Open letter to Rick Barnes

Dear Rick,

I am willing to give you a mulligan on this one.  I think you have earned it.  You took a basketball team and made it nationally relevant while bringing talent to the program for this entire generation to enjoy.  The Final Four run with T.J. Ford, Brandon Mouton, Royal Ivey, James Thomas and co. was probably the most positive sports memory I have from my college years. (As a side note all these guys had a class with me where their names were on the sign-in sheet every time, but I never once saw them in there.  And I think James Thomas would have been hard to miss). SInce then you have continued to bring more exciting players to root for both here and in the NBA. So consider this me thanking you for what you have done to the program.

 But make no mistake, the fate of this season falls on you and only you. I read articles and other posts on this site claiming the players are to blame and although I agree that blown assignments, horrific transition defense, and even worse free-throw shooting caused this team to unravel, you are the reason this happened.  You spent all season tinkering with the lineup, jerking player's minutes around, and "breaking them of bad habits".  But you forgot one step in that philosophy.  Once you have broken someone down, you have to build them back up.  You openly called out J'Covan Brown over and over, punished him publicly through his playing time, but then would turn around and ask him to deliver when the team needed him.  And for the second half of the season every time he touched the ball he looked like a 5 year old about to jump off the high dive.  Watching J'Covan play last night was so unbelievably frustrating becasue finally he showed some confidence in his game, attacking the rim, knocking down jumpers and being the offenseive floor leader that we needed all season.  But because of how you had broken him as a player this season, it was too little too late.  Same thing goes for Hamilton and Bradley.  I understand dealing with high-school egos and trying to make them play your system is important, but at some point you have to show them you believe in them.  Last night was a glimpse into the future of what this team could be with those three guys playing up to their potential, but that made it even more upsetting that it took the final game of the season to even see it.  But you can't have your point guard looking back at you every time he misses a shot, to see if you are going to yell at him, pull him from the game, or bend him over your knee and spank him. And I know our team was terrible on things like getting back on defense, boxing out, or guarding the man closest to the basket, but I blame you for that as well.  You jerk players in and out so frequently and have no set rotation, that I think it confuses your players, and they aren't sure who has what responsibilites.  No there is no excuse for them failing at such basic basketball responsibilites, but maybe if there was some sort of consistency, it might help with these principles.

Another thing you should consider is what exaclty you are teaching these players because a trend I have noticed in this program is players regressing instead of progressing during their time here.  I can't rememebr one player that was significantly better by the time he left as opposed to the when he arrived.  Now I am factoring in a person's own natural progession as they mature physically and mentally, but can you give me an example?  Was Justin Mason really that much better as a senior then he was as a freshman?  Has any player that wasn't a blue chip recruit made any progress in his game since he got on campus?  Matt Hill?  Clint Chapman? Every player you have had was as good as they could be when they got here and any advancement was due to their own progress not yours.  And one more thing, stop recruiting guards who can't shoot. Do you know how embarrising it is to see your point guard pass up an open 12 footer, or 9 footer, or 5 footer?  My 9 year old niece will shoot it from there.

Actually on that note, you might want to re-think your entire offensive strategy.  I have watched religiously for 11 years now, and if someone asked me what is your offensive set, I would answer 1 guy dribbles while 4 other guys meander around aimlessly, run into each other, set screens that don't make sense, and fail to get open.  Then either somebody who can't shoot jacks up a three or attempts a lazy entry pass to a post player guarded by 3 people.  I have seen your system succeed before, but clearly you need a lottery pick at point guard or it will not work.  So what about the years that you don't, what now?  If you have no outside threat to keep a team honest, then spending 15 minutes trying to feed it to Dexter while the other team is in a 2-3 zone is not a good idea.  Maybe a high-low game, or getting it to one of your wing players in the short corner, followed by a ball screen and a roll to the block.  You mean to tell me James setting a pick for Hamilton on the wing, followed by James flashing to the bucket, is a worse idea than jam it inside to the big man who can only dunk and can't make free throws? I loved the strech last night where post players set ball screens for J'Covan at the top of the key and let him create off the dribble, but why did it take 35 games for you to try that?  And how could you have your entire offensive success revolve around a knucklehead troublemaker like Brown?  You have to have a back-up plan for years when you don't have an elite point guard. Just something where I don't watch us offensively and just beg that just one time we make a basketball play. Your organized chaos scheme has got to go.

In conclusion, I am not mad at you.  I am glad you are my coach and I forgive you for ruining the most highly anticipated basketball season since I became a fan.  I forgive you for the worst 2 months of sports I have ever watched, and for the embarrasing fall from grace. I even forgive you (barely) for letting Baylor take the temporary upperhand in that rivarly.  You have done too much for this program for me to let one season wipe it all away.  (Be glad that Kevin Durant has become such a star that I can live vicariously through him for now).  But, this is your mulligan.  Good luck next year.