Burnt Orange Nation: All Posts by Peter Bean

Texas Longhorns Basketball Roster Grid, 1998-2013

2013-06-17T02:26:10Z

	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
		Chris Mihm	Gabe Muoneke	Kris Clack
1998		Chris McColpin	William Clay	Chico Vazquez
			Ivan Wagner	Marlon Drakes
				Wendell Carter
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Chris Ogden	Chris Owens*	Chris Mihm	Gabe Muonecke
1999	Roosevelt Brown		Chris McColpin	William Clay
	William Wyatt		Lawrence Williams*	Ivan Wagner
			Darren Kelly*
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Brian Boddicker (#40)	Chris Ogden	Chris Owens	Chris McColpin
2000	Brandon Mouton (#50)	Roosevelt Brown	Maurice Evans*	Darren Kelly
	James Thomas (#66)	William Wyatt	Fredie Williams*	~~Chris Mihm~~
	Royal Ivey			~~Lawrence Williams~~
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	T.J. Ford (#17)	Brian Boddicker	Chris Ogden	Chris Owens
	Sydmill Harris	Brandon Mouton	Deginald Erskin*	Fredie Williams
2001	Jason Klotz	James Thomas	Terrell Ross*	~~Maurice Evans~~
		Royal Ivey	~~Roosevelt Brown~~
			~~William Wyatt~~
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Brad Buckman (#22)	T.J. Ford	Brian Boddicker	Chris Ogden
2002	Kenton Paulino	Sydmill Harris	Brandon Mouton	Deginald Erskin
	Chris Wright	Jason Klotz	James Thomas	Terrell Ross
			Royal Ivey
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	P.J. Tucker (#79)	Brad Buckman	Sydmill Harris	Brian Boddicker
2003		Kenton Paulino	Jason Klotz	Brandon Mouton
		Chris Wright	Edgar Moreno*	James Thomas
			Kenny Taylor*	Royal Ivey
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Lamarcus Aldridge (#12)	P.J. Tucker	Brad Buckman	Sydmill Harris
	Daniel Gibson (#19)		Kenton Paulino	Jason Klotz
2004	Mike Williams (#22)		~~Chris Wright~~	Kenny Taylor
	Dion Dowell (#49)			~~Edgar Moreno~~
	Connor Atchley
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	A.J. Abrams (#83)	Lamarcus Aldridge	P.J. Tucker	Brad Buckman
	[RS] Connor Atchley	Daniel Gibson	Craig Winder*	Kenton Paulino
2005		Dion Dowell
		Mike Williams
		JD Lewis*

	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Kevin Durant (#2)	A.J. Abrams	JD Lewis	Craig Winder
	Damion James (#15)	[RS] Connor Atchley	~~Lamarcus Aldridge~~	~~P.J. Tucker~~
	DJ Augustin (#29)		~~Daniel Gibson~~
2006	Dexter Pittman (#82)		~~Dion Dowell~~
	Justin Mason		~~Mike Williams~~
	Matt Hill
	Harrison Smith
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Gary Johnson (#29)	~~Kevin Durant~~	A.J. Abrams	JD Lewis
	Clint Chapman (#75)	Damion James	[RS] Connor Atchley
	Dogus Balbay	DJ Augustin
2007	Alexis Wangmene	Dexter Pittman
		Justin Mason
		Matt Hill
		Harrison Smith
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	J'Covan Brown (#59)	Gary Johnson	Damion James	A.J. Abrams
	Varez Ward	Alexis Wangmene	Dexter Pittman	[RS] Connor Atchley
2008		Dogus Balbay	Justin Mason
		Clint Chapman	Matt Hill
			Harrison Smith
			~~DJ Augustin~~
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Avery Bradley (#4)	Varez Ward	Gary Johnson	Damion James
	Jordan Hamilton (#22)	[RS] A. Wangmene	Dogus Balbay	Dexter Pittman
2009	Shawn Williams (#55)		Clint Chapman	Justin Mason
	J'Covan Brown (#59)		Jai Lucas*	Matt Hill
				~~Harrison Smith~~
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Tristan Thompson (#9)	Jordan Hamilton	~~Varez Ward~~	Gary Johnson
2010	Corey Joseph (#13)	J'Covan Brown	[RS] Clint Chapman	Dogus Balbay
		~~Avery Bradley~~	[RS] A. Wangmene	Jai Lucas
		~~Shawn Williams~~
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Myck Kabongo (#13)	~~Tristan Thompson~~	J'Covan Brown	[RS] Clint Chapman
	Sheldon McClellan (#48)	~~Corey Joseph~~	~~Jordan Hamilton~~	[RS] A. Wangmene
2011	Julien Lewis (#68)
	Jonathan Holmes (#70)
	Jaylen Bond
	Sterling Gibbs
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Cameron Ridley (#14)	Myck Kabongo		~~J'Covan Brown~~
	Prince Ibeh (#62)	Sheldon McClellan
2012	Javan Felix (#80)	Julien Lewis
	Connor Lammert	Jonathan Holmes
	Ioannis Papapetrou	Jaylen Bond
	Demarcus Holland	~~Sterling Gibbs~~
	Freshmen	Sophomores	Juniors	Seniors
	Kendal Yancy-Harris (#100)	Cameron Ridley	~~Myck Kabongo~~
	Demarcus Croaker	Prince Ibeh	~~Sheldon McClellan~~
2013	Isaiah Taylor	Javan Felix	~~Julien Lewis~~
	Martez Walker	Connor Lammert	Jonathan Holmes
		Ioannis Papapetrou	~~Jaylen Bond~~
		Demarcus Holland

	* Player transferred in	*[RS] Redshirt*

A Conversation with Softball Goddess Jennie Finch

2013-05-31T22:26:15Z

I had an opportunity to spend some time on Friday afternoon talking with softball star Jennie Finch, who is in Oklahoma City to cover the Women's College World Series, where the No. 4 Longhorns square off with No. 1 Oklahoma tonight at 8:00 p.m. CT. Jennie Finch became a national star as a pitcher at the University of Arizona, where she had one of the most brilliant careers in the history of the sport. In her four years as a Wildcat, she compiled a ridiculous 119-16 record as a starting pitcher, a tally that included an NCAA record 60 consecutive wins. She was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2001 College World Series after leading the Wildcats to the title.

You married baseball player Casey Daigle, who played in the major leagues with both Arizona and Houston, and spent two years playing for the Round Rock Express. Did you live in Austin while he pitched for the Express?

I did -- I spent two great years there. We rented a place and had a terrific experience. I loved Austin, loved Dell Diamond, and loved Nolan Ryan -- they really do it right there. Casey said playing at the Dell Diamond for Nolan Ryan is the closest experience there is to the big leagues that you can get. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Austin.

And now for the next week you're in Oklahoma City for the College World Series. I keep hearing about what an amazing crowd is on hand up there. What's it like up there?

Oh my gosh, it's amazing how many people are here. I flew in last night and everyone has been raving about how many people are here. I saw an amazing stat on Twitter this morning: there were more people here yesterday than there were for the entire 1990 College World Series. It's amazing to see how it's grown and the tremendous job that Oklahoma City has done in hosting it.

Why do you think the sport's popularity has grown like it has?

I think exposure has a lot to do with it. There were 46 games televised during the regular season, and it's just so much easier to follow the sport now than ever before. You can really follow the storylines. ESPN has done a great job showcasing the game, and there's a reason they continue to expand their coverage of the sport; the ratings are through the roof.

Well it's certainly great to see Texas in the tournament this year, and even better to see them get off to a good start yesterday. The Longhorns have struggled to hit the ball this year, but the bats came alive yesterday for a 6-3 victory over Arizona State. Do you think they can keep that going tonight against OU?

They just need to try to continue to build off of yesterday's success and keep taking things one pitch at a time - let the game come to them. And they need to relax and remember that they've got Blaire Luna pitching for them. Texas is going to have a chance to win every game that she takes the mound. Speaking as a fan and observer, Blaire is fun to watch and has had just an incredible career. It's great to see Texas back in the World Series after struggling to match the success they had while Cat Osterman was there.

You went 3-0 and dominated the 2001 College World Series. What's the key to playing in such a high pressure environment?

It's all about preparation. From the moment you walk on campus, you're working around the clock towards this goal, and you just have to know that you're ready for it now that you're there. It's a matter of trying not to make the stage bigger than it is, because it's the same game you've played all year. And it's a matter of trusting your teammates, as well. The moment you try to put it all on yourself is when you tend to break down.

In researching your bio, one thing that became very obvious to me very quickly was how competitive you are. I was going to ask you if it's been difficult for you to be retired from the sport, but then I saw that you're swimming with alligators and thought to myself, "Of course she is."

(Laughs)

But I know that one way that you’re staying involved with competition is through your involvement with the Capital One Cup. Tell us a little bit about how you’re involved.

I'm privileged to be serving on the Athlete Advisory Board of the Capital One Cup, and have really enjoyed the opportunity to continue my involvement with collegiate athletics. The Capital One Cup is a great way for fans to support their schools, and winning is a big deal not only for the nice trophy and bragging rights but because Capital One provides $400,000 in scholarship money to the winning schools. In the standings right now, Duke is leading among the men, and UNC is tops among the ladies. And your Lady Longhorns are right there in the mix at No. 8.

The other thing that you’re doing is trying to bring back baseball and softball to the Olympics. How is that going?

We'll find out in a few months. I'm serving as an ambassador for the sport as a member of the Athlete Advisory Board for the World Baseball Softball Confederation, and we're doing everything we can to try to get softball and baseball back into the Olympics -- promoting the game, meeting with IOC members - anything that will help us in advance of the September vote between us, wrestling, and squash. Only one will be added, and we're working hard to try to make that softball and baseball.

Nobody wants to watch squash or wrestling. You're fine.

(Laughs) You'd be surprised!

Well I hope you're successful. And speaking of the Olympics, I have to ask you about Cat Osterman, who you played with on Team USA in both the Athens and Beijing games. Who's the better pitcher?

Between me and Cat? Oh wow. You know, she's so awesome. The thing with Cat is that she can move the ball like no other. It's been such a blast to play with her over the years. She's just an incredible pitcher.

I'm not sure if that's an answer or not, but I'll let you off the hook. Alright, before I let you go, just one more question. My favorite of Cat Osterman's many ridiculous stats is her career average of 14.4 strikeouts per 7 innings pitched, which is just insane. Well, I was looking at your resume today and -- this just blew my mind -- you went 32-0 as a junior and your career included a win streak of something like 55 games in a row?

Sixty, yeah.

Incredible. So my question is this: what did it feel like when you finally lost a game?

Horrible! Absolutely terrible! Thankfully I didn't experience that very often in my career because I did not handle that feeling well at all.

I imagine not. And here's to hoping that Blaire Luna and the Longhorns don't have to experience that feeling tonight. Thanks for taking some time to chat, and hook 'em!

For sure. I enjoyed it! Best of luck in the College World Series!

Rick Barnes Review: Texas Basketball Coach Is On The Hot Seat

2013-05-29T20:11:13Z

After beginning his tenure as the Texas Basketball head coach with a remarkably successful decade, Rick Barnes suddenly finds himself coaching for his job following five disappointing seasons that have seen the program slide in the wrong direction.

BON Basketball Editor Jeff Haley and I have been planning a comprehensive post series on the topic of whether or not to replace Rick Barnes for more than a year now, but the various delays that prevented us from doing so have proven to be fortuitous, as the context of the discussion has changed dramatically since the time when we originally discussed the series.

There is still room to debate whether or not Texas would be wise to retain or replace its head basketball coach, but following the disastrous 2012-13 campaign that saw the Longhorns finish with a losing record for the first time during the Barnes era, coupled with some troubling trends on the recruiting trail, this much is not debatable: Texas' head coach is on the hot seat, and may well be coaching for his job next season.

Our Motives

Heading into the 2012-13 season, both Jeff and I still considered the case for retaining Rick Barnes to be stronger than replacing him. Seven months later, however, what was once a straightforward analysis is anything but clear cut, with the evidence in favor of replacing Barnes now just as strong, and arguably stronger than, that in support of his retention.

This post series aims to explore the "Replace or Retain" question in considerable depth, outlining what we consider to be the right questions to ask and presenting evidence relevant to their answers. Notwithstanding the howls of a small but vocal minority of readers who have misunderstood and/or caricatured Jeff and I as uncritical Rick Barnes fanboys whose loyalty to UT's head coach is blind and unassailable, this post series does not set out to present an argument for keeping him. Perhaps it would have a year ago, but our position has never been about loyalty to Barnes himself but to what the evidence suggests is best for Texas basketball.

In that sense, Jeff and I have never been invested in one answer over the other. We're invested in the right answer, and more than that, arriving at the right answer for the right reasons. An argument that reaches the right conclusion for the wrong reasons is not a good argument; it's a happy accident. The only arguments for replacing Rick Barnes towards which Jeff and I are hostile are weak and/or unsupported ones. On the flip side, however, we're no more interested in bad arguments for retaining Barnes.

When we say this post series aims to set forth the right questions to ask, then, we're in large part talking about focusing the discussion on an empirical analysis of relevant evidence. Rebutting weak and/or unsubstantiated arguments for replacing Rick Barnes is not a reflection of our marriage to retaining him, but of our commitment to asking and answering this question seriously.

Series Outline

A truly exhaustive analysis of this question would consume several dozen blog posts and voluminous data analysis, and we don't pretend to be undertaking such an endeavor. This aim of this post series is more modest but still -- we hope -- comprehensive enough to provide a valuable contribution to the discussion.

To that end, the post series will open with a review of Rick Barnes' 2012-13 season, in the same form as the player reviews, followed by a post that explains in greater detail the lens through which Jeff and I view the 'Retain or Replace' question, which is driven in large part by the downside risks of replacing a successful head coach.

We'll then look at Barnes himself, exploring his resume at Texas and comparing it to his peers, and from there, we'll present a pair of posts focused on the replacement side of the analysis, first by asking why it has proven so difficult for teams to find a great coach, and second by surveying the current field of potential replacements for Rick Barnes. We'll then wrap things up with a final post tying everything together.

This post series is intended to be a guiding voice of a dialogue, and we fully expect the comment sections to contribute at least as much to the discussion as the articles themselves, if not more. So have at it, fellow hoops junkies. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sunset Cruise Yacht Party

2013-05-10T20:22:57Z

Saturday, June 8th, 2013, 7:00 - 11:00 pm

Summer is around the corner, which means it's time for another boat party!

Space is limited so buy your tickets early -- this event will sell out fast. Entry includes all you can eat food and drink, and all profits from the event will benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.

Yacht Party Rock, Gravitas Recordings and Members Only present:

Sunset Cruise Yacht Party

Saturday, June 8, 7-11 pm

Downtown Austin

TICKETS: $40 (includes food and drinks)

Purchase with Google Checkout below or by clicking HERE

Honey Claws (Live Set)

With over 50,000 units sold over two very successful self-released albums (Honey Claws and Money Jaws), Honey Claws has staked their claim as an act to watch. Their credibility has been reinforced through multiple TV and radio placements, including Breaking Bad, The Kardashians, Friday Night Lights, G's to Gents, RJ Berger, KISS FM, and Triple J (Australia).

Bronze Whale (Live)

Bronze Whale is an electronic production/performance duo out of Austin, TX, consisting of long time studio producer Aaron Jaques and up-and-coming producer Benny Alley.

With what once started as studio lessons, Jaques and Benny have cultivated a unique blend of hard hitting bass, and gorgeous ambients, that push the genres of dubstep, indie, electro, and trap, and have lit the internet world on fire.

Within their first year, they have been featured on over 100 different blogs (many times repeatedly), reaching #1 on Hype Machine's Popular page, and receiving interviews in the U.S., South Korea, and England. With a unique taste and flair for the unexpected, Bronze Whale is an exciting act to experience.

Ken Christensen

Formerly of East Coast Boogiemen, this dude is a bad ass on the decks. He will be closing the night with some sick beats!

JAMON (Drop Music)

Local favorite and up and coming House Legend.

Brede (Gravitas Recordings)

Baller label owner and fellow boat party captain.

Prime Ministers (Debut disco set)

Because dance music is far too important to be left to the professionals.

Docking Location: West of the Hyatt Hotel, next to the South First Street Bridge, on the south shore of Lady Bird Lake. Show up by 6:30 pm to ensure entry.

Texas Longhorns Basketball 2012-13 Season: Prince Ibeh Freshman Performance Review

2013-05-08T22:27:33Z

Overview

Prince Ibeh clearly still needs to develop and refine his game -- particularly on offense -- to become a consistently effective center who can play 25+ minutes per game, but his freshman season showed that he was further along the development curve than most expected him to be entering college, and if he can continue to progress along a normal development curve over the next two years, he may well enter his senior season as an elite collegiate center, with disruptive ability on both ends of the floor.

What The Numbers Say

Ibeh's statistical profile perfectly captures the description offered in the Overview. He was extremely raw on offense, shooting sub-40 percent at the free throw line and struggling to limit turnovers, while playing a fairly small and relatively uninvolved role on the offense. That rawness extended to the defensive end of the floor, as well, insofar as Ibeh fouled at about the same rate Dexter Pittman did as a freshman -- which is to say, enough to foul out by halftime if he played the entire time.

But the numbers also reflect Ibeh's considerable promise, as well. Had he averaged enough minutes to qualify, Ibeh's12.0% block percentage would have ranked in the Top 15 nationally, right up there with Jeff Withey, who finished his senior season as the Big 12's all-time leader in blocks, surpassing Chris Mihm. Within his limited role in the offense, Ibeh performed pretty well, finishing with a solid offensive rating of 95.3 by making nearly 60% of his field goal attempts, as he demonstrated better coordination and finishing ability than was anticipated given his reputation as an offensively-challenged player. He was terrific on the offensive glass and outstanding at drawing trips to the line, where the results were awful but the shooting form wasn't, leading me to conclude he can improve to a 60% shooter from the stripe, which at Ibeh's rate of drawing fouls would be enough to make him a valuable offensive contributor.

Season Highlight

Nobody saw it, but Ibeh finished his season with a tremendous game in which he put it all together on both ends of the floor, playing 23 minutes against Houston in the opening round of the CBI and finishing with 12 points on 4-5 shooting (4-8 from the FT line), with 11 rebounds (7 offensive), just 1 turnover, and 5 blocks.

Season Lowlight

Ibeh wasn't involved enough as a freshman to have a meaningful lowlight, but to the extent we wanted to name one we might choose his two games against Oklahoma State: 11 minutes, 8 fouls, 0 points, and just 1 block.

Season Grade: B

Ibeh was too ineffective from the line and too foul-prone to stay on the floor or he might well have earned an A for his play this year.

Looking Ahead

The expectations will ratchet up next year, but if he starts playing more consistently and begins delivering on his enormous promise, he could very quickly become one of Texas' most valuable assets.

Ibeh will compete for a spot in the starting five next year and should see both his minutes and usage increase. If he can cut down on the fouls, protect the basketball a little bit better, and shoot a respectable percentage from the line, there's no reason he can't be a 20-minute-per-game player for Texas next year who averages around 8 points and 8 boards a game and finishes the season with triple-digit blocks.

Texas Basketball Recruiting: Point Guard Isaiah Taylor Profile and Scouting Report

2013-05-01T19:20:45Z

Whether you're watching him zip down the court like a water bug on skates, listening to him talk about the game and his aspirations within it, or admiring the zip on a no look pass to an open shooter in the corner, the more you see of Isaiah Taylor, the more excited you get about him as a basketball player. And the more you feel this kid's incredible charisma.

You won't find anyone more bullish on the dreaded point guard than I am, and the more I see of of him -- and I've become sort of obsessed, reading everything Taylor-related I can find, talking to Houston hoops-heads, and watching all of his film tapes multiple times -- the more I think Texas landed a player with the potential to be special.

Scouting Isaiah Taylor

Now, it's true that you have to be careful with prospects' highlight films -- particularly when watching a single film in isolation and especially when the film is, in effect, a highlight compilation; everyone looks great when all you see are clips of them making great plays.

But when there's a substantial body of film out there on a kid, and especially when it includes a meaningful amount of unedited game tape that allows you to watch him just play (rather than watch selectively chosen great plays), you can make a pretty solid evaluation of his abilities and get a real sense for what he brings to the floor in a competitive environment. With the sizable collection of clips featuring Isaiah Taylor on YouTube, and thanks especially to some friends in the Houston hoops scene who sent me several additional hours of unedited game tape, all of which I've now watched/ogled multiple times), I've managed to spend a lot of time watching Mr. Taylor play basketball -- more so than any other high school hoops prospect I've scouted.

I've already made clear that I absolutely love the kid. But now let me tell you why.

The Drive To Succeed

You don't hear scouts talk as much about a basketball prospect's "makeup" as you do in reports about a baseball player. (For some helpful background on the concept of "makeup," the Penn League Report has a worthwhile primer that I recommend.) In large part that's because at the highest level of basketball exceptional makeup and $100 will get you a ticket into the Staples Center but without the exceptional physical/athletic abilities required of NBA players, that's as close as you'll ever get to the Lakers bench.

But that's not to say that a player's mental capacity and temperament don't matter in basketball, and particularly at the collegiate level the impact can be substantial. Take some recent Texas players, for example. Exhibit A, at one end of the spectrum: Sheldon McClellan, whose questionable makeup was in the spotlight this season upon being asked to become an alpha leader of a young team. Exhibit B, all the way on the other end of the spectrum: TJ Ford, a kid with makeup off the charts who coached Rick Barnes as much as Rick Barnes coached him. And Exhibit C, somewhere in between the the two: J'Covan Brown, whose makeup was excellent in several critical regards (J'Onions loved crunch time and was J'Crafty as hell), but held him back in others (J'Pouting got him into trouble at various times).

Which brings us, finally, back to Isaiah Taylor...

The above quote is from an interview Taylor gave in August of last year. No need to ask: yes, it left me drooling. Heavily.

There are a couple things about Isaiah Taylor's makeup that in my mind make him especially enticing. To begin with, Taylor originally hails from Oakland, and when he wasn't garnering the recruiting attention he wanted playing in the Bay Area's AAU circuit, he didn't sit around and pout while blaming others when he wasn't getting what he wanted. He did something about it.

Just prior to Taylor's junior year of high school, he packed his bags and moved to a better basketball scene, vowing to make a splash -- and a name for himself -- in Houston. To move across the country before your junior year, without a single scholarship offer, convinced you can and will break through in a basketball scene where you are a complete unknown commodity, takes an absurd amount of confidence, determination, and competitive drive.

But that's exactly what Taylor did, catching the attention of John Lucas at the former pro's basketball camp, which helped him land an invite to switch to Houston's elite AAU squad Texas PRO, of which former Horns Jai Lucas and Gary Johnson are alumni. Taylor immediately began turning heads and generating buzz among Houston basketball observers, who simultaneously turned to each other and asked, "Who is this kid?" Less than a year after he arrived in Houston, Taylor found himself surrounded by suitors, drawing offers from Texas, Florida State, Illinois, LSU, Penn State, George Mason, and Larry Brown at SMU, to name just a few.

Rick Barnes and Rob Lanier turned on the full court press with Taylor's recruitment, establishing a strong relationship with his parents and soliciting friendly voices in Houston's hoops scene to pitch Texas. And by the grace of God, Taylor took his unofficial visit to Texas on December 19th, spending the evening watching the Longhorns run North Carolina out of the Erwin Center. Shortly thereafter, Taylor pledged to become the first member of Texas' 2013 recruiting class.

Scouting Report

The same determination and competitive drive that led Taylor to go from a no-name, no-offers sophomore in Oakland to a hotly pursued senior in Houston fuels his game on the court, as well. When it comes to describing Taylor's game as a point guard, the quote I highlighted above says it all: I'm going to attack the hell out of you in the half court, in the full court -- pretty much any time I've got the ball in my hands -- because I know you can't stay in front of me.

Taylor is skilled and athletic, but the reason I have such high hopes for him (and think he's underrated as a prospect) is related to how utterly fearless and relentless he is. The kid is confident and charismatic in many of the same ways as was Texas' last point guard from Houston, TJ Ford. Yes, I just went there, and while no, Taylor isn't the high-elite prospect that Ford was, in terms of potential impact on the team, Taylor is a lot closer than you might think.

Beyond the exceptional makeup, Taylor is exceptionally quick, with very good handles and control in tight spaces. Interestingly, Taylor doesn't look super smooth like many lightning quick players do; you'll often see an almost violent suddenness in his motions, as Taylor darts this way and that, often featuring hard starts and stops with and sharp changes of direction.

It sometimes looks a little bit choppy, but frankly, it often seems to contribute to Taylor's effectiveness. He identifies where he wants to take the ball and he goes there, decisively, and is not deterred by a defender. Players aren't used to being attacked that way, and Taylor capitalizes on that advantage as well as any young point guard that I've seen. He plays with an attitude that the aggressor has the advantage, and he's right. A defender who's back pedaling isn't going to be able to stop him from going to the basket. So Taylor goes to the basket.

At 6-2, Taylor has nice height for the position, with a great body frame for the strength he's going to need to add. His quickness is just one feature of his strong athletic profile, and though not as explosive as Croaker or Yancy-Harris, Taylor can absolutely get up and finish above the rim.

How much and how quickly Taylor is able to contribute as a freshman probably depends, first, on whether his lack of body strength allows collegiate defenders to slow him down and limit his effectiveness as a penetrator, and second, on his ability to make defenses pay for defending him like Dogus. Whether he's able to punish the defense by hitting jump shots, or by effectively attacking a sagging defense to get teammates great looks or himself a trip to the free throw line, his value as a freshman is going to be tied to his ability to do one or the other.

Not known as a great shooter, Taylor shouldn't be confused with his Turkish predecessor, who literally looked like he'd never shot a basketball in his life prior to his arrival in Austin. Taylor is a much better shooter than Dogus, much more comparable to TJ Ford, who wasn't a strong shooter but was far from impotent. When he's got his feet set, Taylor shoots the ball plenty well, but as is the case with many kids at this level he struggles when shooting off the bounce.

Encouragingly, Taylor's ability to score in the paint looks above average for a point guard. There's no question that Taylor is a pass-first point guard, but he's a crafty scorer with the ability to score with either hand around the rim, and a floater that he shoots with great touch. It will be interesting to see how developed an understanding and ability Taylor demonstrates as a freshman in terms of knowing how to use positioning and his quickness to draw whistles and earn trips to the free throw line.

Taylor's abilities as a dribbler and passer are excellent, but I see some things he's going to have to tighten up at the collegiate level. Starting with the strengths, he's got extremely quick feet, great agility, and terrific vision and feel. He knows where to go, is able to get there, and can execute the right play once he does. His handles are very good, but not at the level of TJ Ford, and I'm a bit concerned about Taylor struggling with turnovers to the point where he either cancels out his positive value or retreats to a more passive style of play that doesn't enable him to contribute the maximum potential value. Part of that concern is that Taylor plays too upright, and that's something he's immediately going to learn he must improve to be as effective as he wants to be against bigger, faster, and stronger competition.

He Got Game

I'm sure there are skeptics who find themselves wanting to ask whether I'm making too much of a kid who the recruiting services all rate as a three-star prospect. It's a fair question. To which my response is simply this:

Fans constantly clamor for a sophisticated, well-executed halfcourt offense, but at the collegiate level what you really want and need is to be a dynamic open floor team, ideally led by a pass-first point guard who thrives in transition. Like, say, Brett Comer, a two-star prospect on Austin Rivers' Winter Park team who wasn't recruited outside of Florida at all in 2011 but as a sophomore this season was 2nd nationally with a ridiculous 45.0 assist rate.

That's what this is all about -- the reason for the optimism and excitement about Taylor. Texas' best team ever was led by a dynamic, lightning quick point guard who was equally charismatic and fearless. And like most every collegiate team, our offense struggles mightily without a playmaker at point guard and limited ability to score in transition.

Dynamic point guards with charisma, competitive drive, and a fearless attitude are extraordinarily valuable. And at the collegiate level, they needn't be as freaky as TJ Ford to have a similarly substantial impact.

That's why I've bought in so heavily on Isaiah Taylor. Take a look for yourself and see what you think...

Isaiah Taylor Porn

Texas Longhorns Basketball 2012-13 Season Review: Javan Felix's Baptism By Fire

2013-04-23T02:33:15Z

Overview

Unexpectedly thrust into a starting role at point guard thanks to Myck Kabongo's suspension just before the season began, Javan Felix's introduction to college basketball was baptism by fire if ever there was one. Projected to play 12-15 minutes in a supporting role as Kabongo's back up, as late in the season as February 9th Felix not only led the team in minutes, but his 35 minutes per game average led all players in the entire Big 12.

Felix's collegiate career was not supposed to start that way... but without Kabongo, it was the only way.

All things considered, Felix acquitted himself pretty well across the first three months of the season, before seeing a substantial reduction in minutes upon Myck's return, including just 29 total minutes played over the team's final five games.

All told, Felix's freshman season established both his bona fides as a Division 1 player and the limitations he must overcome if he's to be a player with more value than as a solid reserve.

What The Numbers Say

Felix's overall numbers don't quite tell the full story of his freshman campaign, given the extreme differential in his usage between the first two-thirds of the season and the final 11 games with Kabongo back in the lineup. On the one hand, as his minutes declined -- from nearly 35 to just 12 minutes per game -- his counting stats took a hit, as Felix averaged just 3.8 points, 1.2 assists, and 0.9 turnovers per game over the final 11 contests of the season.

On the other hand, upon playing fewer minutes and being tasked with a complementary rather than lead role, Felix was a more efficient player. After shooting 34% from the floor and 17% from beyond the arc over the first 23 games of the season, over the final 11 contests Felix connected on 42% of his shots from the floor and 44% of his three-point attempts, making 7 of his final 16 shots from downtown after making just 5 of his first 29.

There are a few key numbers that help illuminate the nature of the struggles that Felix faced over the course of his freshman season. The first is Felix's relatively modest 23.2 FT Rate, a reflection of how infrequently the height-challenged point guard managed to earn trips to the charity stripe. By way of comparison, Myck Kabongo's FT Rate in 2012 was 73.2, and the year before that Dogus Balbay's was 45.6.

Second, take a look at Felix's shot distribution numbers -- overall, and particularly at the rim:

Compare again Felix's shot distribution numbers with those of Kabongo last year and Balbay the year prior:

The third and final set of illuminating numbers are 248, 234, and 96, representing the total field goal attempts on the season for Felix this season, Kabongo in 2012 and Balbay in 2011, respectively. The point guard who was supposed to be a 15 minutes per game reserve wound up taking the most total shots, attempted a lower percentage of those shots at the rim, had the lowest field goal percentage on his shots at the rim, and converted the fewest drives to the rim into trips to the free throw line.

Tying all of that together, Javan Felix was asked on short notice to shoulder a disproportionately large share of the offense on a team that provided little in the way of complementary support, and to do so without possessing the physical skill set to be a primary creator on offense. Felix was in that sense set up to fail -- or at least struggle, which he did. While a more favorable situation in future years should help Felix develop into a more efficient and consistent player, this season also highlighted his key limitations that he'll have to overcome if he wants to be an impact player.

Season Highlight

Felix was absolutely brilliant in Texas' Big 12 opener in Waco, where the freshman played 43 minutes and scored 26 points, with 9 assists and just a single turnover, nearly leading Texas to a huge road upset before falling in overtime.

Season Lowlight

In Texas' final game before Kabongo's return, Felix finally broke down from all the minutes played with a disastrous performance in Austin against Oklahoma State. Marcus Smart and the Cowboys smothered Felix into a forgettable line of 8 points, 1 rebound, and just 1 assist against a season-high 8 turnovers. Ouch.

Season Grade: B+

Absent any context, Felix's numbers deserve a lower grade, but as discussed extensively above, Felix was in many ways thrust into an impossible situation this year and though he wasn't good enough to lead the team past the challenges it faced without Kabongo, neither was he responsible for the team's struggles, the blame for which fell much more heavily on players like Kabongo for his suspension and McClellan for his inability to step up into a leadership role.

Looking Ahead

With all that said, it's clear that if Felix is to raise his ceiling going forward he needs to develop into a much bigger threat shooting from beyond the arc and learn how to convert drives amidst the trees in the paint into trips to the free throw line. If both of those skills develop to complement the strengths of Felix's game, he'll be a very nice starting point guard for Texas. To the extent that those two skills remain limitations, however, Felix's value will be limited to providing complementary value in more of a reserve role.

Expect the starting point guard job to be Felix's to lose heading into fall practices, but look for incoming freshman Isiah Taylor to provide some of the quality play at point that will protect Felix from being overburdened with a bigger role than he's capable of playing.

Texas Longhorns Basketball 2012-13 Season Review: Ioannis Papapetrou's Enticing Debut

2013-04-18T22:51:06Z

Overview

Hark back to October and recall that heading into the season, none of us had actually seen Ioannis Papapetrou play basketball. The best guess I offered in my season preview wound up being pretty close to what we would get from the versatile freshman:

Who is Ioannis Papapetrou? Right now, he's whatever you want to project him to be. That's because none of us have really gotten a chance to see Papapetrou play yet. There simply isn't any film of the Greek export, leaving us to rely on scouting reports of the few who have seen him play in person.

I've spoken to a couple people who've been around the team the past couple months, both of whom managed to elevate my intrigue in Papapetrou even higher than it already was, which is saying something. As one recently wrote me in an email:

"Knowing the kinds of players you get off on, you're going to love this kid. He's coordinated, fluid in everything he does, understands the game, and really versatile. We can use him in a lot of little ways to help us get what we're looking for. And he's got consistent mechanics, which most need help with at that age but is a bitch to teach."

Needless to say, I'm dying to talk a lot more about Big Papa, but like everyone else I'll have to wait until tonight. Again, right now Papapetrou can be anything and everything we want to project into him, but the real question will be what his warts look like. Nevertheless, based on what I do know about the kid -- or think I know -- I've got a great feeling about his ability to contribute value in a lot of different ways, and can't help but think he might be one of those players who produces value just by virtue of being on the floor.

That's about right. The Greek Army Knife was solid or better in virtually every facet of the game, contributing more value and quality minutes than you expect from most true freshman. If Papi is able to improve along a normal development curve, Texas will have an excellent college basketball player on hand for the next 2-3 years.

What The Numbers Say

Papi's numbers were actually better against the more challenging competition presented by Big 12 opponents, improving on his non-conference numbers to average 10.4 points per game on 44% shooting overall, 38% from beyond the arc, and 63% from the line, while playing about 28 minutes per game. Impressive.

Well, except for that free throw shooting. While Papi improved from his horrific start to the season at the free throw line, he still only managed to hit 63% of his freebies during conference play, which is pretty poor for any player but truly bizarre for a kid stroking it at 38% from beyond the arc. I haven't gone back to look at how he's shooting free throws to see if there's an obvious flaw he might correct, but I have done a frame-by-frame break down his excellent form shooting jumpers and there's no reason his free throw percentage shouldn't be north of 75%. My bet is he gets it fixed this offseason.

The numbers confirm the variety of ways Papi contributes value when he's on the floor -- from his underrated defense, to his ability to draw contact and get to the line, to his consistent contributions on the boards. If he can cut down his turnovers and fouls committed by 25% next year, improve his free throw shooting, and continue to score efficiently while taking more shots, he can be a quiet 2nd Team All-Conference type of player.

Season Highlight

Was there any doubt at all what it would be? (Go to the 2:08 mark of the video.)

A sequence and a shot that no Texas hoops fan will soon forget.

Season Lowlight

Papi didn't have many horrible nights, but if there was a lowlight, then, it probably ought to be the team's loss to Chaminade in the opening round of the Maui Invitational, when Papi fouled out in just 19 minutes of playing time, or any time the Longhorns played -- who else? -- Kansas State. In Texas' three losses to the Wildcats, Papi managed just 7 points per game on 8 of 23 shooting and just 2 of 12 from beyond the arc, with only 2 assists against 7 turnovers. Like everyone else who wears burnt orange, Papi must kiss the purple ring.

Season Grade: A-

All things considered, Papi's debut season met even the more optimistic expectations, as he proved himself valuable on both ends of the floor -- a versatile player with a high basketball IQ, good instincts, and impressive physical skills. Although prone to the occasional concentration lapse and some issues with fouls, when he's dialed in Papi is a terrific, highly underrated defender. The poor free throw shooting was equally confusing and disappointing, but for the most part Papi was a pleasure to watch -- for his style of play, for the value he created, and for his charismatic personality.

Looking Ahead

Papi's ceiling isn't as high as some of the elite players, but as noted above: if he improves along a normal development curve and is able to cut to cut down both his turnovers and fouls committed by 25%, improve his free throw shooting, and continue to score efficiently while taking more shots, he can be a quiet 2nd Team All-Conference type of player next year. He's a lock to open the season as a starter and should average 25-30 minutes per game over the course of the season.