No. 1 No More: Texas Fades At UCONN To Drop Second Straight
by Peter Bean on Jan 24, 2010 7:04 AM CST
in Texas Longhorns Basketball
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Over-rated! [clap clap clap-clap-clap] Kansas State fans embarrassed themselves by indulging the most senseless chant in all of sports--the equivalent of a player saying during his post-game interview after a big win that the victory wasn't any special accomplishment by his team so much as it was reflective of the opposition not being as good as anticipated. The lessons for Texas fans are twofold: first, if you find yourself at an event at which UT fans are starting an over-rated chant, take active measures to hush the fools; and second, I join you if when you hear that chant you find yourself applying it to Texas' stay atop the national rankings. Not that fun. Quite apart from the top-rank worthiness of the basketball team, the experience of being the top-ranked team was not something I'll soon miss.
One week atop the rankings, two games, two losses, both of which made the case in point: As if winning in Manhattan weren't hard enough, Bramlage was on steroids from start to finish, the excitement of gunning for a win over #1 elevating their bloodthirstiness. And lest anyone remained unconvinced, consider that after today's home win over Texas, UCONN students stormed the court. Sure, the Huskies badly needed tonight's win, but fans at UCONN do not storm the court for skid-stopping wins. That was about the (1) next to Texas' name heading into this game. (It's only fair to note with approval The UCONN Blog's immediate condemnation of the "embarrassing" display by students.)
As this week's new rankings roll out, Texas will tumble from the top spot, to which most of us will mutter, "Good riddance." Even less than a week removed from trumpeting the importance of the accomplishment and the value of the accompanying benefits, I'm perfectly content to remain satisfied with and proud of the team's accomplishment, without the slightest concern that the reign was so short-lived.
Now that we've summitted the mountain a first time, I'm fine falling in line with the chorus that the mid-season rankings don't mean that much. At least not where cutting down this year's nets are concerned.
OVERVIEW
After a second consecutive loss, the mood among Longhorns fans tonight is decidedly dour. I definitely understand it, but I'm of two minds about ultimate takeaways from today's loss to UCONN. I may be the only one, but that's what the comments section is for.
On the one hand, the team is struggling, to varying degrees, with a multitude of problems--personnel, defensive rotations, substituting, etc. These need to be accounted, analyzed, and attacked for the team to reach its full potential. On the other hand, while there were plenty of problems on full display Saturday afternoon, I also observed a substantial number of what I would characterize as positive developments, insofar as they were things that, at the very least, offer some evidence that Barnes and his coaching staff are "accounting and analyzing" in the ways they must for the team to evolve into something stronger.
The other thing about today's loss that stuck with me was that I didn't feel angry and disappointed after the game. You can decide whether my personal barometer offers you anything you can latch onto yourself, but I've got the conch shell so I'm going to mention it here in the Overview. (Moreover, it's undoubtedly tethered in some way to those things I felt good about today, which will be discussed momentarily.in Part 2 of the review, running in a subsequent post.) I've been going to basketball games since before I could walk, I grew up playing countless hours, both at home and on up through school, and when you're around that much basketball, you can't help but get a feel for when both individuals and teams have uncharacteristically good and bad nights. Though it doesn't diminish the importance of talking about Saturday's mistakes and problems, and especially those that are consistently appearing across games, today's second half didn't make me angry so much as it made me chuckle.
A long, frustrating stretch when nothing went right for Texas coincided with a stretch for the Huskies during which they could do no wrong. To name a few:
- Jerome Dyson--a 30% three point shooter--suddenly becomes J.J. Reddick on the perimeter, hits 4 of 8 threes, and rips off a career-high 32 points, successfully finishing anything and everything he tries to do.
- Dogus Balbay somehow comes up with a trifecta of fouls within a single possession? One of them was an atrocious call when Balbay arrived at the ball before Kemba, who crashed into Balbay. Whistle on Dogus, and before the first minute of the first half is passed, he's off to the bench with 4 fouls.
- Parenthetically: I'm not going to pin a loss on the officials--we did plenty wrong, and UCONN plenty right, that it wasn't anything to burn a couch over--but the 'Horns were hosed all day long by a crew of officials who didn't so much strike me as biased so much as totally haphazard. Players were allowed to molest each other inside, but ticky-tack whistles sporadically appeared on minimal perimeter contact. The final margin of total fouls (30 called on Texas, 15 on UCONN) was padded by end-of-game fouling, but my count from a review of the play-by-play shows 6 Texas fouls in the final 3 minutes of the game, which still leaves a margin of 9 more fouls called on Texas than the Huskies. Again, I didn't so much see the officials as blowing the kinds of egregious whistles against Texas that make you scream BIAS! at the TV, but it's pure fantasy to say that the Huskies were avoiding the kinds of contact that resulted in whistles on Texas. Of greatest effect on the game, Dexter Pittman, Damion James, and Dogus Balbay all had to spend substantial minutes on the bench with foul trouble. Had the whistles been distributed more evenly, UCONN's lack of depth would have presented problems comparable to those suffered by Texas with Pittman, James, and Balbay on the bench for long stretches. Kemba Walker (37), Jerome Dyson (37), and Stanley Robinson (35) combined to play for 109 minutes, score 68 points and accumulate just 6 fouls between them. We may not be able to blame the officials for Texas' loss, but the events as they unfolded are at the least relevant to how evaluating Texas' performance.
- All that whining out of the way, the Huskies just put together one of those stretches where everyone's making plays, they're all on the same page, they're loose but aggressive, momentum builds, and suddenly they're even hitting 30 foot three pointers as the shot clock expires, just 'cause. Making matters worse, while the same 6 Huskies got in a tremendous groove, Texas spent most of the second half playing musical chairs with its lineup, dancing around foul trouble and, indirectly, the problems created by Balbay's extended second half absence, as Jai Lucas hit a wall and Justin Mason took a turn playing point guard like an out-of-position center, only with less grace and more turnovers.
You get the idea, the point being that above and beyond Texas' shortcomings, it just wasn't our day. In a game the Huskies desperately needed to win, UCONN got to play their top 6 all game, at home, and they capitalized when Texas began to unravel in the second half, closing the deficit and then surging well ahead with 13-0 and 11-0 runs. When Connecticut needed it most, their guys just exploded, Texas alternated possessions between missed lay ups and turnovers, the Huskies hit 21 of their 29 second half free throws, and by the end of it all had outscored Texas 54-32 in the second half of play. I realize why that made most people angry, but maybe in this light you can understand why I just chuckled.
Sometimes the other guys play lights out and you tip your cap. Sometimes the wheels come off for your guys and you have to shake that part of it off while identifying and focusing on the areas for improvement that will have consequences going forward. And then sometimes everything goes badly for you all at once and you get run out of the gym. It happens, it happened today, and I'll cover the remainder of the review, which has already sailed past post length of its own, in a separate Part 2 that will run on Sunday or Monday as the week's Texas Basketball Report, covering: (1) The legitimate concerns going forward, (2) Player notes and reviews, and (3) The things I saw Saturday that I find encouraging heading forward.
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I would rather have this slide happen mid-year
with plenty of time left in the season to focus on the tangibles that will carry us deep into the tourney and put us in a “have to win” mindset.
As for storming of the court, I say let the students enjoy. The adults can complain but it was a) a big win that might turn their season around, b) an inspired team and campus for the absent Coach Calhoun, and c) another opportunity for the school and supporters to rally in the loss of Jasper Howard.
I think we also got hosed in Manhattan by the refs, FWIW.
Thanks for the perspective. I am now over my angst.
"Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it's so incredible, it's unbelievable." - Tom Landry
I think the problems will be with Texas teh rest of the year
The guard play is horrible. Balbay can’t shoot, and Bradley is sloppy with the ball. The foul shooting is horrible. Pittman is a foul waiting to happen. He is having a bad year. James is great, but Texas needs more than 1 player to be good consistantly.
1. First of all what is up with all these storied programs storming the court? Even worse than the display by the Husky fans, last week Indiana’s (with 5 National Titles and Final Four appearances in each of he last 4 decades) fans stormed the court with a win over an unranked Minnesota team. I believe the answer falls to a generation that received medals and trophies at every childhood sporting event, I guess they can not differentiate winning a Nation Title to winning a regular season game (no offense to the youngsters out there).
2. I appreciate your write-up and thoughts and look forward to your next post on the team’s progress. My concern is less about a particular loss and more about a team that seems to have reached a peak with the Michigan State game and then:
a. Came out slow and sloppy against Gardner Webb
b. Played awful and let A&MCC stay in a game on our home court
c. Struggled and almost lost to a bad Arkansas team (see UK Vs Arkansas and for that matter their whole body of work)
d. Did not dominate ISU, struggled in this game
e. Looked poor against Texas A&M and we were lucky to win
f. Kansas State
g. Connecticut
h. I skipped the Colorado game which I missed, but I guess game in this stretch
3. Concerns
a. Can Barnes offensive scheme be "first seed quality" without a TJ Ford quality Point Guard
b. This team does not seem to have much chemistry (also a 2009 team issue)
i. Does Barnes need to go with a tighter rotation?
ii. Can Bradley step into this role? Damion does not fill it and Douges is the closest
c. Pittman is not tough
d. No consistent offensive movement and a total lack of desire relative to passing the ball.
i. Does Barnes need to go with a tighter rotation?
This seems to be a near-universal concern. What are the chances that he’s just feeling out his rotation now, and he’ll tighten it down for the tourney?
I don’t believe that a guy as bright as Barnes would just rotate-in cold players indefinitely all season.
You are correct
I agree with your observations. I watched the UConn game with a sense that Texas would not win this game. For all the talent Barnes has accumulated, his bench coaching leaves a lot to be desired.
He needs a rotation that is no more than eight deep. Thirty minutes into a game, I don’t want to see another graphic that says 10 guys have played. He has enough talent that he should be able to make adjustments but no more than eight guys should be playing.
When Barnes has 10 guys playing, it tells me (1) he has no idea what to do and is looking for something or (2) he has no faith in any eight-man rotation.
Barnes made no adjustments against Kansas State. None. At one point, roughly 90% of K-State’s points came from the paint. Where was the zone? Why did he not force KSU to shoot from from the perimeter? Their guards were terrible Monday night.
In the second half against UConn, Texas could not buy a bucket nor could they adjust to prevent the Huskies from reeling off 24 points from the floor while Texas’ points came off foul shots (IIRC).
And yes, point B is very valid except it extends to other facets of the game. As in 2009, this team is a terrible free throw shooting team, misses easy points in the high and low post, and has no sense of what they are going to do on any given game.
I have written this statement on occasion. Have we plateaued under Barnes? He will get 20 wins and a top 4 seeding. Can fans expect anything more though? And should we expect anything more?
Texas basketball appears mired in the late 1970s mindset where a trip to the NCAA tourney was all that was needed to make the faithful happy. Lemons and Weltlich were canned because they could not make the tourney. Penders made the tourney consistently and no one really complained about the lack of defense and the off court issues until a fateful radio show.
Had it not been for Luke Axtell, would Penders still be the head coach? Probably because he met expectations. The same expectations we as fans seem to have for Barnes and that we had for Penders, Weltlich, and Lemons.
Perhaps, given the success in baseball, women’s volleyball, and football, we should have higher expectations.
10 man rotation
There is a lot to be said for a 10 man rotation, playing two deep at each position. Otherwise, you need subs who can play multiple positions. What’s important is maintaining a consistent substitution pattern so the players know when they will be going in and what they are expected to do.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
Re: Penders
Penders would have left that year regardless of Axtell. The University could never find any definitive proof whatsoever (and when faced down by Roy Minton, Penders’ attorney that became soooo obvious) that Penders had ordered Eddie Oran to release his mid-term grade reports.
No, there was plenty going on surrounding Penders long before that season was finished, long before Axtell had his mid-term reports faxed to the radio stations by Oran. It was my conclusion at the time that the powers that be had decided that Penders could get them to the playoffs could never get them to the final four with the type of teams he constructed, never would have the interior, front line play necessary. They could score but interior defense was hell.
I figured Penders ordered Oran to fax the grade report until I read Kyle Dalton’s book (Burnt Orange: Tom Penders and 10 Years at the University of Texas). He didn’t. Penders had suspended Axtell for being behind in his classes, missing class, study hall and tutoring sessions…and when Axtell had said he would attend he didn’t. Penders went on vacation to St. Kitts. Shit broke loose in Austin and Oran called him to tell him they were getting blasted on the local radio shows. So Penders told him to fax the radio stations the info in the report from the two UT people who monitor the study hall and tutoring program. It is that report that led Penders to suspend him, even though DeLoss Dodds was adamantly against it (not due to the evident but because the Axtells were a heavy weight Westlake family). However, lost in this is that the suspension was a standard procedure Penders had done several times before (Wright, Muoeneke). He never told Oran to send the interim grade reports, just the general report to give the reason UT suspended Axtell. Oran never realized that including the report was a violation of the Buckley Amendment, that it couldn’t be released without the student’s permission.
There’s more, much more in the book. Penders was being approached by several alums to take a job with Host Communications, a position ready to go for him, which would pay equal to his salary. This came out of the blue toward the end of the season. The owner of Host didn’t have such a position it turned out, when approached by Penders and Minton, but was willing to make one up. Unsaid, except by one of the alums, was that Host was about to be sold to Jim Bob Moffett (Board of Regents) and everything was all set up…strange to approach the winningest coach in your history with such info…and long before things blew up. It was an omen that things were afoot…the sequence of Cliff Gustafson, John Mackovic…and Penders was about to be completed in an 18-month turnaround.
Dalton’s prose is pedestrian but the second half of the book contains most of the verbatim conversations, transcripts of interrogations, lawyer conferences, phone calls, all virtually on a day-to-day down to minute-by-minute account at the crucial periods. Not easy to read but quite exhaustive and interesting, plenty of attendant politics as well. DeLoss does not come off well in this work. (As suspected by most, the Penders, Tom and Suzy, were key sources.)
The first part of the book is a fine resource, every single game in the Penders Era, and that alone gives the book a certain value and lays a good background for the finale…however, reading over some 200 game reports can be exhausting but as a reference it is priceless.
At the time I had planned to write a book review for my paper on it, but I didn’t really feel like it was definitive. Now I do…knowing the world of lawyers better and understanding that not having conclusive evidence is such a killer, I think story is really there in the details. Dalton just need to come to some definitive conclusions – good or bad – and his book would have sold much better. To leave the reader lost in the world of lawyers and bureaucracy is just plain cruel. As of 2000, two years after the fact, the University had never released the results of their investigation and as far as I know, they haven’t to this day.
Just like clock work..
Barnes teams every in year find a way to impress us in non-conference, then in the month of jan thru early feb. they show signs of concerns with struggling to win against inferior opponents that ultimately lead to a losing stretch. However, we have all seen Barnes team pick themselves off their collective rear-ends and crank it up after their struggles and start to polish themselves in preparation for March.
I have no doubt that is what happens now. We’ve heard the reports that this time of year, Barnes is extremely sour on his guys….but at some point he’ll get this ship righted…he always does. The effective rotation will come soon, and there are just too many talented players on this team that are struggling right now….won’t last much longer.
really?
I think just about every year Texas struggles shooting free throws. Texas would have won against K. State is they made a few more free throws. I’ll say the ship is righted when Texas starts making free throws.
PB Thanks
PB, I thank you yet again for summarizing my feelings in a way that makes me feel inadequate ;-)
I was at the game and posted about it on my own. Gampel Pavilion is a small gym (a little over 10,000 seats). The story in this game is more about UConn winning it although we did plenty to lose it. I like your assessment of the officiating as it’s spot on. Trememdously random and quite frankly, irresponsible. I won’t blame officials. We were outrebounded and outshot and turned it over nearly as many times as they.
I haven’t seen a lot of this year’s Horns before today (living in CT it’s hard to get games) but the offense seemed to really not have much rhythm once Balbay was out. I think Barnes made a mistake trying to run with UConn but when they went to more of a half-court offense…we didn’t fare much better.
The only reason UCONN stormed the court is Michigan’s horrid example in their last game. UM students stormed the court after beating the ~#15 team in the country who was on a four game slide. This was supposedly because 1) several recruits were at the game and 2) it’s been painful to be a Michigan fan this year. And yes, that is absolute bullcrap.
by formerlyanonymous on Jan 24, 2010 9:27 AM CST reply actions
Encouraging but no cigar...
I think the rapid sub game plan has finally caught up with Barnes and team. Our opponents have been playing just as much ball as we have..but with fewer substitutions…therefore their top 7-8 players are in better shape and used to playing more minutes TOGETHER. The Horns are throwing out so many lineups it really looks like we’re confused and not sure who’s playing what position, no rhythm or that “natural” pass to pass score chemistry. It’s time for Barnes to take a hard look at the team and say…8 guys are going to play non-stop. Foul trouble or not get your head in the game and play controlled team ball.
When you're only getting 15 or 20 minutes out of Pittman that's hard to do
It’s a good conceptual point but difficult in practice. You have to rotate one or two other guys into the post. The rest of the guys in the rotation could start for most teams with the exception of Justin Mason (who is a starter simply because he’s a senior I think). I wonder sometimes why he gets the minutes he does.
More important than the rotation is that Pittman needs to get minutes and James needs to stop blaming other guys for his turnovers and play the whole game. Now I see why the NBA scouts questioned his leadership abilities. Those two guys need to step up.
"If worms carried pistols, birds wouldn't eat 'em"- Darrell Royal
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Jan 24, 2010 10:46 PM CST up reply actions
LineUps and Confidence
It seemed in the second half due to foul trouble we had lineups out there with 2 or 3 “scorers” for the majority of UCONNs stretch run. Combined with no consistent PG its no wonder the team looked like a boat without a rudder, little confidence in where they were going and what to do.
Lineups needs to be cut down and guys like Wingman and Lucas need to be sat down and given very short stints in the game. Give more defined and smaller roles so they both dont run around like chickens with there heads cut off. With all the body contact, Wingman looks like hes playing Defense in a Soccer Match.
Mason actually impressed me tonight (aside from having to play PT), he never lost his head and played hard nosed basketball.
James and Pittman unfortunately never got a chance to show their leadership or talent in this game AND THAT to me was the key to the game. We have great backcourt depth but we ARE NOT a Top 5 team without major contributions from James and Pittman case closed end of story.
If Barnes wants to tinker with the lineup it should fit within these parameters:
Frontcourt: James, Pittman and Johnson with spot minutes for the rest.
Backcourt: More depth and flexibility but needs Longer PG stints for consistency.
+1
I will not spend another year giving Dallas Mavericks crap because the Cowboys stuff was all sold out. Peggy Hill
OUR TEAM'S NOT THAT GOOD, AND WE BEAT YOU - clap clap clap-clap-clap
Like PB said, it is the stupidest chant out there.
Other points:
1. Shot selection by some of the young guys is very questionable.
2. When we have numbers on a break away, the odds of their being a pass seem very slim. Think end of regulation vs. Aggies. I wonder if the lack of minutes is putting pressure on players to ball hog?
3. Dex is underutilized.
Crystal Balls
DEX is a waste so far
He gets in foul trouble about a minute into every game.
It's pretty obvious this opinion was formed entirely over the course of the last two games.
proud to swim home
by learned hand on Jan 24, 2010 5:26 PM CST up reply actions
not really
He’s on the bench in foul trouble the majority of almost every game.
He is
a foul machine. But to me he didn’t look like “a waste” in those UNC and MSU games. Granted, they were home games, so we were actually hitting baskets back then.
Definitely the "waste" categorization I took issue with
Even in a slump he’s still requiring double and triple teams on a regular basis. If the rest of the team were playing to potential, that alone would change the course of the game.
proud to swim home
by learned hand on Jan 25, 2010 5:24 AM CST up reply actions
waste=
sitting on the bench the majority of the games b/c he’s in foul trouble. The team needs him on the court.
finally got a chance to watch the game
ugh. Not an enjoyable second half… but now I understand why UConn always leads the nation in “blocks” — they don’t call fouls in that league!! Even at the end when Texas was trying to foul, they refused to call one.
an incredibly accurate statement
now I understand why UConn always leads the nation in "blocks" — they don’t call fouls in that league!!
I remember our blowout loss to UConn in the second round of the Dance; we couldn’t get anything going inside because we were getting mugged like a New Yorker at Central Park, and the refs swallowed their whistles. I was furious, because I knew UConn was a better team than we were, and they didn’t need assistance from the officials.
"Mugged like a New Yorker in Central Park"
You clearly haven’t been to New York since the early 90’s. Central Park is beautiful and not dangerous at all. Plus, we only mug tourists these days, and even then it’s only because thy’re walking too slowly, taking up the whole damn sidewalk while w’re trying to go to work. Jerks.
So the moral of the story is you need to update your references.
That overated chant is pretty lame
but I don’t think a fan can do/say/wear anything that looks as foolish as the gator chomp.
just the logo is weak...coupled with the chomp...a close second is the tomohawk chop. L-A-M-E.
"Stats are for losers. I like winning games." ~ Will Muschamp
""I always felt like, and I paid a price for it, that it didn't seem right for one guy to bring me down." ~ The Tyler Rose
by Mulliganville on Jan 24, 2010 12:51 PM CST up reply actions
Weaker than a stupid chomp or chop
is the fan who lacks the originality to come up with a sign of their own doing the Horns down or an anti-Aggie thumbs down.
"I will not spend another year giving Dallas Mavericks crap because the Cowboys stuff was all sold out." ~ Peggy Hill
Horns down
I consider this to be the ultimate compliment from opponents. It’s done in the same spirit as the ‘overrated’ chant, one in which the opponent exhibits lack of self esteem and some amount of unknowing subservience. I loved the picture of Jefferson and two other football players committed to OU giving the horns down sign. Always in their minds.
"If worms carried pistols, birds wouldn't eat 'em"- Darrell Royal
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Jan 25, 2010 9:35 AM CST up reply actions
agree
the over-rated chant is the stupidest thing a fan can do next to rushing the court in college basketball. all it does is dumb down the fans and program doing it.
by Ryan2907 on Jan 24, 2010 1:20 PM CST via mobile reply actions
2nd Best thing about Barnes
His scheduling. This stretch was perfect for the team. Either we have what it takes – or we don’t. If we do, these back to back tests will be invaluable, as issues get highlighted and corrected. If we don’t have what it takes – it doesn’t matter anyway.
by realmccoy on Jan 24, 2010 2:42 PM CST via mobile reply actions
OVERRATED
I don’t have a problem with the chant. Especially if a team is ranked #1 and plays as bad as Texas did the last two games.
Pittman
Barnes should even play him until the end of the 1st half and in the 2nd half. He’s fouling way too much.
Matt Hill
Anyone explain why he, and for that matter Wingman get in before Chapman?
I’m not a huge Chapman advocate, but he does seem to occasionally be productive when he plays (K-State), where I really never see anything out of the other two but fouls and slow help defense
Not thrilled.
Going into Big Monday this week I was nervous because I thought there was a good chance we could lose both these games. They were road games. Road games are tough. Neither game was close. What if this costs us a #1 seed? I know its early, but the Big XII is tough this year. We could easily lose three more games. The UCONN road win would go a long way with the committee come March. UCONN was not that good.
I felt like Barnes gave up on this game by not making the right decisions early in the half. Dogus started the second half with 0 fouls and Barnes kept him in the game after two quick ones and then pulled him after the 3rd foul in :25 seconds. Dogus should have been on the bench after two. Rick should have been calling timeouts to calm the 15-0 run instead of expecting the Dogus-less team to play through it. Huge mistake that cost us the game IMO.
A great first half. A terrible second half. I was not and am not chuckling. Bigger problems.
subs and foul trouble
As deep as we are, play your players. If someone is fouling because they are tired, take them out for a breather. But sometimes the rhythm of the game requires you stay in to keep your feet under you. If you foul out by half time, so be it. you played more minutes than you might have “saving” they guy for later when they are no longer warmed up. If we were thin on the bench, then obviously you can’t play this way. We are not. I really wouldn’t mind seeing Barnes coach this way.
Thanks PB for putting this in perspective
I’m glad I’m not the only one that thought the ‘overrated’ chants in Manhattan were ridiculous (though true at this point in the season). Kind of reinforces my view of Kansas State being something like the aggies of Kansas. Hah! A quick tour of Wikipedia shows they were in fact formerly known as Kansas State Agricultural College, no wonder! With the typical SAT and inferiority issues to boot. I want to see them bad in the tournament.
The confluence of events in the northeast were akin to a sort of Perfect Storm. I’m just glad we got out of there with no one injured. Sometimes when you walk into a hornet’s nest like that it’s best just to get out with your parts all still intact. The officiating was a clearly inconsistent and took us out of our game early and I don’t feel badly about whining about it. Some serious QA is needed there.
With three seniors ours is still a young team that has suffered some hard knocks the last two games, something that should build some mental toughness into some of the new guys for the remaining road games on the conference schedule. And there’s plenty of tape for teaching points. I look for a strong rebound for the stretch run.
"If worms carried pistols, birds wouldn't eat 'em"- Darrell Royal
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Jan 24, 2010 10:21 PM CST reply actions
What you’ve written sounds dangerously close to saying that Texas can beat anyone as long as they can fly somewhat under the radar but unless Texas is equally focused, then when they get another team’s best shot, they are fully capable of losing to any number of them.
If the national championship was a one game deal like football, this would be no problem. Hate to be a pessimist here, but to have to take six teams’ best shots for six games in a row doesn’t bode well for Texas’ chances in the tournament. Guess in part that goes with playing so many young players for so relatively few minutes each (except for Bradley).
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