Celebration Thread: Texas Tops Ok State in Stillwater
by awiggo on Feb 1, 2010 10:47 PM CST
in Texas Longhorns Basketball
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PrintNow, that's more like it. The No. 9/10 Texas Longhorns found an offensive jewel stuck to the bench and locked down James Anderson in the second half to steal a huge conference road win, 72-60, over Oklahoma State. The ‘Horns improve to 5-2 in the Big XII and stop the slide of three losses in four games, which appeared headed for much worse.
On offense, Texas protected the ball much, much better. The official stats are not up yet, but it looks like the ‘Horns only had five turnovers on the game. That is outstanding and exactly what is required of this typically inefficient offensive team.
Second, Texas shot lights out. Led by Jordan Hamilton's second half offensive explosion and career-high 27 points, Texas shot 50% from the floor and 6-of-14 from behind the arc. Shockingly, Texas also took care of business from the line, with a 6-of-7 performance. It is amazing how much better a team looks when they actually put the ball in the basket.
James Anderson torched the ‘Horns for 24 points in the first half. Justin Mason, Avery Bradley, and Gary Johnson all took unsuccessful turns guarding the swingman. As good as he was in the first half, the rest of the Cowboys were invisible and OSU led by just four at the break.
Barnes went to Dogus Balbay on Anderson in the second. Balbay's defense and Hamilton's hot shooting were the difference. Anderson scored just four points in the second, and the OSU offense sputtered.
A few other quick points:
- Credit Rick Barnes for finally recognizing the weakness of playing Balbay and Justin Mason at the same time. Coming out of halftime, Barnes went with J'Covan Brown and Balbay. The floor opened, and OSU was forced to play defense more honestly.
- For as many rebounds as Gary Johnson dropped, he still battled tonight and finished with eight points and ten boards. That is about all we can ask for from our third or fourth scoring option.
- The rotation grew but maybe not as much as initially appeared. Jai Lucas played some in the first but none in the second; Clint Chapman gave us a few good minutes; and I don't believe Alexis Wangmene played at all. So, we still went with basically eight guys-Hamilton, Brown, and Johnson off the bench. That is fine with me. Barnes isn't trying to play 10 or 11 guys significant minutes any longer. He is going with the starting five, a frontcourt sub, a wing sub, and a backcourt sub. As long as Hamilton can play even decent defense, look for these eight to get the majority of minutes moving forward.
- His play will probably get overlooked tonight because Hamilton was so special, but J'Covan is starting to get it. Brow had four assists to just one turnover and, most importantly, he didn't force things on offense. Five points on 1-of-6 shooting is not going to jump off the stat sheet; however, he protected the ball, created for his teammates, and looked to feed the post in the first half and Hamilton in the second. Progress from the youngster.
- Justin Mason's two late offensive rebounds and two put-backs were really big.
It is only one game but I can't tell you how much better I feel about this team tonight than I did walking out of the Drum on Saturday. Hamilton took a giant leap forward; Texas was more efficient on offense by limiting turnovers and knocking down a couple of threes; dribble penetration was cut-off; and James and Johnson continued to battle down low. Pittman's disappearance is concerning but, for now, I'll focus on the positives.
Texas regains some confidence, steals a conference road game, and steadies the ship. Your thoughts here.
NEXT GAME: at Oklahoma - Saturday, February 6th 3 pm ESPN
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Great turnaround after Saturday
I agree, it’s amazing how much better I feel about this team 2 days after a horrible loss. In order to be an elite team, however, we need Pittman to wake up.
--always Texas--
Pleased
Really happy to see the intensity pay off…you could tell the Horns came out with more fire in their bellies tonight, it just didn’t pay off early as they had to weather the surge from an equally charged up Poke team and the OSU crowd. But to UT’s credit, they didn’t get down and just kept playing their game (Hammy gettin’ hotter than Pistol Pete didn’t hurt either). And by the end of the game, they actually looked like a Top 10 team again.
Get Dexy back to dominating and we may have something after all.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
Outside of DaMo
it seems like we have a team full of running back flavors of the week
Rotation
Barnes isn’t trying to play 10 or 11 guys significant minutes any longer. … As long as Hamilton can play even decent defense, look for these eight to get the majority of minutes moving forward.
I certainly hope so, but do you feel confident in Barnes continuing to go with this from now on? It only makes sense, but I’ve been wanting to see it for weeks now. I guess problem was deciding who it would be, ‘cause I couldn’t figure it out.
You trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?
by Infield Elephant on Feb 1, 2010 11:06 PM CST reply actions
Pittman is still learning
Dexy is a project. There’s something about him that just seems restless. It’s almost like he hasnt figured out controling his own body at fullspeed. By tourney time he will have it again. I think he might have been a victim of the early season media blitz and it got to his head a little. Great to see KD cheering the horns on!
by Dawnpatrol on Feb 1, 2010 11:09 PM CST via mobile reply actions
I'm not sold yet.
While I did see a lot of positive in tonight’s win, do we win if Hamilton doesn’t go off? I’m not sure.
My guard is still up and I still have my reservations about this team. We’ll see how the next couple of games play out.
3/19/2009 & 12/15/2009 - Games Where Dogus Balbay Made a Three-Pointer. Never Forget.
Congrats, Horns
You did us a big favor tonight.
It’s mildly appropriate that a chain of events that began with Okie Lite storming into The Octagon and stealing one, forcing us to go steal a win in Waco, forcing Baylor to go steal a win in Austin, would come around full circle like it did tonight.
Now please do us an even bigger favor and beat the Chickenhawks next Monday. I’ll be wearing my burnt orange dress shirt to work and my “KU Cheats” T-shirt to watch the game in order to confer karmic benefits, FWIW.
Some glaring stats
Bench points-UT 40,OSU 2 (thank you Jordan)
Points off turnovers-UT 16,OSU 2
Only five turnovers, that will win some games.
On the other hand Pittman- 2 pts, 2 reb, 3 fouls and 2 TO’s in 10 minutes. Where in the World is Dexter Pittman? He needs to show up Monday.
"If worms carried pistols, birds wouldn't eat 'em"- Darrell Royal
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Feb 1, 2010 11:22 PM CST reply actions
Nice to see Kevin Durant
Maybe he inspired Hamilton
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
Agreed...I'm sure KD visited the locker room before and after the game...
and I think he was sitting right behind the bench.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on Feb 2, 2010 6:41 AM CST up reply actions
Way To Pull One Out
Who woke the Horns up Who Who……………
Hamilton was unconcious.On one of his few misses the ball went right to Mason for an easy lay up.
Only one little gripe. We gotta box out.
by TCB Orange Dino on Feb 1, 2010 11:48 PM CST reply actions
Is J Ham?
A one and Done? And by one and done, I mean is he going to continue doing good and making smart shots or was this just an outlier game?
only time will tell
Only if this is the beginning of a trend in better shot selection
which will result in Barnes giving him more playing time and his scoring average rising.
His defense is also improving, but I don’t think that’s going to factor much into his decision to stay or go.
He is not one and done unless he continues to play like he did last night.
"Football's so important in Texas. On the West Coast, it's a social. On the East Coast, it's a culture. Here, it's a religion."
-- Major Applewhite
If he's one and done . . .
he’s gonna be lacking. What a stroke he had last night – just unconscious – but this kid would benefit SO MUCH by learning to play defense and team ball from Barnes for the next 2 or 3 years. He may end up bein’ a 1st round choice if he comes out but there’s no way he’ll play significant minutes in the NBA for the first 5 years he’s there – unless he learns to play defense and play within an offense. Shooters are way too streaky – regardless of how amazing he was last night. Either way, it was awesome to watch him light it up when we really needed someone to step up. I think that was the 1st time all season that Damion wasn’t able to carry the team. It’s exactly what they needed.
Eh?
The shots fell last night. Kid was on fire. While it’s hard to criticize a successful FG, I’d hardly call his shot selection “smart”. Most of his shots were contested, he just was shooting too well for it to matter.
Agreed as well
He was still taking some pretty wild shots, but had much more discipline overall. And sometimes, when you’re talented enough and you’re on fire, it doesn’t matter where you shoot it from.
Finding AB outside for a 3, after nailing several 3’s himself late in the game, showed more maturity than what I’ve seen from him. Takes a big boy to discern opportunities when you’re hot.
You trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?
by Infield Elephant on Feb 2, 2010 12:20 PM CST up reply actions
Hamilton
Is and will continue to get it! Lets cut the kid some freaking slack! He wasn’t rated a top 10 player for no reason as he indicated tonight. He didn’t even get to play his senior season. So to think it his taken him to this point in the season to start coming around is not exactly suprising. It’s obvious he has the skills to be a heck of a player. I see no reason why he can’t be averging around 15 a game come march. Sure his defense leaves alot to be desired but what froshmen doesn’t? I just hope Barnes will continue with this rotation and let him get into a rythm. If he does I guarantee it will pay off defense included!
by IbleedBurntorange on Feb 2, 2010 6:32 AM CST reply actions
Hamilton #23
Hamilton and James are the best shooters on the team. The two of them should be on the court the majority of the rest of the games. Bradley is ice cold and needs some time on the bench. I know his defense is good, but right now the Texas team need offense. I would put the best shooters on the team on the court.
When Bradley and Balbay are on the court the other team has 0 worries of outside shooting.
Didn’t Bradley win the slam dunk contest in the all-star game? I haven’t seen him dunk yet this year. Whats up with that?
Huh?
What are you talking about? Bradley nailed a 3-pointer late in the second half, and was scoring the ball early. He’s also dunked some in earlier games this year, one being against UNC.
Bradley
I’m talking about the last 5 games, not just against osu. He dunks every now and then, but I expected more electric from him. He goes with the easy lay-up instead of a nasty dunk most of the time (sometimes getting blocked b/c of it). I think he’s stuggled more than anybody shooting during the Longhorns slide.
Ridiculous
He shot 50% from the floor in the Tech game including 3 for 6 from the three, shot 50% against UConn, was 5 for 12 against K St, but had a bad night against Baylor and was 3 for 11. He has had plenty of nasty dunks.
stats
How many blocked shots does he have going for lay-ups? I think he’s been struggleing shooting 3 pointers the last few games. He is a great talent, but I think Barnes needs to sit him when he obviously is cold shooting. Your stats prove that he’s been inconsistant.
Great game
Loved Dogus d in the 2nd half. I also liked Brown playing the point while in the game with Balbay. Hopefully Hamilton gained a lot of confidence, that will lead to more consistency. I am feeling a lot more hopeful about this team. It’s good to see the freshman perform like that. Their continued improvement is our only hope for an extended post season run.
"big-time players make big-time plays in big games."
Great 2nd half
Hamilton was awesome but there were a couple AWFUL shots that just happened to go in. It was that kind of night for Jordan.
Dogus’ defense was lock down against Anderson. Win in Norman and defend the Drum against KU. I see the Aldrich matchup as a breakout opportunity for Pittman.
by jimmer on Feb 2, 2010 8:53 AM CST via mobile reply actions
Pittman
He needs to stop thinking and start playing. He thinks everything is owed to him, and whenever he makes a mistake or someone scores on him he comes off with a wry smile. WAKE UP!! He’s getting double teamed at every possession, but he never makes it easy for any entry passes. I think Barnes should start Johnson so he can tire out the defenders, and then have Dexy come off the bench to bruise them up.
Biggest issue the HC faces
is how to get max floor time for three freshmen — who pretty much provide all the outside shooting on this team. James can step out, but the zone-breakers are Bradley, Hamilton, Brown.
Mason and Balbay hustle but can’t score. Pittman can be defended. Brown and Hamilton have gotten sporadic playing time (understandable), but if this team is reach peak efficiency, Jordan and J’Covan have to get enough PT for their play to become consistent, something Barnes can count on.
Defense
The help rotation was SO MUCH BETTER this game it was like a new team. Aside from one time when we left a guy wide open under the basket.
Loved the Trap on the Pic’n’roll early in the game, looked like putting two guys on the ball forced everyone else to play zone and rotate on the back end making it simple to go after the closest person. Even Pittman was able to handle the trap out front.
DIdnt see this much in the second half, but the team defense still was much better …
Possibly because of a smaller Rotation and Sub Pattern??? I dont know … Your thoughts?
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