Thoughts on Horns' Gritty Win over Illinois

by Barking Carnival Staff on Nov 19, 2010 12:11 AM CST in Texas Longhorns and Other Basketball

Texas fans were looking for an early season barometer of Rick Barnes' crew against Illinois and we certainly got it. While it wasn't always pretty, it was more pretty than ugly particularly as we come out on top. Going into the game I had to wonder just how our shiny new car would handle city traffic and it passed with flying colors.

Offensively, we showed solid patience and good ball movement most of the game and certainly in the first half when things were really clicking. We took care of the ball. In a matchup where we were expected to struggle with their size it was we who dominated inside the 3-pt arc. We did get out of sorts in the final 10 minutes of regulation but managed just enough offense to hold them off and force overtime.

Individually, I thought Hamilton did another good job of limiting bad shots. We have to accept that not every one he takes is going to be a good one but thus far he really hasn't had me shaking my head. He disappeared for a lot of the second half but he was there when we needed him in OT. Thompson just continues to exceed his scouting report. I knew he could run the floor and could give us some offense down on the block but the turnaround he's showing is something I had never really seen. Dude was just everywhere tonight. And as much as he struggled from the charity stripe, he was clutch from there late. Joseph was a bit too tentative offensively but that bucket late was a veteran shot and he hit his FTs late. Johnson finished with a good stat line but was a bit up and down. His face-up game was rock-solid but he blew some good opportunities from up close. Alexi continues to show he actually can help and not hinder us on the offensive end. he's not going to conjure images of Hakeem, but he's actually doing a lot of positives on that end for us.

Defensively, 84 is a lot of points but Illinois really had to earn them. Balbay and Joseph were hell on their guards for much of the second half. Constantly forcing Illinois to exert a lot energy just to find a guard to set their offense. We held our own on the glass and TT's a bigger defensive force than I expected.

Biggest negative was the FT shooting but I'm still encouraged by the fact that our top four projected FT shooters should be pretty good with Thompson shooting the worst amongst them. Interestingly, we did manage to make more than they did and that was helped by the fact we were getting in the paint and drawing more fouls.

Three games in and this team's got me pretty damn excited. Should be an even tougher matchup tomorrow with a rugged Pitt team but it's a game that will serve us well late in the season.

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Thompson makes me smile a little bit.

This team looks like they are having fun right now. We’ll see if that continues past 17 games.

by someone on Nov 19, 2010 12:29 AM CST reply actions

Awesome horns! Way to pull through. We are just going to have to accept the fact we will never be a good FF shooting team under Barnes and I’m fine with it.

by Mysterious Package on Nov 19, 2010 12:31 AM CST reply actions

Maybe next summer Rick Barnes will look deep inside and change the way he teaches free throws. I was pleased though when Thompson starting hitting them down the stretch. Balbaby and Johnson have improved a lot there and we tend to forget that James mastered free throws last year when it had been an achilles heel for him as well.

by Nickel Rover on Nov 19, 2010 2:30 AM CST reply actions

Great overall effort … I mean great. They hustled and showed mental resilience. It would have been easy to fold when Illinois washed away the Horns 9 point lead midway through the second half … and we would have still been happy with the performance. They didn’t fold and even slapped a veteran team in the mouth. Besides the obvious FT shooting, there were a couple of hiccups finishing at the basket … have to make the crips. Cannot wait for tonight’s game.

by VirginiaLonghorn on Nov 19, 2010 6:10 AM CST reply actions

Agree with ^^^VirginiaLonghorn. The mental stamina this team shows belies its experience. JB needs to show he can overcome adversity or he may find himself increasingly buried on Rick’s bench. This team needs his quality contributions without the theatrics.

by TXStampede on Nov 19, 2010 6:22 AM CST reply actions

Jai may be the most enthusiastic and hustling player in practice on the team, but he remains a liability when he’s in the game. If he can’t penetrate, make the key outlet pass, hit a J and an occassional 3 with great regularity, and be automatic at the FT stripe, then he isn’t worth the negatives he brings to the game with his tininess. He was a net negative last night.

I’m a tempest in a teacup.">)

by beowulf on Nov 19, 2010 7:02 AM CST reply actions

Speaking of FTs, the two that Lexi hit nearing the midway point of the second half were pretty big. In such a high-scoring game it may not seem like much but he stepped to the line and knocked down two following a pretty ugly offensive stretch. Thompson and Hamilton had just combined for 4 straight misses and we couldn’t buy a bucket as the lead went from 9 to 2. Next to Thompson’s offense, Lexi’s contributions thus far might be the the most pleasant surprise thus far.

by Reno Hightower on Nov 19, 2010 7:44 AM CST reply actions

It looked to me that the motion on offense took its toll on our stamina in the 2nd half, with guys settling for a lot of the poor shots we saw in abundance last year.

Overall I was very impressed with how mature we looked for being such a young team.

We need to finish stronger around the basket (CJ and GJ)

Improve FT shooting (duh)

TT needs to start blinking faster. It looked like he was falling asleep at the charity stripe.

by Jeffrey on Nov 19, 2010 7:50 AM CST reply actions

Obviously there is still some adaption to the new offense going on. When Illiniois began their second half run, it was the first real test under pressure for the new look, and I thought we got a little tentative and started to slow down and stop the flow, probably because the players themselves were still trying to figure out who is the go-to man in that situation.

by srr50 on Nov 19, 2010 8:21 AM CST reply actions

Illinois extended their D and pressure on our guards in the second half, which disrupted our offensive flow. Need someone to step up and be a creator at that spot, but it’s early and we’re young. We went a looong time during that stretch without a FG. Thank god for our D and especially Doge shutting down McCamey…kept us in the game.

Offensive reverted back to last years “stand around and go 1 on 1” style, but awoke from the dead in OT. Overall, great, tough win.

by sunset87 on Nov 19, 2010 9:46 AM CST reply actions

Thompson always had a smile on his face and I think that enthusiasm and love of the game spreads to his teammates (but not his j’teammates). Joseph really showed guts dealing with cramping in the second half.

by Rex Chapman's Black Girlfriend on Nov 19, 2010 9:58 AM CST reply actions

Reno, good point about making the Illini earn their points. the boxscore makes it look worse than it was. They really hit some tough shots. That’s a really good Illini team we beat in a hostile environment, not to mention a really big stage. I’m interested to see how we show up tonight.

by Trips Right on Nov 19, 2010 10:49 AM CST reply actions

I thought our guys played with heart and stamina and it showed. The box score IS misleading, with Dogus getting an emphatic hat tip.
TT looks tremendous and should have a great deal of upside. Sure hope we can get him back for at least one more year.
Really looking forward to this season and sincerely feel as though Mack could learn a thing or two from speaking to Rick.

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by Benedict Yzaquirre on Feb 21, 2011 8:32 PM CST reply actions