Varez Ward Shawn Williams Get Redshirts; Avery and DJ Update

two possible lottery picks + a 2nd rounder = first round exit = total complete failure

Yeah, that. Don’t forget a 6th place finish in conference.

And that’s not even including guys like Hamilton and Johnson. Fuck, what a god damn nightmare of a season.

1. Was this season the most talented team the University of Texas has fielded in the history of it’s basketball program? If yes…
2. Was this season one of the biggest coaching blunders in recent memory? Again, if yes…
3. What kind of hot seat is Barnes on right now? Is he fired after more 1st round flops? Are we just happy with contending for the conference every few years and never really being a true national championship threat? Are our expectations a bit inflated from the success in football, baseball, etc?

Well, guess I’ll take the other side.

Barnes has proven that he is willing to “turn the keys over” to a freshman. Good luck Avery, we never even knew you.

Actually the more I read that, what an asshat comment. Of course it’s also not really a quote.

Bradley obviously didn’t enjoy his year at Texas as much as we’d all hoped. But that blurb doesn’t say to me that he necessarily was talking down about the program or Barnes. As justhookit alluded to, the lack of a direct quote could be telling. If the conversation went like this then the writer could end up with what’s above:

Writer: Tell me about your season at Texas.
Bradley: We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to as a team and I didn’t perform as well as I had hoped.
Writer: Do you feel you were as good as the more heralded guys like Wall and Cousins?
Bradley: I definitely feel that way. We’re all out here competing now and I feel I’m definitely on their level.
Writer: You didn’t seem to take over games like they did, though.
Bradley: We had good seniors and other upperclassmen at Texas, guys like James and Pittman. There wasn’t the need for us young guys to come in and take over.
Writer: So Barnes asked you to take a lesser supporting role?
Bradley: Coach asked us to fit in together as a team. Our goal was to play together and accomplish what we could as a team. It didn’t work out but there were no issues there.

Add a little media sensationalism and voila, you have the blurb above.

I’ve said this elsewhere, but Barnes did NOT hold Avery back. He was basically begging him to do more, but he deferred too much to upperclassmen. This year was a total disaster, but it was not all on Barnes. I still don’t see how Avery can make it in the pros with the inability to dribble with his left hand or assist teammates. I wish him luck.

I don’t know if you can draw every parallel, but I think you can compare what happened to the ’94 UNC team that was coming off the national toga and broke the streak of S16s, despite bringing in McInnis, Stackhouse, and Rasheed Wallace.

That team was a No. 1 seed but never really played together, going back to the first scrimmage of the season, when the new guys beat the returning team.

I’m not saying Bradley had anything to do with any problems, but I can see where a Bradley/Hamilton/Brown core could give problems to the team with James and Pittman.

Barnes never really worked five guys into a greater-than-sum-of-parts combination, except, ironically, against UNC, when Roy Williams insisted on running with them.

The assumption in the comment is that Bradley should have had the keys. I think that’s arguable either way but not a sure thing.

Bob,

I don think there is a viable argument that Bradley should have had the keys. He was still a developing offensive player throughout his UT career. And he got plenty of open looks down the stretch of the season and didn’t hit them for the most part.

He was nowhere near good enough an offensive player to “turn the keys” over to him.

Don’t get me wrong, I like what Bradley brought to the team as a complimentary offensive player and a lockdown defender. And he had great potential to develop into an offensive star. But he was not there. Not close.

anon, I pretty much agree with you. Obviously a great defender and had great moments shooting the ball, but he lost confidence at the FT line and stopped driving. Then he stopped hitting jumpers… he was part of the problem by the end of the season.

But, Ransom told me this team had no talent and Bradley was the most overrated player in history? I guess two firsts and a second this year and a first next year = no talent assclowns. Maybe after the NBA draft we can cut through the bullshit and call a spade. This year’s debacle was all on Barnes, talent had nothing to do with it.

Bradley is not even saying he should have had the keys in that paraphrased comment. He is merely stating that being the best player on your team is an advantage statistically that he did not have.

Who was the guy that said the buck stops here?
The rock stops with Barnes any way you slant it, it his program, his team !
Did Barnes put his 5 best players on the court ? No.
Did Barnes rely on his seniors too much , did doing so hurt the development of his freshmen? Yes.
Did Barnes build confidence in his team? No.
Did Barnes play to the ability of his team? No.
Did Barnes have a take charge guy ? maybe so .
Did Barnes develop a 7-9 man rotation that would have contributed to playing like a team? NO.
Did Barnes develop his 3 bigs over the summer and season? Not so much.
Did Barnes make game adjustments with the idea to form a cohesive unit that played together? Maybe No.
Did the players build on their skill sets during the season? If no…
Did the players start to think too much and not rely on their ability and skill set? Yes.

Did …. etc.,etc., etc.,
The rock stops with the bus driver any way you cut it. Can we count on more of the same?
I hope not !

Did Barnes fuck with the team at midseason, again, because while we were 17-0, we weren’t winning the way he wanted us to be winning? Yes.
Good call there, coach.

I pretty much agree with SMH…

Bradley

Avg Minutes___FG%_Ast/TO3pt%__FT%

17-0___________26.9_______47.7____2.1______43____46.5
Rest of season___39.2______39.2_____0.9______32.8___69.6

His FT shooting is the only thing that improved during the last half of the season. Rick Barnes made some mistakes, but not playing Bradley more was NOT one of them. If anything, Bradley’s tanking shot % and Ast/TO ratio may indicate that Barne’s mistake was playing Bradley more.

Just because he has the talent to be a lottery pick doesn’t mean he had the development to be a good contributor his Freshman year. With his talent though, I don’t blame him for getting out with a potential NBA lock out coming up.

James to the Thunder would be a good addition.

The Thunder should trade Jeff Green (who seems to hint at not wanting to live in KD’s shadow). In exchange for Green they can get a realiable outside shooter or another draft pick for a big man. James, IMO, is a more athletic version of Green. Worse case scenario he easily fills Green’s void at a lower cost.

Really Mocking Bird? I had heard Green wanted to get resigned because he loves the team and is close with his teammates. I have to disagree with what you said there about “hinting” or whatever. I agree Green is a good bargaining chip, especially when the Thunder can say he was a fifth pick in the draft who is still developing.

IMO package him with one of the first round picks and the higher second round pick and move up to No. 3 (or at least try) to get Demarcus Cousins. Or go after Marc Gasol. Thunder will never win a championship if they can’t get a true center. Lakers are just too big and eat teams alive with no interior defense (E.g. Jazz). I think Cousins’ attitude problems would be assuaged by playing with such a young, fun, and team-oriented group like the Thunder, they seem to fit his more childish style. Gasol is exactly what the doctor ordered, other than not fitting in with the transition game as well as Cousins.

I completely agree with SMH and think Bradley left entirely for his own well being as a player…after concluding his coach was nuts.

SkyMonkeyHorn just became my new hero. Great post!

Just to clarify my opinion, I agree that Bradley left because he didn’t think Barnes could maximize his abilities for preparation for the NBA but I also don’t disagree with Barnes not putting the ball in Avery’s hands more to lead the offense. That kid just wasn’t ready to do it. Now we ended up sucking as a team anyways but it would have been worse if Barnes would have done that. Last season was such a disaster that it’s hard to write about. It just pisses everyone off and brings back bad memories. Honestly, for me it was worse than the Rose Bowl. Somehow, someway, I take a lot of good out of the Rose Bowl. Mainly, the play of the defense and Gilbert in the 2nd half.

I feel/felt exactly the same way, dick.

Football most likely wins (possibly strolls) if Colt does not get hurt. The fact that we fought back and had a great chance to win at the end is a huge testament to the character of the guys playing (other than the WRs…Christ). GG was awesome in the second half, despite almost no protection, no semblance of a running game, and only one receiver who could catch balls down the field. What a ballsy performance by him.

The basketball “team”, on the other hand, utterly fell apart, never seemed to care about playing hard, and choked to a terrible Wake Forest team in the first round of the NCAA. I was really proud of the football team. I was flat out embarrassed by the hoops…individuals. I didn’t even speak for the rest of the night after the basketball team lost, I was so frustrated and shocked. What a waste of talent. No excuse for how poorly Rick coached that team.

And no, I don’t think it had anything to do with Avery needing to have a bigger role. The guy was given the right spots, he just needed to knock down wide open shots, convert relatively easy layups, make simple passes, and make free throws. Nobody other than Damion understood their roles last season, which is fine so long as the coach is free spirited with his players and just lets them play (a la Calipari or Roy to some extent). But obviously Barnes is not like that at all, so players were constantly frustrated and lacking in confidence while they tried to figure out what they were supposed to do. When the guys were running and pressing, the were having fun and getting easy baskets.

Rick was trying to make things way too complicated and win in a certain way, and that just stressed everybody out (plus made it insanely difficult for us to score in that farce of a halfcourt offense). I just pray he doesn’t do the same thing to Cory, Tristan, Myck, Sheldon, etc…it’s time Barnes learned his lesson.

Bradley wasn’t ready to carry a team, there were plenty of opportunities for anyone on the team to step up and shoulder the load. James was the only player that did that (Hamilton had one game). You can either lean on a player or you can’t, and if you can’t carry a college team you aren’t going to carry an NBA team.

If someone uses a lottery pick on Bradley it will only be because of Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook. It is a huge gamble, but NBA teams love rolling the dice with draft picks. That’s why Cousins will go top 5.

I’m not sure you WANT a coach that ‘turns the keys over’ to a freshman point guard. Barnes has his priorities correct. Recruiting is very important, but winning is most important. Making coaching decisions based on how it will impact recruiting is not something I’d want my coach doing. If you wanted that you should have hired Calipari.

“That’s why Cousins will go top 5.”

Cousins is one of the least “rolls of the dice” in the entire draft. Good upside IMO; many think he has phenomenal upside. He’s a little overweight, but definitely not out of shape a la Pittman. Needs to tone his body, but I don’t see that as a big problem. His attitude is not great, but I think it’s less of being a bad person than just being a kid. If you want a “roll of the dice,” look at teams drafting Hasheem Thabeet or Cole Aldrich. Literally impossible they will ever contribute on offense, so you are only hoping they can be a solid defensive player. What a waste of a top ten pick. Cousins is a million times better than Ed Davis, who has almost zero upside, or Wes Johnson, who can’t create his own shot. I would say AB is probably the biggest gamble in the entire draft. I see no way he ever becomes a consistent NBA contributor.

" I would say AB is probably the biggest gamble in the entire draft. I see no way he ever becomes a consistent NBA contributor."

To be fair, Russell Westbrook had some pretty bad games his sophomore year too and nobody thought he was going to be a top 4 pick and be a legitamate PG in the NBA. Avery COULD develop the necessary skills to reach a level close to RWs because he has the natural ability and he has shown a willingness to work hard. Westbrook went to a perfect situation for him, he’ll never have to be the best player on the team and there were zero expectations to win early.

Cousins could turn out to be a Derrick Coleman, someone who does okay but has the potential to do so much more. A more recent example would be Micheal Beasley, tons of talent but his head isn’t screwed on right. He has the size and athleticism to be a top pick, but his attitude is reason for concern. Will he push himself to be the best he can be? Will he push his teammates? If he puts in a B effort he will be the next Andrew Bynum. Put him on a bad team and I think he becomes a cancer.

Bradley can be a contributor, but I do agree he might be the biggest gamble of the draft. Of course, that all depends on where he goes. I’d spend a 2nd rounder on him, but probably not a first round pick, even a late one. He has a great work ethic and plays defense but is still limited by size, and perhaps more damaging, is that he never took over games. I had high hopes for him with his number 0 choice and reasoning, but to take off after a relatively shaky freshman season with a non guaranteed contract being a very likely possibility, I wonder when he will look at himself and see what he needs to improve. To make it in the NBA he will have to seriously work on his game and as a 2nd round pick he may not stick on a roster long enough to do so.

Agree with most of why you both said. dick, I think AB lacks the handles Russ has. And I don’t think he’s as explosive or wants to be. Egg, I like the Beasley comparison, with one exception. Beasley has terrible size for the NBA. He’s too small for a PF and too slow/lacking in dribbling ability for a SF. I agree he could still be very good, but Cousins has way better measurables.

*what

Cousins does have way better measurables than Beasley.

Russ doesn’t have that great of handles still. Avery in 4 years could end up having as good of handles as he does. I think you hit it on the head on Avery’s desire to be explosive, at least offensively. Westbrook loved to take it right at guys and would throw down some pretty ferocious dunks and scream his head off afterwards. Maybe Avery could have become more like that if he stayed his sophomore year. RW only started one game his freshman year (albeit on a final four team) and really started coming on his soph year. He was still a total projection when he got drafted. Most had him as a late lottery after he committed and he moved up during workouts.

Avery isn’t much of a gamble unless you think he is going to be a point guard. He plays enough defense and will be a good enough shooter to be in the league for years.

Westbrook is more explosive and stronger than Avery. But, I’m not sure at what point he developed the strength. I do remember watching Westbrook at UCLA and thinking the same thing I did about Bradley at times, “Why does he disappear for such long stretches?”

Ironically, Howell is a somewhat similar coach to Barnes. The players at UCLA have grown tired of his act and recruiting has slipped. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen here. I do think that Barnes does have the players’ interest at heart. He just did an unbelievably lousy job of communicating it and putting it to use last year.

Rondo was pretty average at Kentucky too. In two years he average 9 pts, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds.

Now he’s gone full Alien Mode in Boston at 6’1" 170 Lbs. Having three All-Stars to spread the court and convert his assists certainly doesn’t hurt.

True, Rondo did improve his second season if I remember correctly. But yeah I never expected him to be good. He at least always had a position though.