Texas Basketball Report 2.5

by PB @ BON on Jan 7, 2008 2:00 AM CST in Basketball

If you would have told me before the season that Texas would win two of its four non-conference games against Tennessee, UCLA, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, I'd have gladly accepted that as a success. Texas did just that, and a success it was. Just as important, Texas held serve against every other opponent on its schedule, picking up solid wins against New Mexico State, Oral Roberts and St. Mary's along the way.

Facing as tough a nonconference schedule as I can remember in my lifetime, Texas enters Big 12 play at 13-2, with two wins over Top 10 teams to pad its NCAA resume. Though the selfish part of me wants that Wisconsin game back, it's not an actual complaint. This year's non-conference performance exceeded even the highest of preseason expectations.

Most exciting of all, Texas accomplished all this without any inside post game to speak of. When Gary Johnson was held out due to his heart condition, Andrew and I agreed that this was a Texas team with whom we'd need to be patient. Our highest hopes centered around picking up one win over Tennessee, UCLA, or Michigan State, and avoiding any bad losses to the rest of our non-con foes. We agreed that we probably wouldn't see the best of Texas until February and the heart of conference play.

But here we are, 13-2, with two of the most impressive wins of the season from any team.

Ranking The Wins

63-61 at UCLA

97-78 vs Tennessee (neutral court)

81-62 vs St. Mary's

102-87 vs New Mexico State (neutral court)

66-56 vs Oral Roberts

88-72 vs North Texas

67-59 vs TCU

80-54 at Rice

73-42 vs UC Davis

96-81 vs Texas State

58-37 vs UT-SA

98-61 vs Texas Southern

100-52 vs Arkansas Monticello

Grading The Horns

DJ Augustin - He's taken a big leap forward from what was already a very solid freshman showing. Better quickness, decision-making, and improved shooting. If he can cut his turnovers by 15-20%, he'll be the best point in the country, if he's not already. Grade: A

AJ Abrams - The dramatic improvement in his scoring inside the arc makes him 50 times more useful to this team than he was last year. He's in a terrible shooting slump from downtown, but still sits at 40% for the season. Defense is improved overall, but there are lapses. Grade: B+

Damion James - Shooting 49% from the floor. Has hit 11 of 20 three pointers. Averaging 10.8 boards per game. Much more fluid with the ball in his hands. Can create his own shot. Needs to improve from the free throw line (55%). Grade: A

Connor Atchley - Having been asked to play 30+ minutes per game this season, Connor has responded with 11.1 points and 5.9 boards per game. Still isn't a physical presence inside, but has developed his overall game tremendously. Basketball IQ is terrific. Helps the team in little ways immensely. His 34 blocks and 18 steals are utterly fantastic. Grade: A

Justin Mason - His offensive game is completely lost (39% from the field; 26% from downtown), but he remains a solid contributor. I don't worry about him in the long-term, but he's got a big mental leap to make to regain his offensive confidence and become a useful player on that half of the court. 24 steals and 42 assists are both excellent. He'll be fine. Grade: C+

Dexter Pittman - AW is right; he's still a year away. He's shown flashes of utility, but we've got a long way to go before there's consistent production. Grade: C

Alexis Wangmene - He's raw, raw, raw... but there's talent here. I think by March he's giving Texas 10 important minutes per game. It's going to come in baby steps for him, but he's got the tools to give Barnes things he likes. Grade: B

Clint Chapman - Not ready yet. Chappy's got good feet and a nice skill set, but the game's moving too fast for him right now. Big 12 play will swallow him whole. With Johnson back, I don't expect him to play much from here forward. He's going to be an interesting player by the time he's a junior, but Texas fans should be patient. Grade: C

Non-Conference MVP Ballot

DJ Augustin

1a. Damion James

Connor Atchley

AJ Abrams

All four have been the MVP of various games; all four have taken enormous steps forward as basketball players from last year. Augustin is the clear MVP, but Damion James truly is nipping at his heels. There aren't enough superlatives to describe how far along this team has come since last year. We're not without weakness, we're far from invulnerable, but these guys have done an amazing job already in 2007-08. This is why we love Rick Barnes.

Texas Basketball Report Archives
TBR 2.1
TBR 2.2
TBR 2.3
TBR 2.4
TBR 2.5

--PB--

0 recs | Comment 15 comments

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Comments

I will give Rick Barnes an

A+ for preparing us with an extremely challenging schedule, and contributing to the improvement of all our players, especially Atchley.

by goingforthecorner on Jan 7, 2008 3:50 AM CST 0 recs

Wingman, etc.

I agree with your assessment regarding the first half. And how great it is to have a surplus of talent on the front line with three strong starters and Dex, Chappy, Mooney, and Wingman all able to contribute some quality minutes.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but Wingman reminds me an awful lot of Hakeem Olajuwon. Both come from Africa as question marks but with great physical attributes. Both are amazingly quick and graceful for big men. Both made modest contributions their first year (as I recall Olajuwon was redshirted -- imagine that) before having breakout sophomore seasons. With another year of weight training and a trip to big man camp, Wingman could be a star next year.

Finally, I'm a bit surprised Harrison has not had more minutes. Any idea why?

by Caradoc on Jan 7, 2008 11:52 AM CST 0 recs

Wingman, etc.

I don't actually understand why Mooney is playing so many minutes but I assume it has something to do with motivation or education of the more talented big man subs. When Mooney guards somebody, they tend to be encouraged to attack the bucket. When Wingman guards somebody, they tend to be intimidated and pass off the ball.

Wingman is an amazing speciman (don't think he needs any weight training, he looks plenty strong right now) but I would not put him in the same category as Olajuwon as far as grace, speed, height, or jumping ability go. I have been watching him pretty closely when he plays (trying to figure out how good he could potentially become) and he is not as quick as I had hoped (but I had reeally high hopes). He is about the same height as Damion and Gary and they are more explosive athletes. Maybe once he understands basketball better, he will move more instinctively and thus more rapidly. I hope you are right though. I would love to see Wingman playing more minutes and am a big fan.

I have been a little disappointed that Pittman is not further along this year but I have not given up hope that he will get in decent shape before the end of the season (definitely a minority view, I think). What do you think?

by Kafka on Jan 7, 2008 12:29 PM CST up 0 recs

grades

Mooney - A

Just 'cause...

He tries like hell when he's out there.

by SelimSivad on Jan 7, 2008 12:30 PM CST 0 recs

I've only seen him in the St. Mary's game

but he seems to move his feet surprisingly well on defense for a big, balding, white guy, and he seems very comfortable on the floor, if you know what I mean, unlike Dex, Wingman, and Chappy. if all you want is defense and rebounding to spell Johnson, James, and Atchley, he's become a solid option, seemingly out of nowhere, from what i can tell.

by littlevisigoth on Jan 7, 2008 1:55 PM CST up 0 recs

Agree

Agree with pretty much everything you wrote except that I have not yet given up on Pittman. While I wrote a couple of weeks ago that I was disappointed in Pittman's progress in the last 12 months, in the last couple of weeks he has improved noticeably. He still has a ways to go but it is not hopeless for this season.

My grades for Barnes:
Recruiting: A
Player skills development:A
Player conditioning development: A
Defensive coaching: A
Offensive strategy: C

I hope Barnes is keeping his offense under wraps so that he can surprise the opposition at a time when a surprise is urgently needed. I see many (most?) of the other teams I am watching are running offenses that rely much more on passing than dribbling. these teams have improved their offensive strategy as the season has progressed and are getting easy baskets from well designed plays.

I hope that we're going to see the horns become much more passing oriented, employ pick and roll more productively (let's try this with Damion and Gary as the picker/rollers), deal with presses more intelligently, use lots of alley oops, use lots of back door door plays, and spread the ball around on offense (become less selfish).

I think mason should be playing more minutes than he did last game (16, I think). he provides something the team desperately needs (good defense at the guard position) while he is weak at something (offense) that the team has plenty of. The minutes should come at the expense of Abrams. He is strong on offense but the horns are already rich in offense. Mason is far superior to Abrams at guard D (where the horns are weak). Barnes should at least play both combinations enough (i.e. connor/damion/gary/augustin/abrams vs. connor/damion/gary/augustin/mason) to see how they compare.

Wingman needs more minutes.

I would like to see Connor, Damion, Gary, Wingman, and Mason playing a few minutes at the same time playing pressing D. I think these guys could be an awesome shock force disrupting the other team's offense.

by Kafka on Jan 7, 2008 1:07 PM CST 0 recs

Don't hold your breath

for a better offense. This is Barnes' offense, and I don't see it changing.

I dont agree on Mason. It is not as simple as you make it out to be, having him in hurts the other players' offense as well, because his man is free to double team. When AJ is in it limits the amount that a team can double, and forces the player defending AJ to get tired fighting through picks and face guarding.

Connor, Damion, Gary, Wingman, and Mason - who is going to handle the ball?

by Wells on Jan 7, 2008 1:50 PM CST up 0 recs

Well...

Definately not a lineup to leave in for very long.

Mason would handle the ball. But the point would be defense.

Hell you could have Connor playing at the 2, just dont let him dribble too much.

It would be funny to see, but not for more than a minute.

by BoddickerIsClutch on Jan 7, 2008 3:03 PM CST up 0 recs

Reply

Many (most?) college teams don't have 5 super offensive threats in their lineup but they are still able to run their offenses fine.

It is tough to double effectively when the action is on the other side of the floor (i.e. it is pretty easy to construct an offense that makes it tough to double effectively off one specific player). It is also easy for an ignored player to set a pick for a strong offensive player who is then free for a wide open shot (because there is no one to switch because the picker's defender is off double teaming somewhere).

You also can't completely ignore Mason because he can just go to the bucket for a layup. He can handle the ball well, so he can also always just take it to the hole and pass. Mason is not going to stay in his slump forever, either.

Most (all?) coaches love to force other teams to double team one of their guys.

When Connor, Damion, Gary, Wingman, and Mason are in as shock troops (basically just a strong defensive team that presses when on D), Mason would play point guard. The offense would emphasize passing more. The hope is that these guys could force some turnovers. I would just like to see what happens (i.e. it is just a novelty rotation). If you ever have to rest Augustin and Abrams at the same time, this grouping might be useful.

by Kafka on Jan 8, 2008 12:45 AM CST up 0 recs

Mason

You are right, but when I watch him when he is in, he is sitting in a corner, wait for the spot up three as his man drops into the paint, but when he gets the ball he is not hitting the three. Maybe it is more of an adjustment that Barnes has to make to help the offense when Mason is in.

As for the 4 post lineup, I think it would be ugly any time you get into a half court set, on offense or defense.

by Wells on Jan 8, 2008 7:19 AM CST up 0 recs

Good points

Have to agree with both points.

It is obvious that it is more challenging to construct an offense when you replace Abrams with Mason. It can be done but it is work.

For sure, if the Connor/Gary/Wingman/Damion/Mason lineup did not force turnovers in the press or half court press, they would tend to have problems on O (yes, it would probably get ugly) unless they had a very structured O. As I said, it is just a novelty grouping that I would like to see to understand how effective they would be on D.

by Kafka on Jan 8, 2008 9:59 AM CST up 0 recs

Are you related to Mason?

I know you love the guard defense and all, but when you sub in D for lots of points it just doesn't equate. Mason has not shown that he deserves to be taking AJs minutes.

Mason is a valuable role player on this team, and I agree that he should get more minutes, maybe even 25. He does not, however, need to be in there airballing 3s and bricking lay-ups for 35 minutes a game. Period.

by jimmer on Jan 8, 2008 8:59 AM CST up 0 recs

He's my brother

25 minutes is probably about right. Mason shoots very little right now (1 shot last game) so the airballs are not a big worry. Just to be fair, we should mention that Abrams was 6 for 15 in the last game.

You can sub in D for O, when the other 4 players are either good or excellent on O and 3 of those 4 are under utilized on O. When Augustin, Damion, Connor, and Gary are on the floor, that is more than enough offensive fire power to accomodate a weak offensive 5th player. It actually works better to give connor, Damion, and Gary the shots they deserve and very efficiently convert to points.

the main problem for the horns is D. It is a huge challenge to play real good D with Augustin and Abrams on the floor at the same time and the horns are frequently forced to play zone to hide them. It is very difficult to challenge the 3 and rebound well out of a zone which means that it is tough to play real good D out of the zone. You can't go far in March without playing excellent D.

If you play Mason with Augustin/Connor/Damion/Gary, the horns then have 4 excellent defenders/rebounders and can easily accomodate 1 defensively average 5th player (Augustin). With that group, the horns can play pretty intense man to man D. This can really elevate the horns to becoming an excellent D team. The horns are much less vulnerable to the guard post up with that group. With Mason in the game, there is less defensive stress for Augustin (he does not have to guard the big guard when he posts up, for example).

If you substituted Wingman for Connor or Damion or Gary (for example), you would substitute Abrams for Mason at the same time so that there would be sufficient offensive firepower on the floor (i.e. Abrams would still play a bunch of minutes, more than Mason).

If you are going to play mason 25 minutes, it better be with offensive players who can take up the offensive slack.

by Kafka on Jan 8, 2008 10:23 AM CST up 0 recs

Tell momma to cook up some FG soup

Alright, excellent points. 25 minutes for Mason.

He only took one shot last game b/c Barnes said if you don't make the first one don't shoot anymore.

Just to be fair:

AJ FG% .474
Mason FG% .394 (only Harrison has a lower FG%)

## SUMMARY GP-GS Min FG% 3PT% FT% R/G A/G STL BLK PTS/G
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
03 Abrams, A.J......... 14-14 35.3 .474 .395 .875 2.9 1.5 20 1 18.4
24 Mason, Justin....... 15-14 32.7 .394 .258 .636 3.9 2.8 24 4 7.4

Of course this doesn't include defense (though it does have steals), but it is interesting to look at the two season lines.

I think the Horns are really good at helping in man D.

by jimmer on Jan 8, 2008 3:55 PM CST up 0 recs

Horns are really good at helping

in man D is true. Barnes is an excellent D coach and it shows.

Abrams is far superior to Mason on O. Abrams will actually get more shots if he is playing when one of the other main offensive threats (such as Augustin, Damion, Gary, or connor) is on the bench.

by Kafka on Jan 9, 2008 12:53 AM CST up 0 recs