University of Texas

Carolina wins it all if……..

Posted by

0

The wait is over for Carolina fans. After coming up “one rebound away” from a national title, Tar Heels fans are hoping this year’s team will follow in the footsteps of the 1982 and 2017 championship squads, who returned to the national title game and won, after losing the previous year.

Carolina is bringing back 4 of their 5 starters from last season, as well as 2 key reserve players. According to NCAA Reference, 82.7 % of the minutes played, and 79.4% of their scoring returns from last year’s roster. All that being said, this is a totally different team without star forward Brady Manek. Northwestern transfer Pete Nance (yes from the Nance family) replaces Manek at the power forward spot, and much like a Jazz group replacing their bassist, the song may be the same, but the essence has certainly changed.

Nance’s game is quite different from the catch and shoot style of Manek’s stretch game. Pete can put it on the floor and has more of a face up game. It will be tough to replace Manek’s production. Not only was he a deadly outside shooter, but he was excellent playing off the ball, making good cuts to the basket at precisely the right time–in addition to having superb court vision as a high level passer. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that with Nance, the Carolina front line will be rock solid on defense with 6’11 Nance (a big who can guard on the interior and perimeter), 7 footer, and POY front runner Armando Bacot, and 6’8 small forward, Leaky Black (one of the best one on one defenders in the country). With a stout front line and probably the best backcourt in the nation, it is no surprise that UNC was ranked #1 in the pre-season polls. But there are many factors to all championship runs, and the most talented team does not always win the NCAA tournament–in fact, they usually don’t. A few things need to go right for Tar Heel nation to hang another banner up at the Dean Dome. Here’s what needs to happen for Carolina to be the last team standing:

Bench Production

The Tar Heels need a lot of luck. Many a championship has been derailed by a bad bounce, a tweaked ankle, broken bones, or ruptured ligaments. The Tar Heels will need to be both good and lucky for the team to hoist one up after a victory on the first weekend of April. There is no need for an Iron 5 to carry the load, as the Tar Heels are wildly talented across the board, but most of their talent on the bench is unproven. Small forward, Puff Johnson played well in the tournament, but has endured a great deal of injuries throughout his college career. He is already dealing with knee soreness that has kept him from playing the first two games of the season. Next off the bench out of Kinston, NC, is Dontrez Styles (if the city sounds familiar, its the hometown of both Brandon Ingraham and Jerry Stackhouse).

Dontrez was the only other bench player getting light to mid-heavy minutes in last year’s tournament run. So far, forward Tyler Nickel, a freshman, freshman guard, Seth Trimble, and Sophomore guard Demarco Dunn make up the remaining players to get minutes this season. The bench won’t have to put in too much work, but they will have to make an impact when they do play in order for Carolina to maximize its talent. Besides, Bacot, I think an injury to Pete Nance would be the only injury they could not absorb for a long (or key) period of time because not only will they be short a big man, but no backup will be available to spot Bacot.

The depleted Tar Heels just may have snuck by the Kansas Jayhawks (clearly the better and deeper team. Kansas needed to play poorly and Tar Heels needed to play near perfectly for the game to even be close) had Bacot not suffered the twisted ankle against Duke in the semi-finals. All the other positions have bodies that coach Hubert Davis can throw out for an extended period of time (which would only benefit these young cats as the season’s stakes get higher). Their front line on paper is stout, but no one is mistaking this for Dean Smith’s 93 championship team, with 7 footers just hanging out on the end of the bench, waiting to spell Eric Montross.

Who will get Brady Manek’s points?

Having a deadly shooter like Brady Manek really opens up the floor for easy baskets, both outside and in the paint. Manek barely got more than a dozen touches, but if you blinked you would miss a barrage of points in a matter of minutes. Having a catch and shoot big man to throw at defenders really opens up the floor, and allows the guards to handle the ball knowing there is a scorer who doesn’t need the ball in his hands all the time. I think this will be the biggest adjustment stylistically. From what I’ve seen so far in pre-season and the first 2 games, there is a lot of dribbling going on (they only had 4 assists as a team in the first game against UNC Wilmington). It would be nice to see some action from the big men out of the high low sets or just some straight up entry passes down on the block to Armando.

I believe Leaky Black is going to step up his offensive production. He seems more confident in his shot, and if he can be a reliable 3 and D wing, this will allow Nance to just get in where he fits in. Of course, Love and Davis, can get 30 on any given night. I think we will see a different hero depending on the opposing coaches’ “pick your poison” strategy. Carolina has 3 different starters who can take over offensively, and a monster on the glass in Armando Bacot. It will be interesting to see what actually works in real time against the Tar Heels.

Play Hard. Play Smart. Play Together

Everyone must improve upon last season.- Armando Bacot needs an effective jumper to open up the floor. Caleb Love needs to learn to value possessions and pick his spots of when to take over. Leaky Black will be needed for his defense and as a perimeter threat for this offense to run at its finest. Pete Nance has to find his niche within the offense and be a constant contributor on defense and on the boards. All the bench players have to maximize their time on the floor, and find ways to contribute in any way they can. Even the training staff and game managers need to be on point. Lastly, Coach Davis needs to really find out who can he count on when its time for a role player to make a play (or just hold a lead). There are no guarantees in a basketball season, but I like the Tar Heels’ championship chances a lot more if the team is fresh going into late March. Its really important that everyone contributes and that Coach Davis can keep the starters’ minutes down to healthy number. No More Iron 5. The key to a lengthy post season run will be balance.

Dean Smith used to say that there are 3 seasons in college ball: the ACC regular season, the ACC tournament, and the NCAA tournament. For a lot of people (UNC players are already on record saying its championship or bust), there will be great deal of disappointment if North Carolina isn’t the last team standing. However, when you consider the breaks that Carolina caught on their way to the Final Four, you realize just how hard it is to win six games in a row against the best teams in the country.

Last March, UNC played three #1 seed teams, and a # 2 seed on their way to the title game. They caught the number 1 seeded Baylor Bears on an off afternoon and won a game they had no business winning. After that, they were playing with house money. The UCLA game (# 2 seed) could’ve easily gone either way, but Caleb Love got hot in the second half. Carolina caught a tiny break when Purdue (who would’ve been a nightmare matchup for UNC with their frontcourt depth), got caught slipping against St. Peters. The Duke game was a classic, but could’ve easily gone the other way on a different night. And despite the close score, I feel the Kansas game was the perfect storm, Bill Self’s squad would’ve won easily in a best of seven series, but happened to play one of their worst halves of the season, and Carolina played a near flawless one.

But this goes to show just how fickle the hoop gods are. Tar Heels are a 1000-to-1 odds on to win this year, but if you’re not a betting person, and just a Carolina fan, my advice is just enjoy the ride, no matter how it ends. Last year’s run was my favorite tournament run since the Roy Williams’ 2003 Kansas undermanned team made it to the title game. And though neither team won its the final game, it was easy to appreciate just how hard both teams fought and clawed their way to the final stage on Monday night, with an entertaining and fun cast of characters on the court.

Every year the underdogs are celebrated, as they should be, but there is something to be said about a good team, overachieving to the point where they look like a great team. In the tournament, as well as in life, sometimes you come up short. It doesn’t mean you didn’t have a special season. I just hope the Carolina players and fans enjoy each step of the journey, no matter where it takes them.

Good Ass Games of the Week

Tuesday: : Duke vs Kansas

Neutral court. Nap town. Blue Bloods. Top ten. Nuff said. This game has a little bit of star power too. Its like a McDonald’s All American game.

Wednesday: Gonzaga vs Texas

Zags’ Drew Timme better not stray too far from Moody Arena if he knows what’s good for his mustache. Those Eastside hipsters’ facial hair will put his to shame. Timme will be digging for his clippers before the plane ride home. I hope the atmosphere in the new arena is electric, but you never know with Longhorns fans. As a rule of thumb, they tend to be more about pigskin than peach baskets, but they have been known to come through when a top 5 team rolls into town. Plus, the Longhorns are ranked very high at the beginning of the season. Might be worth checking out. Besides, its not like there is anything else to do on a Wednesday night. Enjoy the games this week.

BM

  Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, banging his head on the keyboard, trying to finish his backlog of writing projects. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

From Runnin’ Horns to Kevin Durant to Mo Bamba

Posted by

0

[The following is a chapter from my upcoming book, Tao of the Passing Big Man, and other essays. Due out if ,and when we survive this global pandemic.]

Tom Penders 

download

To some (okay, maybe just me), Tom Penders is considered the godfather of UT basketball. Before he got to the program, the team averaged less than 5,000 fans a season in a town that was apathetic to anything beyond the football team. The school hired Tom Penders to be head coach and the team immediately went from 16 to 25 wins in one season. Most importantly, Penders implemented an uptempo offense (dubbed the Runnin’ Horns) that was fun to watch. During his tenure at UT, the team averaged 87 points a game, won three southwest conference titles and had 8 NCAA appearances. The average attendance doubled and the Runnin’ Horns won on an average of 20 games a season. Although his tenure ended in a less than satisfactory manner, Penders set up the program to get locally and nationally ranked players to at least take a look at the University of Texas; making it easier for successor Rick Barnes to take the basketball program to yet another level of success. Penders recruited mostly system players that played well during the regular season, but they usually lost to superior teams at certain points in the NCAA tournament.

Despite not having much post season success, Penders put UT Men’s basketball [before Penders arrived, if someone told you they were going to a UT basketball game, you just assumed they were talking about the nationally ranked women’s team coached by the legendary Jody Conrad.]on the map with their fun and loose style of run and gun basketball; became the second most watchable team in the Southwest Conference next to the Arkansas Razorbacks. Penders  ran his own version of Nellie ball starting 3 guards (B J. Tyler, Roderick Anderson, and Terrence Rencher)– starting his 5 best, fastest players instead of setting lineups based upon position.

[The only other school I remember trotting out a 3 guard lineup at that time was FSU with a starting backcourt of Bob Sura, Sam Cassell and Charlie Ward–all three would go on to play in the NBA.]

Penders finished his tenure at UT with a 228-110 record while having only 2 losing seasons (one of them his final season with the team;finishing at 14-17).

 

 

Rick Barnes

Things really took off nationally for the Longhorns when Rick Barnes took over the program (from 1998 to 2015). Barnes recruited two National Players of the Year( T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant) to play for the program (something that was not easy to do in Texas. Most high school basketball players left the state to play college ball), and sent a slew of others to the NBA. Despite making 16 NCAA tournament in his 17 seasons, Barnes was fired after a 20-14 final season and a second round tourney loss. Barnes’ tenure is looked at as an unprecedented success as a UT Men’s basketball coach; going 402-180 in his time in Austin. UT had even made the Final Four–their first since 1947– in 2003, and had a #1 national ranking for the first time in team history. images

 

download (1)

 

 

Shaka Smart

In 2015, University of Texas fired Rick Barnes and replaced him with former VCU head coach, Shaka Smart. Smart’s tenure has yet to deliver on some of the big expectations fans had for him and the program, but Smart has kept the team competitive and sent players to the professional leagues. The program however, has yet to make a real impact on a national level in quite a while(two NCAA tournament appearances in 5 years–both first round exits.

The good news is that the basketball program is no longer being treated like a stepchild and the team is due to get a new arena in 2021. I hear that it will seat 10,000 fans (which might be the exact number of basketball fans in Austin) As excited as I am, that UT is finally getting a basketball only venue, it disappoints me that its only just now happening. I figured this would’ve been in the works the minute Kevin Durant declared fort he NBA draft. Smart’s coaching record is a respectable 90-78 at UT, but it still feels like UT basketball is at a crossroads. Perhaps they will get a bigger profile new coach to match their new venue. 

 

Players of note from University of Texas

 

Tom Penders Era (1989-1998)

Travis Mays, Dexter Cambridge, BJ Tyler, Terrence Rencher, Chris Mihm

 

Rick Barnes Era (1999-2015)

Maurice Evans, Chris Owens, T.J. Ford, Royal Ivey, James Thomas, Lamarcus Aldridge, Daniel Gibson, P.J. Tucker, Kevin Durant, D.J. Augustin, Damion James, Dexter Pittman, Avery Bradley, Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton, Cory Joseph, Myles Turner

 

Shaka Smart Era (2016-2020)

Isaiah Taylor, Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes

 

 

profile pic b mick  Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found in the KDVS studios making on air playlists. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

KU vs UT:Rivalry or Revelry?

Posted by

0

[The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Tao of the Passing Big Man, and other basketball essays; coming out someday if we ever survive this global pandemic]

Texas vs. Kansas provided fans with not only some of the most entertaining games of not only the Big 12, but in the nation.

One of the consequences of the formation of the Big 12 in 1996, was that it combined the strengths of the Big Eight and Southwest conference and covered up some of the weakness. Annual football powerhouses like Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A& M were able to pitch recruits on marquee games against in conference foes, while Kansas could continue its reign as basketball overlords (having won 43 outright conference titles with the next closest being Kansas State with 17).

Kansas would continue its dominance in the new conference even going undefeated with an all time great team in 2002 (being the first and only team to do so, so far). Although Kansas has won 17 of the last 21 titles (including 12 straight before the 2018-2019 season), there have been years where other schools were able to give them a run for their money; most notably, the University of Texas. 

At UT’s best, (during the T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant years) this matchup produced some of the most memorable games the conference and nation had ever seen. The reason these games were so memorable is that they had star power on both teams, with future NBA players in each game. Although Texas lost all four games, the quality of the games were so high, that even Kansas fans walked away with respect for how those Texas teams competed. T.J. Ford once remarked on Twitter that the 2003 game in Allen was unforgettable, and one of the most intense games he’d ever took part in. 

As of today, Kansas leads the series 33-9 and since the 2013-2014, Kansas has won 11 of 12 meetings. Que Lastima! It could’ve been something beautiful. It could’ve been a Big 12 rivalry, but in the Big 12, Kansas has no rival (and don’t say Kansas State; that’s more emotion than execution). 

 

Kansas at Texas February 11, 2002 

Kansas over Texas 110-103 OT

This high octane game featured the two highest ranked recruits at their position in Jayhawks’ point guard, Aaron Miles and the Longhorn’s T.J. Ford. It was a point guard clinic. This game got up to 100’s as Kansas finally prevailed in overtime 110-103. It was one of the best games I’d ever attended live, with both teams going up and down the court. T.J. Ford was already making his case as one of the best point guards in the nation, taking the precise amount of dribbles necessary to advance the ball and always throwing his passes in a place where teammates could either shoot it or make a basketball move. He was fundamentally sound and a good defender. 

Miles had the luxury of playing with three All American players in Drew Gooden, Kirk Hinrich, and Nick Collison. In addition to those guys, he had sharpshooter Jeff Boschee, and off the bench came Wayne Simien, Michael Lee and Keith Langford. Texas at the time was no slouch with James Thomas, Brandon Mouton, and Brian Boddicker on their side, and arguably one of the nation’s best perimeter defenders in future NBA role player, Royal Ivey. 

This game featured some impeccably run fast breaks, high flying alley oops, great defensive plays, and efficient offensive possessions, punctuated by a game tying jumper at 0:31 seconds in layup by Royal Ivey to send the game into overtime. At the time it was the loudest game I’d ever attended. The Frank Erwin Center was at 94 % capacity that night , at least half the crowd were Jayhawks fans. Seeing the Jayhawk faithful devotion and passion to their team (some people had driven down to Austin that day and were driving back to Lawrence immediately afterwards) piqued my interest, and the seed was planted to one day see a game at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas

Footnotes:

  • Aaron Miles 10 points, 13 assists
  • T.J. Ford 16 points, 11 assists
  • Brandon Mouton had 25 pts , 9-17 FG for UT
  • Wayne Simien had 17 points, 10 rebounds (7-9 field goals)
  • Jeff Boschee 21 pts, 6-13 (3 pt)
  • Drew Gooden 28 points, 7 boards on 12/23 shooting
  • Texas forward Brian Boddicker 19 points for UT (4-8 3 pt)
  • Kansas more than 50 points in the paint and 4 out of timeout plays that resulted in lobs at the rim (This was also the first time I’d seen the front court high-lo run to perfection with Drew Gooden and Nick Collison). 
  • UT Power Forward James Thomas 14 pts, 12 rebounds
  • Nick Collison had 5 points, 2 key rebounds and 1 assist in the last 6 minutes of play (regulation and OT combined)
  • Kansas at the time of this game was 53-0 all time when scoring 100 plus points
  • Kansas guard Aaron Miles almost ended the game in regulation when he missed potential game winning jumper at the buzzer
  • Texas had five players in double figures of scoring while Kansas had six
  • This game also featured 5 players who all ranked in the previous season as the top 100 high school recruits, point guards T.J. Ford (#10) and Aaron Miles(#11), and forwards, Wayne Simien(#67), and Keith Langford(#41).
  • Basketball fans were robbed of a NCAA tournament rematch between these two teams when UT lost to Oregon 70-72 in the Sweet Sixteen round. It would’ve been a memorable Elite Eight for all parties involved. 

 

Texas at Kansas January 27th, 2003: The Nick Collison game

Texas 87-Kansas 90

This Big Monday rematch (featuring two top 5 teams) did not disappoint. It was fast paced, up and down and a very intense crowd in Allen Fieldhouse. Playing on four fouls, Nick Collison took over down the stretch drawing a standing ovation from announcer Dick Vitale. T.J. Ford put up 25 points and had 10 assists. Aaron Miles put up 15 and 9 assists, Kirk Hinrich had 25 points as well, but it was Collison who put up an unforgettable 24 points and 23 rebounds; scoring in every way possible to put the team on his back. A # 3 ranked Texas squad came to Lawrence and gave the struggling Jayhawks all they could handle (Kansas had lost their previous 2 games making this matchup a must win). Texas had two chances at the end to tie the game (Kansas didn’t make their free throws–something that would continue to haunt them all year) and send it to overtime with 2 missed desperation three pointers before the buzzer sounded. This would be the last time head coaches Rick Barnes and Roy Williams would face off as Big 12 opponents.

 

March 3, 2007 Texas at Kansas Kevin Durant comes to Lawrence 

Texas 86-Kansas 90

 

One of this generation’s most fantastic phenoms came to basketball’s most hallowed court and left his mark. Kansas overcame a 16 point deficit as Kevin Durant scored 25 first half points to open the game (he would finish the game with 32 points). He had lots of help from his teammates. Damion James chipped in 12 points, A.J. Abrams had 18 points, and D.J. Augustin scored 19 points and dished out 13 assists. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, they only had 8 offensive rebounds compared to Kansas 13, and Texas only had 2 points all game from their bench. Despite all that, they almost came away with a W, and probably would’ve if not for an injury to Kevin Durant’s ankle with less than 11 minutes left in the game (keep in mind that KU was up at the time 71-67 when this occurred).

Texas jumped out to a 16 point lead, lost it in the second half but fought back at the end to get within three points. Julian Wright made an unbelievable block on D.J. Augustin’s 3 point attempt to tie the game. Wright would finish the game with 17 points, 13 rebounds 6 assists and 5 blocks.

What is most notable about this game was the sheer volume of NBA bound players who played. Brandon Rush, Julian Wright, Mario Chalmers, Sasha Kaun, and Darrell Arthur, and for Texas, D.J. Augustin, and Kevin Durant (Damien James and Dexter Pittman had cups of coffee in the league too).*(Keep in mind that Lamarcus Aldridge, Daniel Gibson, and P.J. Tucker all left school early for the NBA. Imagine the hype around this game had they still had those guys on the roster.)* 

Although it would not go into overtime like the Big 12 tournament championship game, the overall quality of play was better. Because it was in Lawrence–a college atmosphere not an over-sized arena–both teams played better overall in this match-up to decide the Big 12 regular season champion. This would prove to be the peak of these two basketball programs contesting each other.

2007 Big 12 Championship Tournament game (Durant gets a glimpse into his future)

Texas 84 at Kansas 88

The second meeting had the intensity of their first meeting, but lacked the efficiency and execution, as both teams were clearly exhausted going into their game at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant had little help scoring outside of A.J. Abrams’ 19 points. The team collectively shot 38 % and would’ve been blown out had it not been for Kevin Durant’s 37 points (12-30 shooting) 10 rebounds and 6 blocks. Kansas with its five future NBA players on the roster, had four guys score in double figures. In a harbinger of what was to come for Kansas (the next season), Chalmers hit a game tying 3 pointer off a dribble hand-off play to send it into overtime. Texas (again) jumped out to a solid lead, but couldn’t quite hold on. There were only 14 points scored total during overtime as Kansas just outlasted Texas despite Mario Chalmers fouling out at the end of regulation.  

That particular Kansas team would would go on to lose to UCLA in the Elite Eight, while Texas would get knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Nick Young, Taj Gibson and the USC Trojans. Neverthless, Kansas and Texas have never been able to recapture the magic that college hoops fans witnessed in the early to mid 2000’s. Despite sending numerous guys to the NBA, Texas hit a level of mediocrity that cost Rick Barnes his job after almost another decade.  Kansas would continue to dominate the league to this day, not missing a beat with head coach Bill Self who would parlay his success at Kansas into a Hall of Fame coaching career. Losing only Julian Wright the following season, Kansas would go on to march to the Final Four and beat Memphis in the title game; taking Self only 5 seasons to win a national championship at KU. 

 

BM