If You Thought The Horns Football Team Was Bad

[Alkie]

Wait till you see this year's bball team.

This team sucks.   Slow and undisciplined.

Barnes gets way, WAY too much credit for just not being Penders.

[Lurch]

Wait till you see this year's bball team.

This team sucks.   Slow and undisciplined.

Barnes gets way, WAY too much credit for just not being Penders.

When/where did you see them?

[austro]

When/where did you see them?

They're on ESPNU right now. (Well, not RIGHT now, because it's halftime.) Alkie's exaggerating a little (imagine that!), but not a lot.

[drew corleone]

I got my basketball fill for the night with the Spurs.

[Alkie]

Alkie's exaggerating a little (imagine that!), but not a lot.

No I'm not.

This team is really not-good.  I wasn't exaggerating shit.

[austro]

No I'm not.

This team is really not-good.  I wasn't exaggerating shit.

It *is* the first game of the season. I'm willing to cut them a little slack.

[Alkie]

It *is* the first game of the season. I'm willing to cut them a little slack.

What does that have to do with anything?

This team is slow and this team is undisciplined.   They take exceptionally stupid shots, make bad passes, and are badly out of place on almost every play.   You think Rick Barnes will miracle their asses out of that sometime between now and March? 

[Bench]

What does that have to do with anything?

This team is slow and this team is undisciplined.   They take exceptionally stupid shots, make bad passes, and are badly out of place on almost every play.   You think Rick Barnes will miracle their asses out of that sometime between now and March? 

Didn't the opposite happen last year?  They started out gangbusters and proceeded to get progressively sloppier and undisciplined?

[JimR]

What does that have to do with anything?

This team is slow and this team is undisciplined.   They take exceptionally stupid shots, make bad passes, and are badly out of place on almost every play.   You think Rick Barnes will miracle their asses out of that sometime between now and March? 

you saw a different team than i did, and i was there. slow? hahahaha.

[MusicMan]

No I'm not.

This team is really not-good.  I wasn't exaggerating shit.

Did you watch the second half?

[JimR]

Wait till you see this year's bball team.

This team sucks.   Slow and undisciplined.

Barnes gets way, WAY too much credit for just not being Penders.

this is just flat wrong. i ignore most of you stuff because i know you're just playing a character, but this is so outrageously wrong, i could not help myself. i'll regret it later, i am sure.

[Alkie]

Did you watch the second half?

Went to bed.  What happened? 

They came out of the half and looked miraculously good?

[MusicMan]

Went to bed.  What happened? 

They came out of the half and looked miraculously good?

Yes.  They distributed the ball, chose much better shots, looked like the team I was hoping to see.

[JimR]

Went to bed.  What happened? 

They came out of the half and looked miraculously good?

not miraculously, just good. this team is talented but not deep. they won by 31. Hamilton is a completely different player. Brown, too. the two freshmen studs had true freshmen jitters and mistakes, but they will be stars. Wangmene looked much improved, and if he can provide some quality play, that will be very important.

[Alkie]

Illinois by 15 tonight.

[austro]

Illinois by 15 tonight.

Probably, but there's no shame in that: Illinois is going to be pretty good. However, I'm disappointed to see the return of the missed layups.

[Alkie]

Brandon Paul.

Write it down.

[austro]

Brandon Paul.

Write it down.

He certainly looks like a good shooter.

[Alkie]

He certainly looks like a good shooter.

Well, this clearly is a small fucking world.

So, I'm reading his bio to see more about his background and shit.....his mother is a client of mine.   Never said a word to me.

[loganck]

The freshmen are fun to watch.  Hamilton too.

[austro]

The freshmen are fun to watch.  Hamilton too.

Thompson is pretty damn quick.

[Alkie]

Great game so far.

[austro]

Great game so far.

Yes, very, very entertaining. Illinois' three-point shooting has been deadly.

I think the biggest surprise for me is that UT is holding their own on the boards and has actually blocked several shots. I was afraid that Illinois' front-line depth would overpower UT, but so far that hasn't happened.

[Alkie]

Yeah, there's still something about this Horns team that leaves me thinking they won't go deep in the tourney (as usual). 

They take a ton of forced low percentage shots (which have luckily gone down tonight) and still have the feeling of a bunch of individuals rather than a team. 

[loganck]

Yeah, there's still something about this Horns team that leaves me thinking they won't go deep in the tourney (as usual).  

I agree, but the more I watch, the more I'm excited for the future.

[roadrunner]

I don't know.  That article I posted earlier today totally changed my outlook.  I know what to expect from Barnes' teams, but now I'm encouraged and interested to see how much these offseason changes will actually affect the team over the course of a season.

[jbm]

My first chance to see Thompson. Very impressive. Looks like a leader also.

[JaneDoe]

Could we put just a couple more logos on the court?  Geez...

[roadrunner]

Man Thompson looks like the real deal, but he definitely won't help our free throw woes.  Holy hell I could shoot those better with my hands tied behind my back.

[hostros7]

Yeah, there's still something about this Horns team that leaves me thinking they won't go deep in the tourney (as usual). 

They take a ton of forced low percentage shots (which have luckily gone down tonight) and still have the feeling of a bunch of individuals rather than a team. 

How does UTEP's squad look this year?  Or, at least, what are the prognosticators saying?

[roadrunner]

God watching this team miss free throws might be the most frustrating thing in the world.


Part 2 of the article (didn't know it was a 2-parter) if anyone cares:

http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2010/11/16/inside-texas-basketball-part-ii/

[MusicMan]

A free throw coach, Rick.  Look into one.

[Alkie]

Looks like I missed a hell of a game.  Went to bed midway through the 2nd.

Looking at the boxscore...

1)  57% from the line.   Wow.   You almost have to try to miss that badly.

2)  6 total assists from your guards.   In an overtime game.   Six.   

3)  If I had just seen those stats, I'd have thought they got killed.  But they didn't.  They beat a pretty good Illini team in what sounded to be a pro-UI crowd.   Nice win.

[roadrunner]

Looks like I missed a hell of a game.  Went to bed midway through the 2nd.

Looking at the boxscore...

1)  57% from the line.   Wow.   You almost have to try to miss that badly.

2)  6 total assists from your guards.   In an overtime game.   Six.   

3)  If I had just seen those stats, I'd have thought they got killed.  But they didn't.  They beat a pretty good Illini team in what sounded to be a pro-UI crowd.   Nice win.

Illinois wasn't exactly lights out from the line, either, so that helped.  Plus, Tristan Thompson made his free throws in the second half effectively taking away any "hack a shaq" plan.

The offense looked pretty good overall, despite a late 3-4 minute drought without a field goal.  What is surprising is that the team struggled to execute in transition but overall played well in the half court sets....which is like the exact opposite of every Rick Barnes team ever.

[MusicMan]

Looks like I missed a hell of a game.  Went to bed midway through the 2nd.

Looking at the boxscore...

1)  57% from the line.   Wow.   You almost have to try to miss that badly.

2)  6 total assists from your guards.   In an overtime game.   Six.   

3)  If I had just seen those stats, I'd have thought they got killed.  But they didn't.  They beat a pretty good Illini team in what sounded to be a pro-UI crowd.   Nice win.

I think I am going to enjoy everything about this team except for FT's and J'Covan.

[Ron Brand]

2)  6 total assists from your guards.   In an overtime game.   Six. 

That's on the man-to-man pressure by the Illini on the guards. The positive in this is that Texas' guards kept the turnovers to a minimum in the face of that coverage.

Thompson had five blocks. Texas held Illinois to 25.6% shooting in the second half.

[austro]

I think I am going to enjoy everything about this team except for FT's and J'Covan.

Balbay's penchant for taking the ball all the way under the basket on the break and then jumping and trying to figure out who to throw it to drives me nuts. He made one layup that was a good take, but three or four times he took it all the way under and then tried to figure out what to do. And the really frustrating part was that he could have just laid it off to a wing for a layup if he would have just passed the ball at the free throw line.

[austro]

That's on the man-to-man pressure by the Illini on the guards. The positive in this is that Texas' guards kept the turnovers to a minimum in the face of that coverage.

Thompson had five blocks. Texas held Illinois to 25.6% shooting in the second half.

Thompson gets off his feet in a hurry. And it doesn't seem like he ever gives up on a play.

[Duke]

Looks like I missed a hell of a game.  Went to bed midway through the 2nd.

Looking at the boxscore...

1)  57% from the line.   Wow.   You almost have to try to miss that badly.

2)  6 total assists from your guards.   In an overtime game.   Six.   

3)  If I had just seen those stats, I'd have thought they got killed.  But they didn't.  They beat a pretty good Illini team in what sounded to be a pro-UI crowd.   Nice win.

It was a nice win.  The Horns have things to work on but I like the way they look so far.  TT's turn around is sweet.  They aren''t deep so need to stay away from injuries.  Can't wait for the game with Pitt tonight.

[JimR]

this team will get better and better. fun times.

[Lurch]

Part 2 of the article (didn't know it was a 2-parter) if anyone cares:

http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2010/11/16/inside-texas-basketball-part-ii/

During the scrimmage, Johnson got a ball in the post, did a drop step, and attempted to reverse dunk as Thompson defended him well. GJ bricked and Barnes went apeshit. “Can you not do what we’ve taught you? Can you not do what we’ve drilled every day a thousand times? Again!”

Johnson was fed in the post again, faced up, faked a drive, and then nailed a feathery 12 footer. Barnes screams,”Goddamn this is an easy fucking game if you’ll do what you’re supposed to Gary.”

Love it

[kevwun]

This team is so much more fun to watch than last season and the offense has gotten much better.  Everyone figured Thompson would be at least a two year guy because he was supposed to be raw offensively.  He has completely blown away incoming expectations.  The only thing that might keep him around for another year is that he's a little undersized, but his athleticism might nullify that.  I think they probably have a ceiling of the Sweet 16 and that's fine.  Last season could have destroyed everything Barnes has built, but he did some soul searching after it was over and has made some positive changes.

[JimR]

This team is so much more fun to watch than last season and the offense has gotten much better.  Everyone figured Thompson would be at least a two year guy because he was supposed to be raw offensively.  He has completely blown away incoming expectations.  The only thing that might keep him around for another year is that he's a little undersized, but his athleticism might nullify that.  I think they probably have a ceiling of the Sweet 16 and that's fine.  Last season could have destroyed everything Barnes has built, but he did some soul searching after it was over and has made some positive changes.

Kabongo might keep him around another year.

[kevwun]

Another good game.  Joseph had a brain cramp at the end, but I was extremely impressed with how they kept clawing their way back in to the game.  Officials were all over the place last night.  I hate it when they're like that.  It's never good when the players have no idea what's going to be called as a foul.  Call it tight or let them play, but don't alternate between the two all night.

[jbm]

One of the better defensive efforts in years. Very impressive.

The offense is so improved from years past. It doesn't seem like it depends on an star point guard any more.

[Alkie]

Damned impressive.  Massive win.

[austro]

Damned impressive.  Massive win.

These guys work harder on the boards than any Horns team I've seen in several years.

[Alkie]

These guys work harder on the boards than any Horns team I've seen in several years.

I missed the first 37 minutes of the game tonight at dinner, but that's definitely a good sign.   Bad fundamental rebounding makes me something something.   Boxing out is ridiculously easy to do.

[JimR]

I missed the first 37 minutes of the game tonight at dinner, but that's definitely a good sign.   Bad fundamental rebounding makes me something something.   Boxing out is ridiculously easy to do.

the defensive pressure all night was outstanding. fun team to watch.

[sporadic]

Boxing out is ridiculously easy to do.

yeah, 100% effort.  But, boxing out your guy don't show up on sportscenter (unless you grab 20+ rebounds).  Watching guys mail it in who are not in perfect rebounding position makes me crazy...rebounding has to be viewed as a team activity.

[austro]

the defensive pressure all night was outstanding. fun team to watch.

There were several times last night where offside defenders made great rotations to help out somebody who was in trouble and completely shut down an opportunity. The team defense was great, and although he doesn't get much pub, Matt Hill's contributions are significant. Hamilton has improved his D a lot, too.

[roadrunner]

I love this team.  Every night it's somebody different stepping up.

[94CougarGrad]

So they snapped Michigan State's home non-conference winning streak last night, I heard? Very nice. We'll be at the Jan 15th game. We got tickets to that game for the older son's birthday. It's OU, so we're looking forward to it.

[austro]

This just in: Tristan Thompson is a human pogo-stick. What a quick jumper.

[94CougarGrad]

This just in: Tristan Thompson is a human pogo-stick. What a quick jumper.

He'd better not be too tired to travel to MTSU this Thursday with our Mean Green.

(We've got a Tristan Thompson, human pogo-stick up here at UNT too.)

[roadrunner]

UConn will be fun on Saturday

[kevwun]

This turnaround is nothing short of amazing.  So much fun to watch this team.  Destroying the piggies was a nice bonus.