HookEm

The big thing the Big 12 has going for it in basketball is lack of really crappy teams at the bottom, at least as it currently stands. They are having a pretty good run in hoops, but in terms of true blue bloods, they currently only have one: Kansas. If the SEC wanted, they could add UNC and then suddenly they have the top two brands in college basketball: Kentucky and UNC. Nobody is locking Kentucky and UNC out of the tourney. Get real. Adding UConn doesn't get the Big 12 anywhere close to that outcome. According to Kenpom, here are the top 64 team hoops program rankings since 1997: SEC: 2. Kentucky, 10. Texas, 11. Florida, 16. Tennessee, 25. Alabama, 30. OU, 36. Arkansas, 41. Auburn, 47. LSU, 53. MSU, 54. Mizzou, 60. Aggy, 62. Vandy 1 top-5, 5 top-25, 13 top-64 ACC: 1. Duke, 4. UNC, 15. Louisville, 21. Syracuse, 26. Virginia, 35. FSU, 37. Stanford, 39. Pitt, 43. NC State, 45. Miami, 49. Notre Dame, 55. Clemson, 57. Wake 2 top-5, 4 top-25, 13 top-64 BIG12: 3. Kansas, 5. Arizona, 14. Baylor, 27. Cincinnati, 29. Okie St, 32. West Virginia, 38. Iowa State, 44. Houston, 48. Tech, 50. K-State, 52. BYU, 58. Colorado, 61. ASU, 63. Utah 2 top-5, 3 top-25, 14 top-64 BIG10: 6. MSU, 12. UCLA, 13. OSU, 17. Wisconsin, 18. Purdue, 19. Michigan, 20. Illinois, 22. Maryland, 23. Indiana, 24. Oregon, 34. USC, 46. Iowa, 51. Washington 0 top-5, 10 top-25, 13 top-64 Other: 7. UConn, 8. Villanova, 9. Gonzaga, 28. Memphis, 31. Marquette, 33. Xavier, 40. Creighton, 56. Butler, 59. Providence, 64. SDSU In terms of the top basketball programs over that period, you would have to say the ACC is the strongest at the top, but the Big 10 is the deepest with ten of the top-25. Really though, they all look about equal and the Big 12 doesn't stand out in any way. And while teams like Baylor, TCU and BYU are good right now, they are only a hire away from being terrible.

The Big 12 would be really stupid to add UCONN. The ACC is on the verge of implosion. There will be much better schools to add in the near future. They should be gearing up to add FSU, Miami, Virginia Tech, Pitt, Louisville, etc. There are probably 10 schools I would add before UCONN. This is the litmus test: Is anyone going to tune in to watch X team play Texas Tech in football in October? I would tune in to watch Miami vs. Tech. Or Virginia Tech vs. Tech. Louisville vs. Tech could be fun. Nobody cares about UCONN vs. Tech or any other member of the Big 12.

The top end of the Big 12 will be outstanding, but the depth of the SEC might actually be better this year. Here are ESPN's early preseason rankings: SEC - 1 top-10, 9 top-25 #2 Alabama #11 Auburn #12 Texas A&M #13 Tennessee #14 Arkansas #20 Ole Miss #21 Florida #22 Texas #23 Kentucky Big 12 - 5 top-10, 6 top-25 #1 Kansas #4 Houston #6 Baylor #7 Iowa State #9 Arizona #19 Cincinnati Here are CBS's early preseason rankings: SEC - 2 top-10, 7 top-25 #2 Alabama #10 Auburn #11 Texas A&M #13 Arkansas #14 Tennessee #20 Texas #22 Florida Big 12 - 4 top-10, 6 top-25 #1 Kansas #3 Houston #6 Iowa State #7 Baylor #16 Arizona #25 Cincinnati

Horton was the definition of a journeyman. He played for four different schools in his college career and he was inefficient at every stop, averaging only 38% FG over his last two years. But last year for us he was even worse, and even his free throws dropped off. When someone goes from 87% FT down to 71%, I attribute a lot of it to conditioning, especially when they are expected to play defense at a higher level. And Horton looked fat and out of shape, even in the 20 minutes per game. His defense was generally abysmal. Then you have Weaver who is in better shape than 99% of players on the court. Running around tipping balls, getting steals, etc. And even though it SEEMED like he was playing recklessly due to his raw speed, he didn't turn the ball over much. I like RT and have been a supporter, but managing these two dudes was definitely a red mark on his time as head coach here.

I really like Chendall Weaver. I view him as a poor man's Russell Westbrook. He is a perfect spark plug off the bench and can really attack the rim from the perimeter. I have no doubt that his 3P% will improve as he gains comfort at this level of competition. The stats don't really show what an impact player he is. He by far led the team in offensive rebounds during conference, even over guys like Dillon Mitchell. And he only had 7 turnovers across 18 conference games. It is criminal that he was losing time to Ithiel Horton. I dare say we would have won 2-3 more games, and moved up to a 5-6 seed if he had gotten more minutes. These games stand out: K-State - Lost by 4. Weaver got 11 min while Horton played 32! Baylor - Lost by 8 (giving up a huge lead). Weaver got 13 min. Horton got 27. UCF - Lost by 6. Weaver got 4 minutes vs. Horton's 35. And they killed us with their energy and on the glass.

Some other options: Drag for Flagg In Rags for Flagg Dismantle for Randall All horrible

Ok fine, but that wasn't really my point in bringing it up. My main point is that there is no chance Terry would be doing as good of a job with South Sudan as Ivey. Does anyone on this site disagree?

Agree. I honestly like Brown better as a player than Tatum. I would be 100% fine swapping the two.

If Jaylen Brown wasn't good enough to make the team in his absolute prime at 27, I don't think he is going to make it four years from now at 31.

Agree. And Durant's game should continue to age like fine wine. That lets me kick Tatum to the bench. And I'll add Cooper Flagg and jetison Jarrett Allen. I don't see anybody beating this team. Starters PG - Jalen Brunson - 31 SG - Anthony Edwards - 26 SF - Kevin Durant - 39 PF - Paolo Banchero - 25 C - Chet Holmgren - 25 Bench PG - Haliburton - 28 SG - Devin Booker - 31 SF - Jason Tatum - 30 PF - Cooper Flagg - 21 C - Bam Adabayo - 31

Regarding the 2028 team, we are going to have to see a complete changing of the guard. Only two players on the current team will be under 30 when the next Olympics roll around. Durant will be LeBron's current age in the next Olympics. Would be great to see him still out there, but I'm not counting on it. Here is my guess, but who knows what will happen over four years. Starters PG - Jalen Brunson - 31 - He is a dawg and can score and distribute. Will be late prime. SG - Anthony Edwards - 26 - Will be an absolute beast by then SF - Jason Tatum - 30 - Meh, but probably the best bet. PF - Paolo Banchero - 25 - I assume he will be all-NBA by then C - Chet Holmgren - 25 - If he stays healthy he will likely be the starter Bench PG - Haliburton - 28 SG - Devin Booker - 31 SF - Brandon Miller - 25 - I think he has the most upside of the young SF options PF - Bam Adabayo - 31 C - Jarrett Allen - 30 - He is still improving. I would rather have him on the team than Embiid right now. Others Ja Morant - 28 - He was 2nd Team All-NBA as a 22 yr old. If he gets his head on strait he could make the team LaMello Ball - 26 - He is still very young and definitely has the talent to make the team four years from now Zion Williamson - 27 - Dude is going to have to lose some weight and stay healthy. Could be a fun add if so. Evan Mobley - 26 - Already all-defense at 22 and still improving Tyrese Maxey - 27 - Already an all-star (6'2) Scottie Barnes - 26 Jalen Williams - 27 Desmond Bane - 29 Too Old Derrick White - 34 Joel Embiid - 34 Anthony Davis - 35 Jrue Holiday - 39 Kevin Durant - 39 Steph Curry - 40 LeBron - 43

Man, watching Royal Ivey coach South Sudan has been fun. He is doing an incredible job. There is zero... ZERO chance that Rodney Terry would be doing a comparable job. And I say that as one of the bigger RT apologists on this site. We are going to F around and watch him get picked up by another school or NBA team. I really think he is going to do well when he gets his break.

Yeah we were staying in a condo just north of the Marriott. There used to be 20 ft of beach in front of the condo and it was all washed away, including the stairs to get there. If going again, I would probably go at a different time of year. The weather wasn't unbearable, but also wasn't the break from Texas heat that I needed. Texas was actually cooler while we were there. We went to Cozumel last summer. The family all liked Cayman better, but honestly it felt a lot like going to a Miami suburb outside of the crazy clear water and great beach. I think I enjoy the culture in Mexico better personally. It is also significantly cheaper, so for the same price the condo was MUCH nicer in Cozumel. Also the direct SWA flight to Cozumel from Austin was awesome. Next summer, I think we will try Puerto Rico.

I must have been there the same time as all of you. Got back on Thursday night. Unfortunately the last hurricane washed away much of the sand in front of the condo we rented on 7 Mile Beach. The weather was hot, but generally great before noon and after 4 PM. The best thing to do is get up early and hit the snorkel spots... come back a take a nap after lunch... and then hit the beach again going into sunset (which is always fantastic). The snorkeling was just unreal as usual: Eden Rock - just great, probably the best shore snorkeling I have ever done. I could do it all day. Like you all, we saw some awesome fish. There are 5 ft tarpon schooling out in the coral. Gamma shipwreck - We snorkeled around sunset. What an awesome easy snorkel spot to spend an hour. Smith Cove - Saw a reef shark, which was scary. Cemetery Beach - Really nice beach with some decent shore snorkeling 50 yds from shore. Saw a 300 pound turtle. Food was really really good overall, but expensive (which is expected) Chicken! Chicken! - Ate lunch when we got there, and then got it for takeout again a few days later. So good. Pane & Pasta - Solid pizza spot Seven Mile Burger - Great burger and mahi salad. And relatively cheap Ms. Pipers Kitchen - Awesome spot behind the Hampton. Tremendous food and a great atmosphere Peppers Bar & Grill - Decent dinner. Had some island curry goat that was pretty good

To be perfectly clear, I don't really like either of them. Give me a big man who primarily wants to dunk it on your head. Can't stand 7'2 guys who want to drift out to the perimeter. \Old guy rant

This is the key stat. You give any all-star level player in the NBA 40% usage and they are going to put up insane numbers. Embiid hasn't suddenly become a great passer, he just has the ball all the freaking time. His assists trend linearly with his usage. If he had AD's 26.7% usage, he would average 3.7 assists per game, which is almost exactly what AD averages. Regardless, when someone commands 40% usage, their team isn't going to win in the playoffs. I can't stand watching his teams play.

Because he sucks ass. Duh.

I think it will improve a little once all the extra covid years are burned up after this year. There are a ton of 5th year players going somewhere new for their final year. I don’t think you will see nearly as many just leave in their final year. Also when the 5th years are gone the balance of power will shift back a little bit to the elite freshmen. The situation is still dynamic. The formula for winning the last 2-3 years is going to change this year and then change again the following year.

I had hoped this thread would be posted to Daily Texan since I was just wanting information without all the BS. Instead I was reminded why I never venture in Cloak Room. Holy hell some of you are miserable people. Both sides are tone deaf AF. Damn I hate politics.

For the record, J'Covan Brown is my least favorite longhorn of all time. Hated his style of play. I liked Doj, but the free throws were just so frustrating. How can a point guard not be able to shoot free throws??? I can understand a guy who is 7 ft with huge hands having trouble, but a point guard? Still though, his defense was just so disruptive that it was impossible to not like him.

I don’t mind having a PG who can’t score. I can’t handle having a PG who can’t shoot free throws. Doj was unplayable at the end of games. And unfortunately he never got better in euroball. Dude averaged 53% free throw over his entire career. That said, he was an absolute terror on defense.

Attendance matters way more than stadium size. I think you could take the 20 year attendance numbers and you would have a pretty good proxy for program value. Even better, take 80% football attendance + 10% basketball attendance + 10% academic ranking and you would have a pretty good model.

My lack of interest has less to do with them not being able to dunk and more to do with them not being able to catch a no-look pass. I also hate the way women shoot set shots. I would literally rather watch a JV high school game.