It's time to close the door on another season of UT basketball.  While the team frustrated many of us, the truth is attrition gets you eventually and every program has a "down" year.  Thankfully a down year with Rick Barnes at the helm is a wave goodbye in the second round of the NCAA's.

Did Texas underachieve?  In hindsight I am not so sure they were as good as we all thought, but overall i'm proud of the season they duct-taped and paperclipped together.

Over the course of the season we saw some inspiring improvements and nauseating steps back.  Formerly reliable vets like Atchley and Mason regressed while raw players like Pittman and Ward made definite improvement.

Meanwhile the future of Texas hoops looks pretty nice.  Consider the tentative roster for next year:

Center:

Dexter Pittman, Clint Chapman, Matt hill (maybe transfers)

Guard:

Varez Ward, Justin Mason, Dogus Balbay, Jai Lucas (not clear on his eligibility), Avery Bradley

Forward:

Damion James, Shawn Williams, Gary Johnson, Jordan Hamilton

Think about what this lineup gives us.  Dominant big man inside (Pittman), veteran guards who can both handle and defend (Balbay, Mason, Ward), some newbies that hopefully can knock down an open 3 (the frosh), monster athlete/rebounders (James, Johnson), and a ton of depth.

All we need is some better PG play, and this team could be Texas' best ever.

There's much to look forward to.  Ah the offseason, the mother of optimisim.