Texas is 10 games into the season. While those games have included only one top 20 type opponent and a few reasonably decent teams (Pitt, LBSU, USC, Western Carolina), and the meat of the schedule is still ahead, here's a breakdown of the players' performances so far.Damion JamesMinutes down. Points, rebounds, fg shooting (particularly 3 point), steals up. Assists, turnovers down. A/T ratio down. Fouls down.
Playing the best of his career. Really got after rebounds against a bigger lineup yesterday. While UNC did have a lot of looks in close, James was very effective in preventing taller players from taking the ball 15 feet out and working him down. He's really better with the ball in traffic than in the past, even if I still want guards to lead the break.
Dexter Pittman
PPM, RPM up slightly. Biggest improvements--fouls per game have actually dropped, despite the increase in minutes, while blocks per minute have doubled. FG % no longer on pace to set new NCAA record, but a 9-10 game will fix that. 12, yes, TWELVE, offensive rebounds against UNC.
Dude is unstoppable when against smaller teams, and nearly so against long teams. He seems larger now than the vids that emerged from the summer and not as quick as he was then, and he still doesn't seem ready to put in a 30 minute game. But 1.85 points per shot!
Avery Bradley
Already second on the team in minutes per game, who says he can't shoot? He's over 40% on three pointers. Mid range shot needs work, but with all the layups he gets, he manages 47% from the field. Poor FT shooting (.519, but hit 4 of 5 yesterday), 2/1 a/t ratio, team leader in steals.
I had expected Bradley to be more active on the boards, especially on the offensive end, but I'm not about to complain about his play (other than the requisite complaint about FT shooting). Bradley and Balbay combine to create more headaches for opposing guards than any other combo in the country. Funny (or sad) thing is that Ward was the team leader in steals per game.
Dogus Balbay
Assists, steals, rebounds way up. FG% up. FT% down. A/T ratio way up and is tops in the conference at 3.3.
While he still can't shoot from outside, he's definitely the best at running the offense, much improved at finishing near the basket.
J'covan Brown
Only 3 games with more assists than turnovers. 97% ft shooting (rest of team is at 56%). If he was just woefully off during the Iowa-USC stretch (4-22), then he may prove to be deadly from 3 point range (12-24 in the other 6 games).
Brown is getting more comfortable with the team with each game; however, he needs to improve with the ball against pressure and reduce turnovers, particularly so he can be the guy with the ball at the end of games. With Bradley, Brown, and Balbay playing as well as they are, I don't see many minutes for the rest of the guards, except for Lucas as another ball handler/ft shooter at the end of games.
Jordan Hamilton
FG % .409. 3 point % .341. Third highest a/t ratio among team players averaging over 6 minutes a game. Third in rebounding per game, though behind Johnson, Wangmene, Chapman and Hill in rebounds per minute.
Has made some of the most acrobatic plays, some of the most exciting plays, some of the savviest plays, and a lot of really dumb plays so far. Hamilton's a/t ratio is nice to see, HIs ft shooting has been fairly poor, but he gets to the line too rarely for it to be significant. The rarity with which he goes to the line is significant. I would have expected him to drive more and create ft opportunities. I really think that he and Brown were hurt more by having a year off than people might think with respect to plain court sense. Even if the UNC game was a step back in the sense that he was trying to force things that weren't there, his last few games have been very good from a team offensive standpoint.Gary Johnson
After Mason, Johnson's minutes per game have taken the biggest hit, which isn't surprising considering the guys who have shown up. The result? FG% way, way up. FT % way up. PPS second only to Pittman.
He's always going to have trouble guarding much taller players, like Zeller yesterday, but I really like what Johnson does. He started very slowly this year on the offensive glass, but has picked that up considerably. His blocks. steals, and assists per minute are up, and his turnovers and fouls are way down.
Others
Justin Mason has effectively lost his starting job, even if he is on the floor at the opening tip. His minutes have been nearly halved, and he just doesn't deserve time over the three B's. Sad for him, but maybe he has the Craig Winder moments in his future.
Alexis Wangmene is more effective offensively than he was as a freshman and still battles for rebounds, but scarily his fouls per minute have increased.
Matt Hill and Clint Chapman. The question here is whether Chapman will be needed this year or should he redshirt. I'm a little unclear about hardship rules, but Chapman has now played 4 games. He can play as many as 10 games (I think), but can't play after the Colorado game, if a redshirt is intended. Texas has 5 more games through the Colorado game.
The question is really whether Texas can play with Pittman, Wangmene, and Hill as the only interior defenders. I tend to think it can, based on what we saw yesterday, but things may be uncomfortable in any game PIttman has foul problems.
Hill does some things very well defensively. For example, UNC was going to Zeller very effectively when Johnson was on him, then Hill came in and stoned Zeller on defense. Maybe it was merely a coincidence that Texas had its end of first half run against UNC with Hill on the floor. Maybe not. Unfortunately, I don't see anything from Hill offensively. He's only asked to set screens, but he doesn't seem that active in setting a strong screen and then trying to get to the basket on the switch, so I just don't know about him in that regard.
I like Hill and wonder what might have been had it not been for his foot problems, and I definitely see a need to have Chapman around in the 2011-12 season. I guess we'll know in a month.
Jai Lucas. I don't know, but I didn't like what I saw yesterday at all. That may seem harsh since it was his first appearance in a college basketball game in a year and a half, but he was immediately attacked successfully by UNC, as they had someone shoot over him on their first possession, and they then ran his man around a screen, creating an opening when Texas rotated and Lucas couldn't get through the screen. Unless Lucas improves on defense, I don't see him getting much time over Brown, Bradley, and Balbay, though another ball handler that can shoot ft decently should definitely see the floor late in games.
Overall
+11 rebounding. Last year, Texas was +6 in OOC games. The 05-06 team was about +13. A/t ratio is up. Steals are up. Blocks are up. Three point shooting is up and spread out among several players instead of concentrated on Abrams and the occasional shot by James or Atchley. Opp. shooting % is miserable. Team shooting % is up.
Competition hasn't been great as yeat, but wow, what a team assembled here. The "ifs" to make this a Final Four team aren't unreasonable. When this team gets after rebounds and defense the way it can, it doesn't need to shoot lights out. When it shoots even decently, the team is an easy winner in most games. When it shoots well, it can beat anyone.
Playing the best of his career. Really got after rebounds against a bigger lineup yesterday. While UNC did have a lot of looks in close, James was very effective in preventing taller players from taking the ball 15 feet out and working him down. He's really better with the ball in traffic than in the past, even if I still want guards to lead the break.
Dexter Pittman
PPM, RPM up slightly. Biggest improvements--fouls per game have actually dropped, despite the increase in minutes, while blocks per minute have doubled. FG % no longer on pace to set new NCAA record, but a 9-10 game will fix that. 12, yes, TWELVE, offensive rebounds against UNC.
Dude is unstoppable when against smaller teams, and nearly so against long teams. He seems larger now than the vids that emerged from the summer and not as quick as he was then, and he still doesn't seem ready to put in a 30 minute game. But 1.85 points per shot!
Avery Bradley
Already second on the team in minutes per game, who says he can't shoot? He's over 40% on three pointers. Mid range shot needs work, but with all the layups he gets, he manages 47% from the field. Poor FT shooting (.519, but hit 4 of 5 yesterday), 2/1 a/t ratio, team leader in steals.
I had expected Bradley to be more active on the boards, especially on the offensive end, but I'm not about to complain about his play (other than the requisite complaint about FT shooting). Bradley and Balbay combine to create more headaches for opposing guards than any other combo in the country. Funny (or sad) thing is that Ward was the team leader in steals per game.
Dogus Balbay
Assists, steals, rebounds way up. FG% up. FT% down. A/T ratio way up and is tops in the conference at 3.3.
While he still can't shoot from outside, he's definitely the best at running the offense, much improved at finishing near the basket.
J'covan Brown
Only 3 games with more assists than turnovers. 97% ft shooting (rest of team is at 56%). If he was just woefully off during the Iowa-USC stretch (4-22), then he may prove to be deadly from 3 point range (12-24 in the other 6 games).
Brown is getting more comfortable with the team with each game; however, he needs to improve with the ball against pressure and reduce turnovers, particularly so he can be the guy with the ball at the end of games. With Bradley, Brown, and Balbay playing as well as they are, I don't see many minutes for the rest of the guards, except for Lucas as another ball handler/ft shooter at the end of games.
Jordan Hamilton
FG % .409. 3 point % .341. Third highest a/t ratio among team players averaging over 6 minutes a game. Third in rebounding per game, though behind Johnson, Wangmene, Chapman and Hill in rebounds per minute.
Has made some of the most acrobatic plays, some of the most exciting plays, some of the savviest plays, and a lot of really dumb plays so far. Hamilton's a/t ratio is nice to see, HIs ft shooting has been fairly poor, but he gets to the line too rarely for it to be significant. The rarity with which he goes to the line is significant. I would have expected him to drive more and create ft opportunities. I really think that he and Brown were hurt more by having a year off than people might think with respect to plain court sense. Even if the UNC game was a step back in the sense that he was trying to force things that weren't there, his last few games have been very good from a team offensive standpoint.Gary Johnson
After Mason, Johnson's minutes per game have taken the biggest hit, which isn't surprising considering the guys who have shown up. The result? FG% way, way up. FT % way up. PPS second only to Pittman.
He's always going to have trouble guarding much taller players, like Zeller yesterday, but I really like what Johnson does. He started very slowly this year on the offensive glass, but has picked that up considerably. His blocks. steals, and assists per minute are up, and his turnovers and fouls are way down.
Others
Justin Mason has effectively lost his starting job, even if he is on the floor at the opening tip. His minutes have been nearly halved, and he just doesn't deserve time over the three B's. Sad for him, but maybe he has the Craig Winder moments in his future.
Alexis Wangmene is more effective offensively than he was as a freshman and still battles for rebounds, but scarily his fouls per minute have increased.
Matt Hill and Clint Chapman. The question here is whether Chapman will be needed this year or should he redshirt. I'm a little unclear about hardship rules, but Chapman has now played 4 games. He can play as many as 10 games (I think), but can't play after the Colorado game, if a redshirt is intended. Texas has 5 more games through the Colorado game.
The question is really whether Texas can play with Pittman, Wangmene, and Hill as the only interior defenders. I tend to think it can, based on what we saw yesterday, but things may be uncomfortable in any game PIttman has foul problems.
Hill does some things very well defensively. For example, UNC was going to Zeller very effectively when Johnson was on him, then Hill came in and stoned Zeller on defense. Maybe it was merely a coincidence that Texas had its end of first half run against UNC with Hill on the floor. Maybe not. Unfortunately, I don't see anything from Hill offensively. He's only asked to set screens, but he doesn't seem that active in setting a strong screen and then trying to get to the basket on the switch, so I just don't know about him in that regard.
I like Hill and wonder what might have been had it not been for his foot problems, and I definitely see a need to have Chapman around in the 2011-12 season. I guess we'll know in a month.
Jai Lucas. I don't know, but I didn't like what I saw yesterday at all. That may seem harsh since it was his first appearance in a college basketball game in a year and a half, but he was immediately attacked successfully by UNC, as they had someone shoot over him on their first possession, and they then ran his man around a screen, creating an opening when Texas rotated and Lucas couldn't get through the screen. Unless Lucas improves on defense, I don't see him getting much time over Brown, Bradley, and Balbay, though another ball handler that can shoot ft decently should definitely see the floor late in games.
Overall
+11 rebounding. Last year, Texas was +6 in OOC games. The 05-06 team was about +13. A/t ratio is up. Steals are up. Blocks are up. Three point shooting is up and spread out among several players instead of concentrated on Abrams and the occasional shot by James or Atchley. Opp. shooting % is miserable. Team shooting % is up.
Competition hasn't been great as yeat, but wow, what a team assembled here. The "ifs" to make this a Final Four team aren't unreasonable. When this team gets after rebounds and defense the way it can, it doesn't need to shoot lights out. When it shoots even decently, the team is an easy winner in most games. When it shoots well, it can beat anyone.
