I was wrong

W

Wulaw Horn

1,000+ Posts
Bigtime, about this team.

That was the most disappointing and depressing game I've seen since the Duke fiasco at MSG I've seen the horns play.

I am pissed at this team. We do not seem to compete, at all. Barnes has to seemingly beg Connor or Damion or the like to play hard and do what he wants. Just a lack of competitiveness not often seen from a UT bball team.

I also blame barnes for the loss. We should have been pressuring full court for most of the game. OU's guys had their tongues hanging out due to fatigue. When we finally did press it was too little, too late, but we turned them over 3 times in a row. Should have been pressing even if for no other reason but to tire out a very thin team.

Just not happy in the least about the effort level and lack of manliness that the horns played with. A really bad team that seems to be getting worse is what I see right now.
 
I'm dissappointed in this team. And while I agree about the lack of leadership and identity, I don't think the up-tempo is the right strategy.

Actually just the opposite. We should be playing a half-court game. Pound the ball in the low-post with Damian, Gary, and Dex. Use AJ to spot up when the defense sags in or goes zone.

Same thing on defense. Pack it in. Make defenses shoot over us. Use Atchley, Hill, and Chapman to contest shots - fouling when necessary. Then, dominate the boards.

Think back to the early Barnes days. We'd win ugly, but still win.
 
I fully concur Horn Identity. I know the Suns-style up tempo ball gets the recruits, but when you don't have a lead guard, it is untenable at times. I would much rather see this team slow it down and grind out some 58-52 games. I think this team can rebound and defend with anyone in the Big 12, this team cannot score with the upper half of the conference. Baylor in particular will destroy us should we not adjust our style imho.
 
I'm not talking about always pushing tempo and I'm not even talking about playing fast offensively.

I'm saying that there was no excuse not to guard OU 90 feet from the basket. They don't have great ball handlers and they are very thin while we are deep. We should have been making them work and run and get more tired then they were and we were not.

That's my ***** with Barnes as far as in game goes.

That other stuff I can't speak to b/c I don't know anything about it. I hate seeing us play indifferent. Losses I don't really care about b/c they don't matter all that much in college hoops.

There is a fatal flaw with this team and I'm not talking about lack of shooters or a lack of a point guard.
 
The role players that we have were GREAT players in high school due to their hustle, aggresion,defense and their offense.

If we take off the cuffs on the GJ, AJ, DJ, MAson, and even HSmith we would have a deep pressing team that would manufacture points with their defense.

Run DOG and Ward then AJ and Mason against any of the guards that we have played so far and who would get the advantage???

Throw in the speed of DJ and GJ and the blocking shot skills of Conner and Dex and you could win games by 20 points a game.

Most of our athletes are not using their given skills very well due to our Offensive scheme or lack of it.

This team has the skills to be like the Arky's team of Nolan that gave teams hell for 40 minutes and won with speed and forcing mistakes with their defense. The strength of our team is defense and limited at present on offense..... IMO
When we win the defensive portion of the game then we are more effective pounding the ball to DEX,gary,damion down low.
 
I just want to clarify that my comments have to do with how I think we should win with this particular team. It's not some general statement about Barnes or how the Horns should play every year. We may well want to play up-tempo with some of the incoming recruits.

I just think this year, we need to recognize our weaknesses:
1) Lack of PG (to push the ball)
2) Lack of outside shooting (except for AJ)
3) A tweener playing the #3
4) A hulking center that is foul prone
And recognize our strengths:
1) A hulking center that can wreak havoc in the post
2) A 3 pt specialist that can spot up when defenses sag
3) 2 tweener forwards that can pound inside/boards
4) Lots of depth/height for shot blocking with fouls to give

Sounds like half-court offense and defense is the best fit for this team.
 
It's not the team's fault. I've seen 4 games this year. All loses. I'm a basketball jinx.

I promise not to watch them for the rest of the season. They will probably go undefeated from here on out.

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HornIdentity, I vote with you on this one. I'd like to see Texas go much slower on offense. However, fullcourt pressure does fit some of the athleticism we possess. It would be inane to force a turnover only to stall in the corner ala Phil Ford's four corners in order to get big Dex down court to post up. But I do sort of like the mental image! It seems unaminous on the board that everyone wants some change in gameplan. Let's see what Barnes does. I do think he'll make changes in personnel if none else. I will say, we have seen other Texas teams peak in January (say, maybe the Durant team), maybe this year we can peak when it matters most?
 
Texas is 12 to 15 rank team when they are making baskets.....OU is a legit top 5 team.

Hopefully Texas can gel and play better from here on out. They have to work very hard to make a sweet 16....but it can be done.





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