Horns #2

[overmaars]

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[Texanne]

Holy cow, aggy is ranked now! We should enjoy our lofty position while we have it, Horns, because -- as we all know -- aggy is a basketball school now, and it won't be long before they stomp our asses.

 

[Orangesweat]

 

[zork]

We'll see if they deserve to be top 5 in the coming month. Lots of tough matchups against top squads. Damion James needs to consistently be the man for his own draft status and for the Texas team to be the best they can be.

Damion needs to shine, lead this talented squad to the promised land.

 

[Rayug]

Probably should be a lot closer to #10, they are still not a "team" once they get that figured out then a ranking in the top 3 will be warranted.

 

[Bob in Houston]

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[overmaars]

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[Rayug]

We will see soon enough, offensively I can't really figure out what they are trying to do. It might be because of the wholesale changes in the lineup during the game but put together a solid "cohesive" game and Rice is no where within 10 points near the end of the game.

I get force feed a lot basketball living in North Carolina and in comparison to Duke on individual talent..I don't think there is anyone on Texas I would trade for someone on the Duke squad. I like our squad individually a lot more then Duke. But right now..if Texas played Duke..I would have to give a slight edge to Duke because they will have better players to exploit any shortcomings in our "cohesiveness." Once Lucas starts playing it'll be interesting to see the differences from Balbay. Barnes might have his best team this year, but he may also have to put in the most work this year (more then in past years) getting it all to mesh together and function on the same page.

 

[Bob in Houston]

OK, so Duke is better. Do you have some others?

I'm not trying to be nasty. Just want you to list some teams that you think would push Texas to the bottom of the top 10. I believe that's going to be harder than you think.

 

[Owlhorn]

The team I'm surprised with is Kentucky. They aren't horrible, but the talent that came in is not as good as expected. Patterson and Wall will have to carry them. They have strength inside, even if it is unskilled. Will be interesting to see them versus Carolina.

The positive team surprise is definitely Florida. They really gave Mich St fits. Duke also looks good as well. This is basketball though, so we get to enjoy watching these teams play each other early and late.

 

[Rayug]

I'm not saying they shouldn't be #1 or #2 when tournament time rolls around but right now, with the lack of experience #2 just seems a bit high right now.

Michigan St
Gonzanga
UNC
Syracuse
Maybe Florida
Duke

Lot of basketball with the ACC/Big 10 challenge happening so it'll sort itself out. The picture will be a bit clearer once 2010 is here and we have played a lot more games against quality opponents.

 

[treball]

this years defense will put us over the top!

 

[GoHornsGo90]

I can't believe nobody mentions Cuse as a surprise team. They have a better resume than anybody in the country by far right now and are absolutely crushing people.

To say that MSU, Zaga, or Florida should be ranked ahead of us is just lackluster thinking. Spartans have 2 losses and simply are NOT that good right now. Zaga lost to them and if it actually means anything to you we beat them in a scrimmage. Personally it couldn't mean less to me, but the way you are quantifying these rankings I guess that could make or break your thinking. Florida should not be in the conversation as a top team yet, I think it's pretty apparent to anybody that watches MSU that they have almost no cohesion on offense and my God they cannot shoot consistently for all those supposed great guards on their team. The interior is obviously a huge liability...

Duke is a team I have zero fear of at all. They have THREE guards on their entire roster, one of whom is a freshman. They would be lucky to make it through the game without one of them passing out from facing our pressure the entire 40 minutes. Their big men are beyond overrated and Singler struggles mightily against more athletic defenders. He seems like a perfect guy to let Hamilton or Williams have a shot at since he isn't quick at all. I'd assume they would give up some easy baskets underneath from his running through various screens all over the court, but straight up I think those two could both handle him successfully.

 

[Third Coast]

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[Bob in Houston]

We certainly know that Wesley Johnson could play. I went to a UNC board after those teams played and they were under the impression that he had suddenly developed.