This is a special team vol. 4

I have my own site to attend to, grad school applications, mutliple jobs and a demanding girlfriend, but I'll be damned if I don't find time to squeeze in a few thoughts about this team. Let's get to it:

*  Let's get the trivialities out of the way: where was Vitale tonight? Must be lethargic following his surgery because this was an electric atmosphere that a healthy Dickie V. wouldn't want to miss. Beasley vs. the surging Horns in a sold-out rocking college venue? Props to the Wildcats faithful for doing their part. Big-time basketball and legit home-court advantages aren't just found in Durham and along the norther corridor of the Eastern seaboard. Even if the Wildcats may be riding the coatails of former coach Bob Huggins' ability to recruit the very best nationally, their fans sure are enjoying the moment.

*  Before talking about the 'Horns a brief word on what I think of Beasley, and perhaps a nugget on KD. As phenomenal as KD was last year, Beasley might have a better overall game at this point than Durant did a year ago. Durant was able to light up the scoreboard with a dizzying display of tough perimeter shots, but Beasley has been able to match Durant's gaudy numbers this year with a far less polished outside game. His ability to find creases in the paint and finish silky-smooth shots in congested areas should serve him well in the pros next year while he grows into his body and improves his outside shot. Durant has only been able to make it to the charity stripe only a handful of times per game in his rookie season. I don't see Beasley having that same problem at the next level. The Wildcats aren't that impressive collectively (especially away from Manhattan), but Beasley may just be able to take them a few rounds deep in March.

*  Speaking of KD. How badly does that guy want to be on the 40 Acres. As has been discussed, KD made the 'smart' move in leaving after last year. No need to rehash that argument now. But there he was in Waco, taking in the game when he could have been partying with the who's-who in pop-culture and the NBA in New Orleans over All-Star weekend. He practically begged Rick to ride home with the team on the bus. And then tonight, KD's on the phone with the commentators chiming in on the game, the development and success of his former teamates, and his old pal Michael Beasley. Did Big Monday producers really think it would be a wise idea to call him mid-week, a night after getting dusted at home against the Lakers? I doubt it. Instead, I think KD texted Fran or Ron and asked to be a part of the entertaining matchup. Some may question whether he's a 'true' Longhorn, but I haven't heard much from TJ, PJ, LaMarcus, et al since they left, even though to their credit, TJ and Royal Ivey have returned to work out in the summer with the younger kids.

* On to the game. What can you say, other than this is a special team :)? Longhorn teams of yesteryear don't respond the way we did tonight on the road. I'll leave the statistics and formal analysis to AW, but I will mention a few things. First tonight was even more evidence that, somewhat paradoxically, you need both a dominant go-to scorer and reliable back-up options in order to be a true contender and avoid the type of fate we met last March in the 2nd round against USC. Kansas State may think they have that in Bill Walker, but they're just not diverse enough to win night in and night out in a tough power conference. A 2nd scoring option isn't enough. You need a slew of guys you can count on in any situation to step up and carry the team for 3-5 minute stretches.

*  The Longhorns have just that. Damion James, who's been a beast the past month, was an absolute NON-factor tonight. He was so bad that Barnes took him out in crunch time - a very gutsy yet astute move that I don't think he would have made in year's past. Damion thought way too much out there. That's not his strength, not yet at least. When he should have popped an open jumper, he hesistated a split second before pulling the trigger. By that time, he was out of ryhthm, and though he's improved as a shooter, he's nowhere near good and polished enough with his shot to shoot consistently that way. I was hoping he'd attack the rim relentlessly tonight and at worst, get himself to the foul line. If you remember back to the opening minutes of the 2nd half, Barnes clearly told him as much, as Damion slashed on his first several touches. But it wasn't meant to be. James has a long way to go with his game. That doesn't mean he'll do that refining in Austin, but he probably should. He could easily get lost in the shuffle if he were to be selected by an organization where he wasn't provided the opportunity to make the necessary developments to his game.

* So fine, James was off. We then relied on AJ and Connor for the supplemental scoring to DJ right? Wrong, at least in the first half. Both AJ and Connor were absolute non-factors in the first half, yet at intermission, we still had the lead. We simply don't ride or die with any one, two, or three guys. The options Barnes has established with his rotation is beyond impressive.

*  On to AJ. Jeez, what a frustrating first half. Several forced looks, only so-so defense compared to his recent efforts, and frankly, no indication that he would be able to turn it around tonight. But that's the beauty of AJ. It doesn't take much for him to reverse his (and the team's) fortunes in a split second. Down by 5 (59-54 I believe), we desperately needed a bucket to quiet the crowd and steady the ship. Abrams delivered, and for the rest of the night, was lights out, hitting four of his final five three point attempts. Some shooters either have it or they don't, and you can tell how they'll finish the night usually based on their first several attempts. That's been the case with Abrams on several occasions, but he's also shown on multiple occasions that he's able to put the past entirely behind him and convince himself he hasn't missed in a month. You better believe we'll need several outburts in March from him to accomplish our goals.

*  Quick thought: is DJ the worst 80% free throw shooter you've ever watched?

*  Seriously though, 9-20 for the night from the line, zero contributions from Abrams and Atchley in the first half and we still win by nearly ten. Not bad.

*  Mid-way through the second half just before and during the early stages of Abrams' explosion, I had this thought: Justin Mason is really carrying this team. As per usual, Mason's effectiveness won't show up in the box score: he only finished with three points, 3 assits, and 6 rebounds. But to me, it seemed he was getting the most important rebounds. Remember that block he had along the baseline at about the 6 minute mark after Texas had regained the lead, 57-52? Mason swatted away Walker's layup attempt, punctuating Beasley's sidekick's miserable night, and stopping the Cats from getting an easy bucket and getting back into the game. HUGE. Final thought about Mason that you guys may have an opinion on: has any Longhorn you've watched have a better knack for the ball and securing it once he gets there for a guy who shoots as poorly as he does at this stage in his career? I haven't. Jeff Capel at OU may have a long ways to go as a head coach, but he's spot on when he said last week that he needed a Justin Mason type player on his team. AW also nailed it when he said all championship teams have this type of guy. We do. Are we championship material? Well, we are in the Big 12. We'll see about nationally.

*  I'll finish with Connor. At this point, we've run out of superlatives for his play this year. I feel I have a decent pulse on this team, but I sure didn't at the start of the year, and that started with my totally incorrect assesment of Connor's ability and prospects. Can you really blame me though? Sure he showed glimpses last year as a sophomore, but who truly could have expected this from the guy who was the brutn of far too many jokes of BON last year. Guys, Connor freaking Atchley just stonecold buried the Wildcats in the closing minutes of this game. Let me remind you exactly what happend, a sequence I might add that should be used in instructional videos on how to dominate a game without playing beyond yourself and forcing things:

Texas up 57-54 with 5:23 left to play. Damion James jacks yet another out of rhtyhm shot from the corner, barely grazing the rim. Athcley is in the right place at the right time, but make no mistake about it, it's not easy catcing that type of errant shot that riccochets off the rim. Connor did, and cleanly. The most impressive thing however was that he didn't fumble the ball, dribble, hesitate and allow the defense to re-adjust. He put it back up on the backboard quickly for a deuce.

The Wildcats, down 5 and in desperate need of a score, proceed down the floor quickly. Connor tries to shoot the gap outside the paint and make a steal, deflecting the ball, but unfortuntaely back to a KSU guard. Beasley is left open near the basket as a consequence of Connor's gamble. Does he watch the ball and think to himself 'how did I not get that steal'? No, he recovered just quickly enough to force Beasley along the baseline, taking away his potential easy layup offering. It gets better. Athcley then proceeds to keep his hands STRAIGHT UP, avoiding the temptation late in the game to reach or bring his arms down, a call that the refs were perfectly willing to make, as evidenced by the call DJ got when he got his defender just barely in the air near the 3 point line earlier that half. Beasley got no such call (correctly) and was forced into a tough attempt sans backboard that he missed. To punctuate the exquisite series, Connor batted the rebound to himself twice like a volleyball, and procured the rebound. He wasn't done. He quickly outletted to his guard, ran the floor, and flooded to the right corner behind the 3 point line. He had a tiny opening and could have forced a tough shot. In the pros you take that shot, and the coaches encourage you to do so. You busted your butt on the other end after all. Connor didn't and it was a damn fine decision. That's not his shot. Instead, he re-directed the ball to the top of the key to Mason, who was absolutely non-hesitant in his decision to make the extra pass to Abrams for a more open shot, not to mention a look for the hot-hand. Abrams buried the look, the Horns extended their lead to 62-54, and I couldn't help but smile. That type of sequence was the kind of stuff that even some of the better pros can't deliver instinctually. It was just a minute or so of action, but it was that good. Seriously.  

Good things come to those who wait, no? They did for Connor. He deserved to hit the nail-in-the-coffin shot for his previous efforts. But, before he got that opportunity, Atchley thought he'd flash a little razzle-dazzle. He took his man off the dribble, pulled up, and offered up a mini-baby hook quickly over his defender. Quick Aside: It won't matter much when Connor graduates and is eligible for the NBA draft in the summer of '09, but it was pretty badass that Connor stole the show on a night when Steve Kerr, Kevin McHale, and a slew of other execs and scouts were in the house to watch Beasley, Augustin and James.

After a KSU brick, a front-end miss by DJ, and another misfire by the Wildcats that he corraled himself, Atchley put the nail in the coffin. Abrams, who had been throwing daggers the previous ten minutes, penetrated, avoided the perhaps deserved temptation to attempt one of the wild 'Iverson-esque' shots off the dribble, and instead kicked it out to Atchley, who had patiently waited for his patented open-look off dribble penetration at the top of the key.

Buckets. Ball game.

Big 12 Champs!

Hook 'Em

P.S. For those who think we need another loss to 'refocus'. Nonsense. This team's on a roll, maturity, hubris and megalomania are  clearly not an issue, Barnes is doing the best coaching job of his career, and there's no team in the land that presents serious matchup nightmares for us anymore. We can cut down the nets guys, believe it.