they were poor and they'd been working lately to get better.
That was in one of the reports this week. Now Rick has some real ammo. My livestream was very choppy, too, like littlevisigoth noted below. I stuck with it but, in retrospect, will listen to radio next time.
Due to that, I really had no sense of the game flow at all.
Sigh
The thing is that freethrow shooting requires neither talent or athleticism. It just requires a commitment to practice. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can become an 80% free throw shooter. A gifted athlete should shoot 90. But players can’t seem to get this through their heads. If they just practice, they can raise their scoring averages and make opponents think twice about playing them aggressively. But they don’t practice and they end up shooting a pathetic 38. Just makes me sick.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
online stream
was very choppy for me. guess i don’t have a fast enough connection. sloppy first game. horrible foul shooting. better 2nd half though. wish Pittman had shown us more. he got a lot of minutes, but still is very much a work in progress. three from long range for Atchley (unless it was more and i missed it). hopefully that’s a development that will continue to blossom throughout the season. enormous physical mismatch, which played out on the scoreboard. only one more tune up before heading to Maui. Barnes will have a lot to work on.
forgot to toss in a dig
ugly(ish) 30 point win sure beats a(nother) opening game loss, like the UK faithful have to bemoan tonight (to VMI?!). aren’t they loving that Gillespie hire? 111 points? did they just leave two guys on the offensive end all night?
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