This team

FWHORN said:
It sucks that we had a possible lottery pick talent in Allen and did literally nothing all year long
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Add another McDonald's All American in Jones, Team USA Player James Banks, a conference standout and Senior player/NCAA tourney vet in Mariek Isom, a MUCH improved Shaq Cleare and a handful of other 3-4 star role players that should have improved with age, our squad wasn't that bad. I've seen coaches do way more with less talent. Not having a true PG is a challenge, but one that a good coach should be able to overcome provided he's gifted in other areas. I saw no real adjustment from the coaching staff this year. I saw no real coaching from the coaching staff this year. Bad chemistry, no buy-in, infighting, disciplinary problems, losing a player, just catastrophic systems failure with no sign of a correction aside from the few fleeting moments of decent basketball we saw that showed us what the Horns could have (should have?) played like this season.

I think we made a lot of excuses for Shaka and this teams under-performance this year. Next year will be very telling...

Matt Coleman seems to think Mohammed Bamba is coming here now....with or without Allen next year, he'd be a huge get. I'm not holding my breath on him though.
 
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For whatever reason Shaka decided to play this year without a true point guard. Maybe he thought Jacob Young could play point. Maybe he was afraid to jeopardize his long term recruiting project with Matt Coleman. Maybe he though he was going to flip someone else at the last moment. Whatever.

For Shaka to stay he needs:

Matt Coleman’s signature on his LOI on 04/12/17. Another year without a point guard will not be tolerated.

Jarrett Allen to stay another year, so Coleman can feed him the ball so much he will be a very high lottery pick next year.

Andrew Jones needs to not do something dumb like declaring for the draft.

If these three things all happen, Texas basketball will be pretty good for 2017-18 and Shaka keeps his job.
 
sbmcruise said:
For whatever reason Shaka decided to play this year without a true point guard.
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He explained the reasoning in a December/January PC - basically he guessed wrong on a returning player and the PG abilities of an incoming freshman. The fact that he admitted his mistake without any spin was very refreshing. That said, if his 2017-2018 team isn't measurably better his tenure needs to be reviewed.

Only devine intervention will keep Allen out of the NBA next year.
 
sbmcruise said:
Jarrett Allen to stay another year, so Coleman can feed him the ball so much he will be a very high lottery pick next year.
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Agree with viper that Allen is 99.9% gone to the NBA. However, that leaves a .01% that he will be here next year. So I'm not giving up hope yet!!
 
Allen's biggest deficiency was his defensive strength (or lack thereof) on the low block. Staying an extra year wouldn't really accomplish anything in that area, as he could practice/condition more in the NBA than he can in college and fulfill the same goal while getting paid to do so.
 
There's plenty of rafter space in the Erwin Center to retire his jersey whether he stays one year or four. (uh, turn sarcasm meters way, waaaay up).
 
I've looked at 5 NBA mock drafts. In 2 of them Allen is top 15. In 3 of them he's not even top 60. There are certainly no guarantees he goes in the 1st round.

If you look at his highlights then yes he looks like a 1st rounder. But if you look at his lowlights he doesn't even look draftable. I know the NBA drafts on potential, but he's been way to inconsistent for me to take him 1st round if I were an NBA GM. If he came back and worked his weaknesses he could easily work his way into a top 10 pick and it would be worth $millions. I don't think it would be a bad decision at all to come back another year.
 
Seeeeee!!!! Hope! Ya gotta have hope!! Yes, Virginia, there is a Chance!!!
 
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I'm not renewing until Coleman signs and NBA draft is done.

I am considering women's basketball as a valid alternative. They have a point guard.

I'm having a tough time forgiving Shaka for this throwaway season.
 
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sbmcruise said:
I'm having a tough time forgiving Shaka for this this away season.
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Why? You would have taken that salary realizing regardless of outcome, you were set for life from that ridiculous contract. He did what anyone in his position would have done - grab the cash and hope for the best.

Now the dynamic duo of dumbness? The pathetic pair of "Ps", who dumped our athletic department into this **** storm? You are welcome to all the ill will you want to direct their way, because I assure you that yours will never equal the disdain I have for that pair.
 
We had a very incomplete team and Shaka played more of a blood-letter role than anything else this season.

The Legends Classic in Brooklyn at the beginning of the season showed how much work needed to be done, especially coming up with a guard rotation that could produce any results. Roach isn't a PG and shouldn't be playing that position. Unfortunately, Jones is pretty much the same role as Roach.

I know this isn't a popular opinion, but despite our record, I thought the team did a good job of keeping games within reach against the better teams in our conference. I also know that "within reach" doesn't exactly pay the bills for a fanbase, and we need to turn some of those 3-point losses into wins next year.

Other negatives to close out the bitching:
  • Eric Davis looked like a shell of his freshman self. I'm not sure if Smart wanted him playing a different role than 2016, but outside of one or two games, he looked awful. Remember when AJ Abrams would go on those streaks where he would hit 6 threes in a game and then brick every shot the next one? Davis was in permanent brick mode.
  • Isom wasn't used in the way he was used before he transferred to Texas. He could have been a Sydmill Harris type. Instead, he got his 1-minute of "someone else has too many fouls" duty.
  • Young and Banks needed to provide more of a spark early in the season. I hear the same "they're just freshmen!" excuses a lot from people who sit close to the bench at the games, but they were freshmen who played against tough HS competition and tough AAU leagues just a few months before... the same guys who became freshmen at other institutions and played very well in Division I. Smart should have trusted them more. Because he didn't, they were relegated to mop-up when they should have been getting at least as many minutes as Davis.
  • Cleare is leaving, and just when he finally was proving his defensive mettle, little hook shot, and winning his weight battles. He could have been even better next year.

Positives for 2017-18:
  • Mack the cancer is gone.
  • Coleman will come in and give us a true PG presence unlike anything we've had since Augustin.
  • People will love Febres.
  • Osetkowski will be a beast on the boards and with his midrange game.
  • Roach should be free to roam around more next year and get to the rim.
  • Allen might come back? Oh... well... one can dream.
 
I suspect that with the class coming in (including eligible transfers), next year's starting lineup is going to look VERY different. I've said before that I think we had to rely on a three guys who were athletes (or big people) who played basketball, who were not "basketball players." They weren't guys that you should be building a program around, they were guys that should be playing in a specific role. And no, Shaka didn't recruit any of them, so let's not get into the "well he brought them in and couldn't do anything with them."
 
I have to wonder whether being more successful will get these borderline guys to stay an extra year in the future, but it just seems like the last decade, if any freshman at Texas had a remote chance of making it, they have jumped.
 
^ I said awhile ago, I do not think this is a Barnes, Shaka or Texas problem. I think this is going to be a bigger and bigger issue for the game itself. I will not object to someone leaving after one year if they are Kevin Durant. Go get the money in that case. However, someone needs to mentor the borderline guys that it is more likely they do not make it in the NBA than do and the college degree and extra playing time spent in college may be more useful than they think.
 
Htown77 said:
^ I said awhile ago, I do not think this is a Barnes, Shaka or Texas problem. I think this is going to be a bigger and bigger issue for the game itself. I will not object to someone leaving after one year if they are Kevin Durant. Go get the money in that case. However, someone needs to mentor the borderline guys that it is more likely they do not make it in the NBA than do and the college degree and extra playing time spent in college may be more useful than they think.
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I agree, but the issue is the NBA drafts on potential. Very easy for an agent to get some spare NBA team official to go on record saying Player X has NBA potential. Player X then sees $$$$$ and off he goes.

Bystander is correct in his response in the Andrew Jones thread - One and done does not do anyone involved any good. Throw it out and let those who think high school has prepared them for millions have at it.
 
http://www.scout.com/player/195659-mohamed-bamba

Immediately following NBA draft entry declarations made by Jarret Allen and Andrew Jones, Mo Bamba's status was upgraded to Texas interest "High" over previous favorites Duke and KY, who are now listed at "medium." Following.

On the topic of 1 and dones and the impact they have on college bball: I just saw a stat that said 9 of the past 12 MNC teams featured at least one 1 and done. That is a relatively static variable. Good coaches/teams are getting it done despite the inherent/perceived setback this poses to team dynamics. Good coaches/teams are getting it done without 1 year-to-NBA caliber players. The issue is how well does the modern coach in today's college basketball industry use their 1 and done players to get deep in the tournament/have a legitimate shot at a MNC. Good coaches will find a way to win regardless. Mediocre to bad coaches will use this as a crutch to explain away their underperformance.
 
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The key has always been either finding a good mix of solid three-year players with a big-time prospect, or being like Kentucky and recruiting them in waves so you just start with four or five new mega-freshmen every year.
 
Another factor is it helps if the one and done is great from the get go (Kevin Durant) and not a developing player (Myles Turner).
 
Please change the one and done. It has hurt the college game and the NBA. Regular season NBA is unwatchable and I only watch some playoffs. Don't even know 3/4 of the players, who they played for in college, almost don't care because of one and done. College is difficult to watch anymore and I only watch some of the tournament these days.
 
utempire said:
Please change the one and done. It has hurt the college game and the NBA. Regular season NBA is unwatchable and I only watch some playoffs. Don't even know 3/4 of the players, who they played for in college, almost don't care because of one and done. College is difficult to watch anymore and I only watch some of the tournament these days.
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I have posted this before. First, basketball should use the baseball rule...3 yr commitment if you sign a LOC. But, I'm not naive....this will never happen! So, college players should be allowed to go through the draft. If they don't get drafted & haven't signed an agent or violated their amateur status, they can return with full eligibility remaining. Seems pretty simple to me....no harm, no foul (no pun intended!). It's a win-win-win for the kid, school and the NBA . This way, the NBA can't box a kid in, knowing they can pass on the kid, then force him into their market where they have all the leverage. It's called free market capitalism!!
 
Buck-Horn said:
I have posted this before. First, basketball should use the baseball rule...3 yr commitment if you sign a LOC. But, I'm not naive....this will never happen! So, college players should be allowed to go through the draft. If they don't get drafted & haven't signed an agent or violated their amateur status, they can return with full eligibility remaining. Seems pretty simple to me....no harm, no foul (no pun intended!). It's a win-win-win for the kid, school and the NBA . This way, the NBA can't box a kid in, knowing they can pass on the kid, then force him into their market where they have all the leverage. It's called free market capitalism!!
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That's kind of what happens now, if they don't hire an agent then see where they might be drafted. Having the best players for at least two years can only help the vast majority of the players in the long run, the college and pro game. Can you imagine what great college basketball the fans would have missed if Jordan, Ewing, Bird, Magic, Hakeem left after 1 year?
 
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