Texas vs. Missouri Hoops Post Mortem

by Barking Carnival Staff on Jan 30, 2011 1:41 PM CST in Texas Longhorns and Other Basketball

If you didn’t think the 2011 Texas Longhorns were a Final Four contender after vanquishing the Jayhawks I can understand. If you still don’t think Texas has a great chance to end up in Houston after a dominating performance against a really good Missouri club then you need to have your head examined. Last night’s game should have been a let-down spot for the Longhorns but the Missouri Tigers were but a blip on the train tracks for this Texas club, as they bludgeoned the Tigers on the glass and got virtually any shot they wanted with efficient offense.

As for Missouri’s press, it merely delayed the inevitable point blank bunny or wide open look for the Horns. Mizzou got virtually no points in transition off of their vaunted to press while the Horns didn’t seem to be bothered by the Tigers pressure in the least. What about defense from Rick Barnes' charges? Another smothering, suffocating day at the office.

Had Texas had any kind of success at the charity stripe, the game would have been a twenty point blow-out and more reflective of Texas’ domination last night on the scoreboard.

Some odds and ends before we get to the grades…

Texas continued to run efficient yet diversified offense in the half-court in what I think may have been the Horns’ most impressive offensive performance to date. The flex cut and screen game utilizing Hamilton and Thompson continues to yield terrific shots.

Mizzou had no answer for Hamilton coming off the Thompson screen into the lane as the second year wing found open jumpers and an open Thompson with regularity. I can’t stress this enough but Texas’ strength on offense starts with the mismatch Hamilton poses to most defenses in college hoops. You can count on one hand the teams that have a true small forward who can matchup with Jordan.

To force Mizzou to guard Balbay, Rick used a lot of cross screening action with Balbay on small to big screens. Doge was able to free up Thompson, Johnson, and Hamilton for easy looks mainly because Doge’s man was in no position to help or hedge--also because Balbay is fearless. It takes a lot of courage for a guard to set an affective screen on a post repeatedly. Kudos to Doge for taking more than a couple for the team.

We said in the preview that Texas ballhandlers 1 through 5 would render the Missouri press useless and that ended up being correct. If J’Covan Brown and Doge Balbay weren’t simply breaking pressure with the dribble, a quick reversal to Gary Johnson or Jordan Hamilton leading to a pass over the top of the press did the trick. It helps to have big athletes like Gary Johnson and Jordan Hamilton who can handle the ball and see over the pressure.

We also posited in the preview that a halfcourt to halfcourt affair would favor the Horns and that was certainly the case. It’s been a long time since that could be said about a Rick Barnes’ club but this team is running on all cylinders with its halfcourt offense. We talked about the pseudo flex offense and the block to block cross-screening sets by Balbay, but there’s even more to the Texas attack.

The Horns can iso Hamilton and Brown when there are mismatches, and last night we saw some pick and pop game using Brown and Gary Johnson when the shot clock was winding down. When Johnson is knocking down that little 15 footer off a ballscreen Texas is damn near indefensible. Hell, Anderson turned to a matchup zone for stretches in the second half because his club was absolutely beleaguered by Texas’ diversified attack.

So does that mean teams will now try to run with Texas? Doubtful. How many 4’s and 5’s can get up and down the floor with Tristan Thompson and Gary Johnson? And when you go small to pull that off, how many teams have the size at the 3 to get to Jordan Hamilton’s jumper? The answer is not many.

To beat Texas, you need a special blend of outstanding guard play and a big frontcourt. The guard play is necessary to control tempo enough to keep your big frontcourt in the game. The big frontcourt is necessary to beat the Horns on the glass keeping them out of transition and Gary Johnson off the floor as a four. Then you have to hope Jordan Hamilton doesn’t go bananas. The teams that fit this bill are Pitt and UConn and that’s about it.

On to the players…

Jordan Hamilton. A+. I felt going in that Hamilton would be the MVP of this game because the Tigers have no answer for the talented small forward and this ended up being the case. Jordan did a wonderful job of moving without the ball in the halfcourt and getting a lot of good looks. When he drew Mizzou help, he had a few great finds for easy buckets. It’s time we stopped viewing Hamilton as just a scorer, because now that he’s getting all-he-can-eat shot attempts, he's becoming more of facilitator.

On the glass Jordan is probably the team’s best rebounder based on the position he plays. He’s got a rare combination of strength, length, and understanding of angles to dominate the glass on both ends. It also helps that he’s unencumbered by his matchup meaning Hamilton is almost always rebounding against either a slower or smaller opponent. To sum it up, Jordan’s 16 point 13 board 5 assist performance is, in a word, RIDICULOUS.

Cory Joseph. A. If Jordan Hamilton isn’t the most complete player for the Longhorns then Joseph certainly is. In fact, I’d love to call Cory Joseph a "glue-guy" but he’s much too talented for that. You don’t usually encourage glue-guys to hunt their offense. Speaking of which it was good to see Joseph looking for his shot a lot more this game which included a couple of slashing drives when the defensive perimeter shell had broken down. Defensively, Cory did a terrific job on Mizzou’s best scorer Marcus Denmon holding the talented to guard to just 3-9 from the field.

Tristan Thompson. B. The first year post once again dominated the paint and the glass. When Thompson’s allowed to play the other team’s second best frontcourt player he’s hell on wheels, but I thought he did a great job on Ratliffe even before Coach Barnes went to Hill and Wangmene to guard Missouri’s best post. I was also excited by Thompson’s aggressiveness attacking the Missouri interior, but obviously the elephant in the room there is the more you attack the more foul shots you’ll get. TT was a woeful 3-9 from the stripe and that can’t happen against good teams because it’ll bite us.

One funny anecdote from the post-game comes from a friend of mine who was able to speak with Thompson. He asked Thompson if he’d come back for one more year to make a run at a Championship and Tristan replied, "One more year? Man, I’ve got three more years." Sure you do Tristan.

Dogus Balbay. A. Rick Barnes has made some tweaks to make teams play Dogus honestly in a halfcourt and the results have been great. Using Doge off the ball as a screener, cutter, and sometimes post-up player is genius, but credit Balbay for being more of a threat off the dribble when teams do play him or when we’re in transition. He’s got all the athletic ability in the world to threaten the cup in the right situations, he just needs to be more assertive. Defensively, Doge was once again his solid self, giving Dixon fits and containing the talented Phil Pressey.

Gary Johnson. B+. Once again, in the preview we said we thought Gary would have a bigger impact on the glass and the offensive end than he’s had in recent games because Mizzou has posts of similar size. When Gary plays against guys who don’t dwarf him he’s hell on wheels offensively and on the glass and last night was no exception. Where Gary becomes limited is when the opposition rolls out a big 4 and 5 like UConn or Carolina.

If Gary is able to stay in the game based on the proper matchups, he makes the Horns a much more dynamic offensive team with his ability to not only attack the paint, but more importantly step out and hit the 15-18 footer. With Gary on the floor, the Horns can pick and pop or use Gary to lift help away from Thompson and Hamilton, giving defenses another mismatch headache to deal with.

J’Covan Brown. D. The stat line from Brown was okay, but his body language on the floor and on the bench was just atrocious, hence the poor grade. Brown can’t pout when he’s pulled, and then make matters worse by essentially telling Chris Ogden to "fuck-off" when the Longhorn assistant is trying to console him. You don’t do that in any game, especially when your team's enjoying a huge win. Selfish stuff from Brown.

Matt Hill and Alexis Wangmene. B. These guys played their roles perfectly once again. Come in and guard the other team's best big to allow Thompson to roam the paint is precisely what these guys need to give us. Rebounds, points, steals and blocks are just gravy. Mizzou’s frontcourt isn’t big enough to have made WangHill a vital part of the game plan but the duo did their job once again.

Rick Barnes. A+. He’s your National Coach of the Year at this point in the season. In fact, I’d argue this is one of the best coaching jobs in recent memory. When you consider the youth on this squad and the absolute transformation of the program’s offensive identity in a few short months it at least has to be considered the best coaching job we’ve seen at Texas.

In terms of pushing buttons, Coach Barnes is absolutely on fire. From the KU game to the stuff we used against Missouri, Rick Barnes has his team firing on all cylinders. As for understanding his squad, there’s not a coach in America that has a better pulse on his club, and that includes greats like Bill Self, Coach K, Thad Matta, or any other coaches of top programs. For as much as Rick was maligned for last season’s debacle, he deserves as many pats on the back and attaboys as we can give him this season.

Thoughts?

Hook ‘Em

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Comments

Great write up as usual. Thanks for taking the time. Nails on the free throws…this game should have been a 24-26 point blow out.

by Reflugent Nouveau on Jan 30, 2011 2:00 PM CST reply actions

Thank goodness for the rock-solid consistency of D. Balbay — dude just brings it 100% night in and night out. If we didn’t have him and were forced to rely much more heavily on J. Brown in our rotation, this team would be nowhere near as consistently good as we’ve been. J. Brown is just too damn inconsistent at this stage of his career. But I suppose I’m Captain Obvious on this point.

by gilberto verde on Jan 30, 2011 2:02 PM CST reply actions

Kudos for two “hell on wheels” in one post.

“When Johnson is knocking down that little 15 footer off a ballscreen Texas is damn near indefensible.”

I said the same thing to Mrs. uthookem during the game. If GJ can hit that shot with regularity, this team will be very, very hard to beat.

JCB is a double-edged sword…he’s great in a fight when the world is against, but when it isn’t, you get a whiny bitch.

by uthookem on Jan 30, 2011 2:05 PM CST reply actions

Hamilton, Thompson and Joseph are all terrible players. Weak, fundamentally unsound and not very smart. Nothing to look at here NBA scouts, just move along. No sir. Just keep walking

by ransomstoddard on Jan 30, 2011 2:07 PM CST reply actions

Thanks! Great stuff, as usual. This isn’t meant to diminish the win in any way because I think we should have beaten them much worse, but I’m curious what your thoughts on what impact their losing Bowers had on the way this game played out?

As to Brown, he still doesn’t get it, down deep. That concerns me because we are going to need his head on straight if this team wants to make a deep run.

As bad as the FT shooting was, we hit 8 of our last 12 when it meant the most and GJ is a lot better at the line than he showed last night. TT is just going to have some of these nights.

Last, can you remember a better defensive team in Rick’s tenure? I can’t.

by Frank The Plank on Jan 30, 2011 2:11 PM CST reply actions

“To beat Texas, you need a special blend of outstanding guard play and a big frontcourt.”

I totally agree, and I think Ohio State might be the only team in the country that truly fits the bill.

by afmcclint on Jan 30, 2011 2:11 PM CST reply actions

Did Ransom just make a joke? Holy shit, we must be good!

by Frank The Plank on Jan 30, 2011 2:14 PM CST reply actions

Good stuff, and that was quite an impressive performance. If they can pull of something like that in College Station Monday, I’m going to have to revise my prediction that the Big 12 champs will have no fewer than 3 conference losses. How did this team lose at USC by 17?

by hongabear on Jan 30, 2011 2:19 PM CST reply actions

I thought the 2nd half was sloppy. I think that is simply because of all the missed free throws. As several had said already it is at least a 15+ lead if Texas hits their season average, 62%.

The impressive thing is even without being playing their best game, the defense and rebounding was so great that Missouri never got closer than like 7-8.

I said before the game, to myself, that I was hoping that Texas isn’t peaking quite yet. It doesn’t seem like they are. Hopefully whatever things are left to improve upon come together towards the end of the conference tournament.

I love this team.

by Monahorns on Jan 30, 2011 2:21 PM CST reply actions

Anyone else concerned about Brown? Your comments above explained before I could ask if anyone noticed his minutes dropped the last two games.

Seems like he might be the only one that can tear this team apart at this point. On the flip side, when he is playing minutes and playing well, he makes this team unstoppable.

Someone talk me off the ledge….

by TODD GACK on Jan 30, 2011 2:21 PM CST reply actions

J-Ham will never amount to half the player Shawn is.

by eyePowers on Jan 30, 2011 2:36 PM CST reply actions

I also love this team. the pieces just fit together so well.

and I think to a certain extent, that includes J’Covan. it’s obvious he’s “not quite there yet” in terms of being the consumate team player. that said, he is absolutely fearless and has abilities that can’t be taught. so while the drama in unwelcome, it appears it’s a “gotta take the bad with the good” at this point. I have no doubt there will be at least one more game where we ride JB to victory.

agree with probably 100% of the sentiment in the original post. Barnes is killing it right now.

I don’t know if this is our best defensive team ever. seems like it might be.

I know my favorite team of the Barnes era was the year after the final 4, when Royal, Mouton, JT & BB were all seniors — the team that lost to Xavier in the sweet 16. that team had a certain esprit de corps. I think our current squad is working on something similar right now. the biggest difference is that this year’s squad has bona fide individual contributors, possessing next level talent. if we can continue our current level of play, this team might end up assuming the role as my personal fave. they are just fun too watch.

was very impressed that we never even really let mizzou make a run yesterday.

by txsa on Jan 30, 2011 2:43 PM CST reply actions

Mizzou is a good team and our FT shooting was atrocious, and we still beat the crap out them. We played a very bad offensive half against an almost elite team on the toughest home court in basketball in Kansas, and we still beat the crap out of them.

Some elite team is going to have to bring their A game against us and hope we play half assed to beat us.

Yeah. I’m all in.

by beowulf on Jan 30, 2011 2:44 PM CST reply actions

Trips – thanks for all you do for Horns hoops fans.

Best to you and your little girl.

by Juan Beniquez on Jan 30, 2011 2:50 PM CST reply actions

I was grinning ear to eat as doge and Cory played keep-away in the press.

My only worry now is breaking a true zone team (BU/’Cuse) soon or in the tourny. That and the horns getting humbled by hubris.

by scagnetti on Jan 30, 2011 2:52 PM CST reply actions

Hamilton’s most complete game as a Longhorn included a couple of passes for easy buckets that don’t get made unless you are seeing the whole floor and seeing it before it happens.

by lowdenswain on Jan 30, 2011 2:58 PM CST reply actions

Doge continues to solidify himself as one of my all time favorite basketball players.

Its been awhile since I seriously thought we could make a run at a title. But this team just keeps getting better and continues to grow as a team.

I’m not very concerned with our whiny bitch because I get the sense that this team understands how to handle him.
I remember a few games ago JB screaming unnecessarily at CJ. The freshman just nodded and once JB calmed down CJ came over and talked JB down. I seems everyone gets they either have to ignore him or baby him.

Overall this is one of my favorite Longhorn teams ever!
Hook em!

by Tdiddle on Jan 30, 2011 3:10 PM CST reply actions

I was at the game. J’Covan didn’t really make a scene from what I could tell. I think it’s getting blown out of proportion. Also I saw him consoling Alexis Wangmene after his almost-dunk when they were on the bench and he seemed pulled-together when coach was talking to him. The cameras just catch him in a lot of bad moments.

by owenh on Jan 30, 2011 3:14 PM CST reply actions

Thanks for the write-up Trips. A huge amen to this:
“For as much as Rick was maligned for last season’s debacle, he deserves as many pats on the back and attaboys as we can give him this season.”

I agree with all your points; it seems like the 2 biggest threats to us (aside from the obvious major injury) are continued woes in foul shooting and J’Covan Brown’s selfishness and immaturity. The kid’s a major talent, but if he doesn’t get his head right, he could really cost this team. Judging by a host of incidents and anecdotes in the past few years, it’s going to be really hard for him to overcome his inner asshole and be the all-in team player he needs to be.

The draw will decide all, but at this point, there’s no reason to think we can’t make a deep, deep run in March. This is one helluva fun team to watch.

by burnt orange outrage on Jan 30, 2011 3:24 PM CST reply actions

owenh

that makes me feel much better actually.

by Tdiddle on Jan 30, 2011 3:30 PM CST reply actions

The was a quote from Rick Barnes in the AAS online story today saying that “Jordan Hamilton played his best game since he’s been at Texas”.

Many have accurately posted here that Rick has really made JH earn his trust and made him play the right way while parsing out any kudos to make sure Hamilton didn’t get a big noggin and/or revert to form. While it could have gone either way, that quote tells me Jordan has truly earned Rick’s trust. That means he’s beginning to really play to his enormous potential and Rick isn’t afraid to let him carry this team—-just huge, IMO since he looks like he is still getting better every game. He can take this team a long way and it would be a sweet carthasis for Barnes, him and the team if it happens. Teaching moment, anyone?

by Frank The Plank on Jan 30, 2011 4:03 PM CST reply actions

Good post, as usual, Trips. Fun team to watch (and write about).

Great insight about the type of team that you need to beat Texas, and I absolutely concur. Most exciting, we could have, and probably should have, won both games. And we seemed to have taken off in learning from the UConn loss.

Hook ’em

by PB on Jan 30, 2011 4:42 PM CST reply actions

Couldn’t agree more with those crediting Barnes with the job he’s done this year. The nagging question I continue to have — as others have posted — is the J’Covan Factor and the effect his overt/covert negativity will/won’t have on this team.

by AKHorn on Jan 30, 2011 4:44 PM CST reply actions

20-20 is a wonderful thing … especially in hindsight. I’m very thankful that Bowers wasn’t around on a night when the Horns failed to cash in on so many freebies. He might have made a difference in the outcome …

by VirginiaLonghorn on Jan 30, 2011 5:14 PM CST reply actions

Did anyone catch what Gary Johnson said when he crashed face first into the laps of the Texas pom squad? I reminded a couple of times, but couldn’t figure it out. He made all the girsl completely crack up.

by jonestopten on Jan 30, 2011 5:52 PM CST reply actions

I’d lay money that JCB blows up against Aggie tomorrow. An environment like that is custom built for him.

by Charles on Jan 30, 2011 7:19 PM CST reply actions

I have to say that Hamilton’s ability to rebound has even caught me, the most vocal proponent of his massive talent, by surprise. You posited last year that he could be a very good weakside rebounder, but I wasn’t so sure. Happy to say I was wrong. Hell, hes just a damn good rebounder, period. When he really wants a board, it’s almost as if he can’t be stopped with his length, timing and size of his hands.

That was the first game I have watched live so I was able to watch a lot of off ball action. CoJo is about the smartest, hardest working freshman defender I have ever seen. He is non-stop, never out of position, always has perfect ball-you-man position. Just a true workhorse. He deserves seeking some O just for the effort he puts out on the defensive end. A talented glue guy, the best of all worlds.

Our frontcourt also does such a tremendous job of getting back on D and shutting down the secondary break. TT is also an incredible defender with a superb work ethic for a freshman. Even JH did a great job of getting back and finding the ball. I think he only had one Spaceman from Watts (TM SR) moment the entire game.

Congrats to GJ for scoring 1,000 points in his career. I’m glad to see him having fun, working hard and having a great senior year. This team is so unselfish that even Johnson has learned to pass the ball with some regularity. He dropped a couple of nice dimes to Hamilton and Thompson last night.

Doj should be the one wearing the ball hawk t-shirt. Either that or Jewles’ Bad Mother Fucker tee. I still think he would be one hell of a corner, but he is about the toughest dude we have ever had on a basketball court. I fully expect him to hospitalize some 250 lb. PF that has the balls to set a screen that Doge doesn’t see coming. Doge running into a brickwall? I don’t like the brick wall’s chances. Effort doesn’t begin to describe watching him in person. A leader in every sense on this team.

by Bartoncreek on Jan 30, 2011 8:18 PM CST reply actions

As Gerry Hamilton wrote the other day, “Brown is a big game hunter.”. He’s a guy you need in the tough road games.

by Randy Watson on Jan 30, 2011 8:29 PM CST reply actions

In regard to Brown, Johnson said it best after the KU game: “Some games he’s here, some games he’s not,” Johnson said. “Just the way he’s feeling, I guess.”

J’Covan’s game was weird yesterday. Offensively, he seemed to be off in space somewhere. Defensively, he seemed to be into the game though.

We need him to show up for A&M though. Joseph, Hamilton, Thompson, and Johnson have all logged heavy minutes the last 3 games, and Dogus has been 30 minutes the previous 2. We’ll need J’Covan to be able to give us 20 minutes or so tomorrow b/c I’d imagine our guys might have some dead legs in the 2nd half.

Tomorrow is a game we can also steal some minutes with Lucas b/c the size of the A&M guards won’t be a factor.

by LegendaryHorn on Jan 30, 2011 8:51 PM CST reply actions

You also need Brown for free throws at the end of the game

by txhawk23 on Jan 30, 2011 10:17 PM CST reply actions

Guys thanks for the comments. The Brown episode was relayed to me by a buddy that sits right behind our bench. He said Brown kept pulling away from Ogden and refused to let Ogden give instruction. He called the whole episode embarrassing.

PB, I just read your write-up, good stuff.

http://www.burntorangenation.com/2011/1/30/1964737/texas-71-missouri-58-game-thoughts-continued#storyjump

As for the Wangmene stuff, I really didn’t go out of my way to break down Alexis’ play, hell he logged 4 minutes. I combined his assessment in with Hill’s because this really wasn’t a game for the duo. Mizzou isn’t a matchup for Hill or Wangmene. The comment was more of a throwaway than it was glowing remarks. Sorry for the confusion.

by Trips Right on Jan 31, 2011 8:34 AM CST reply actions

Good stuff, Trips. Thanks for your work.

I’m interested in your thoughts on the ceiling for this team? Are they there yet? How good can the realistically be?

And equally important, how sustainable is this level of play for this team?

by Matt Cotcher on Jan 31, 2011 9:41 AM CST reply actions

Yeah, I figured, but I was just extremely frustrated with Lexi on Saturday. My quibble was more to vent my own frustrations wit h his mistakes.

Again, great write up.

by PB on Jan 31, 2011 9:47 AM CST reply actions

Matt, we’re final four caliber if we get the Kansas J’Covan. You have to have a finisher at the guard position in a tournament setting, and JB is really the only candidate.

by Trips Right on Jan 31, 2011 11:23 AM CST reply actions

By the way, I meant closer instead of finisher in my post above. Brown is the only closer we have at the guard position. Late game situations when you need a ballhandler, distributor, and a guy that gets it done at the foul line.

by Kevin Berger on Jan 31, 2011 12:12 PM CST reply actions