Biggest difference this year

Texanne

Texanne

5,000+ Posts
I admit that I am no basketball expert, and you guys might shout me down on this, but to me, the biggest difference between this year and last is that we have a legitimate presence inside.

Tristan Thompson seems to be able to do all the things that Dexter Pittman couldn't -- or wouldn't -- do. He is strong under the hoop: he uses his body well to block people out, he fights for rebounds, and just generally uses his size in a nasty way against the opponent.

He makes clutch plays in the paint that allow us second and third chances at the basket.

Plus he gets back on defense pretty quickly for a big guy.

Oh, Canada ... I thank you for the Double T!
 
Team chemistry and offensive rebounds. Unfortunately free throws are still our Achilles heel.

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Definitely a factor, but there are a number of reasons. With a new baby I have watched the least amount of Texas basketball since I went to school (in the mid 1990s), but I have gotten a pretty good feel in the 5-6 full games that I have watched and the 10 or so partial games I have watched as well).

Reasons (in order of importance):
1. Team chemistry
2. Jordan Hamilton growth
3. Tristan Thompson
4. Gary Johnson (the guy is clutch, relentless on offense and defense, and is nails from 15 feet)
5. Dogus Balbay and a good rotation at PG (J'Covan Brown and Jai Lucas provide good minutes off bench and Corey Joseph can slide over as well).
6. Players accepting their roles (which fits with #1 as well).

I cannot wait to see if Cory Joseph will become even more of a factor as the season goes on then he already is. If he does, this could be a special season.
 
1. Team chemistry/attitude
2. Barnes and his approach to each game
3. No Avery Bradley
4. Meaningful minutes for Hill/Wangmene instead of Dex/Chapman.
 
Forgot to add the fact that there is no possibility of Dogus Balbay and Justin Mason on the court at the same time so the opposing defense can play 5 against 3 on defense. When you have two guys that cannot shoot on the floor at the same time, it really makes it difficult for the other 3. You can deal with 1, but 2 makes it too difficult.
 
Under Barnes, I don't think we've had an offense that focused on getting the ball to the bigs since Chris Mihm. The guards have always passed it around the perimeter, looked in to the post briefly then passed it back up top.

It looks to me like the offense is centered around inside out ball movement, with TT being the #1 option if he's single covered. If he's doubled, then he's opening up shots on the perimeter.
 
Jordan and Brown (to a lesser extent) acting like grownups instead of spoiled rotten punks. Don't lay the poor chemistry on Bradley.

Upperclassmen with mature, team oriented attitudes.

Great play from Balbay who was lost for half of last season.

Better than expected play from Joseph.

Incredible reconstruction of offensive coaching methodology by Rick Barnes and staff.

Better than expected play and maturity from TT. He is bucking for All American as a freshman.
 
Biggest difference is last year Texas did not have Thompson and Joseph. Both of these freshmen are huge contributors on the court and toward having a better overall team.
 
Reasons 1-10 for me would be chemistry. These guys work together, believe in each other, know their roles, accept their roles, and play within those roles.

They don't ***** about minutes or about who takes the last shot or about having to defend. They only seem to care about winning.

That said, acquiring a future NBA lottery pick at power forward is a big plus.
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The biggest obvious differnce that I have seen is ball movement and screens.
If you would have given me a nickel for every screen set last season, I'd be lucky to have a dollar.
High schools ran better offenses than we did. It was bad.
 
Texas has two guards that can play defense, handle the ball, and shoot. Last year Texas had zero guards who could do all three.
 
does bradley still get the 1.4 million even though he's in the d-league? also, how is he making more than shaq (an old and hobbled shaq i know)?

skc
 
He still gets the cash in the D-League too.

And for everyone saying that he should have stuck around to develop, the NBA doesn't have rules like the NCAA does about practicing and "development." It's pretty much the same reason CJ Miles never showed up to Texas. He'll get plenty of coaching over the offseason, and I expect that he'll be ok within a few years as a decent guard option off the bench.

That said, we are much better without him.
 
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