(4) Texas @ (14) WVU at Noon on ESPN

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

2 minutes ago, SDG said:

Yeah; but when you go Oh-fer and still win should be the bigger story.  this team finds a way.  

Couldn't agree more:

  

30 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

What a fucking win!

Not only on the road against a very good team with one of the league's best players in Culver, but they had to scrape and claw and overcome an intense defense on a day when their shots weren't falling from outside.

 That is grit, ladies and germs.

 

[roll left 1]

3 minutes ago, SDG said:

Yeah; but when you go Oh-fer and still win should be the bigger story.  this team finds a way.  

Yeah, kept in range of them in a game we might have fallen way behind in the past. 

[SDG 3319]

Mood!

 

 

[ztejas 43538]

I love Duke fans

The reason Texas is doing so well this year? It’s gotta be Shaka’s hair. It’s beautiful. Feathered AND lethal.

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

Soak it in:

 

[ClubWhatever 12158]

Brown seems to have a knack for elevating his play at crunch time.  He was an animal on the boards down the stretch.  

[ztejas 43538]

1 minute ago, Dr. Beeper said:

Thanks for your allowance of my opinion.  Sims plays superior interior D and provides better rebounding than Jones. I can’t help it if you didn’t have eyes the last 7 minutes of the game. With 1:20 left, Sims’ absence was glaring. Brown had 14 boards. Ramey and A Jones were on fire. You don’t take Coleman out. Our O was not stalling with Sims in; we had a Coleman jumper and several Jones/Ramey layups before Andrew’s 3.  Shaka had the right 5 on the floor at the most crucial time. 

Unlike what I'm saying, your take is predicated on Texas winning the game. Which really shouldn't have happened if we're being objective about it. If 2 points, 3 rebounds and 5 fouls is some lion's share performance to you then okay. Sims was bad. That's fine. Players have bad games. Shaka needs to understand that. We have 5 years of data pointing to this man making horrible lineup decisions. 

[Sal 1088]

 

 

[dcar00 14369]

18 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Yeah but for WV it’ll be about the 0-2 at the end. Choke 

they also missed a front end before that I think.

[chemHORN 1241]

22 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Tbf - I didn't find a lot of ranked B12 road wins looking at '03, '06 and '08. But these aren't really "road" games that these guys are playing this season. 

You're entitled to your opinion. Sims rebounding sure as shit didn't impress me down the stretch and he should have picked up his 5th on the play where GB picked up the foul instead. 

Shaka has overall been great this season. His inability to get Kai involved in the offense still makes me want to rip my hair out. The flashes that that guy has are next level shit. 

Kai played 21 minutes in the game.  Sims played 17.  I know he sat for a good portion of both halves.  Every time he came in in the 2nd half he picked up a foul immediately and headed right back to the bench.   He definitely didn't play a great game but he was much more disruptive to Culver.   

[dcar00 14369]

we definitely need to take advantage of the "road" games this year.  I see this team ending up as a 4 seed at worst and probably a 3 at best.

If we can turn a sweet sixteen trip into recruiting a big time point guard we could have the makings of something.

[Js1 85580]

Just now, chemHORN said:

Kai played 21 minutes in the game.  Sims played 17.  I know he sat for a good portion of both halves.  Every time he came in in the 2nd half he picked up a foul immediately and headed right back to the bench.   He definitely didn't play a great game but he was much more disruptive to Culver.   

I could watch the Kai Jones block, turn, and beat everyone down the court for a catch and layup all day. It was so nice. 

[Js1 85580]

3 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

we definitely need to take advantage of the "road" games this year.  I see this team ending up as a 4 seed at worst and probably a 3 at best.

If we can turn a sweet sixteen trip into recruiting a big time point guard we could have the makings of something.

That and active in the portal I hope for a grad transfer PG or someone looking to use their one time transfer without sitting out. 

[chemHORN 1241]

1 minute ago, Js1 said:

I could watch the Kai Jones block, turn, and beat everyone down the court for a catch and layup all day. It was so nice. 

Yeah Kai is a beast out there for sure.  I am glad we have both of them.  Sims does a lot of dirty work and Kai has some ESPN top 10 offensive skills. 

[GreenspointTexas 9672]

Pittsnoggle for 3. Got it!

Now its Texas driving, 5 seconds, 4.....

Paulino for 3 to win it..... OHHHHHH!

 

TEXAS wins on a last second shot by Kenton Paulinooooo!!!!!!

[Blotto 23579]

7 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

we definitely need to take advantage of the "road" games this year.  I see this team ending up as a 4 seed at worst and probably a 3 at best.

If we can turn a sweet sixteen trip into recruiting a big time point guard we could have the makings of something.

Even my pessimistic ass wouldnt put the ceiling on this team as a 3 seed. You could argue they are a 1 seed right now, and have conference wins over # 4 KU and # 14 WVU on the road. Can I see the wheels falling off? Sure its Texas basketball, few schools can make the wheels fall off faster. BUT, right now I don't see a whole lot of teams playing better ball than Texas. Zags, Baylor, Nova (and that game was close), who else? 

[Js1 85580]

4 minutes ago, Blotto said:

Even my pessimistic ass wouldnt put the ceiling on this team as a 3 seed. You could argue they are a 1 seed right now, and have conference wins over # 4 KU and # 14 WVU on the road. Can I see the wheels falling off? Sure its Texas basketball, few schools can make the wheels fall off faster. BUT, right now I don't see a whole lot of teams playing better ball than Texas. Zags, Baylor, Nova (and that game was close), who else? 

Iowa maybe. Y

[dcar00 14369]

9 minutes ago, Blotto said:

Even my pessimistic ass wouldnt put the ceiling on this team as a 3 seed. You could argue they are a 1 seed right now, and have conference wins over # 4 KU and # 14 WVU on the road. Can I see the wheels falling off? Sure its Texas basketball, few schools can make the wheels fall off faster. BUT, right now I don't see a whole lot of teams playing better ball than Texas. Zags, Baylor, Nova (and that game was close), who else? 

the Big 12 is tough.  I just don't see them ending up top 8 because of that.  the wheels don't have to fall off for them to end up top 9-12.  I would extremely happy to be a 3.

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

Cross-posted from the Andrew Jones thread--this is the current top story on ESPN's NCAAM page.

[Js1 85580]

3 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

the Big 12 is tough.  I just don't see them ending up top 8 because of that.  the wheels don't have to fall off for them to end up top 9-12.  I would extremely happy to be a 3.

Everyone in the Big 12 is going to drop some games. 

[Blotto 23579]

9 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

the Big 12 is tough.  I just don't see them ending up top 8 because of that.  the wheels don't have to fall off for them to end up top 9-12.  I would extremely happy to be a 3.

Oh I don't expect us to be a 1-2 seed, but I also didn't expect this squads to go balls deep, no-lube style on Kansas in Lawrence either. Lots of teams are going to drop some games this year. Considering my expectations heading into the year, if we end up with a 3 seed, I'd be thrilled as well. Just not going to place the ceiling there. 

[Revolution512 1495]

Outside of the 2 Baylor games and at Tech, we are probably favored in every game down the stretch. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

1 hour ago, dcar00 said:

Im shocked they left AJ open.  

that's why you don't call TO; don't give WVU any chance to get organized. with the game on the line and Ramey charging the rim, all five defenders instinctively ran to him. kudos to Ramey for making the right play, and shouts out to Andrew "Bigass Balls" Jones. fuck it feels good to have experienced talent again. helluva win today. great fucking win. 🤘🏼 

[Js1 85580]

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

also, i had to watch the game on my dvr, and just finished up 30-45 minutes ago. we had several really bad/stupid turnovers early on, and then we insisted on taking a ton of pull-up threes that were clanking out all day, and i just felt like we were going to lose this game in that old familiar fashion under Shaka- play stupid, keep it close, rally late, lose a game you totally could have won. but that didn't happen!

whether it came from the bench or from our senior guards (you could actually see AJ taking over at one point late, demanding that he bring the ball up and barking out orders to his teammates), our guys caught themselves slipping, and a conscious decision was made to try and string together some good possessions where we attacked the rim and/or got a good, close look. there was one play in particular where Kai got the ball beyond the 3-point line and his man just dared him to shoot the ball and Kai didn't fall for it. I was so impressed by that, particularly coming from a sophomore who doesn't even start and who first picked up the game 4.5 years ago. that was so impressive. 

bottom line- this team is fucking awesome, and unlike previous iterations of Shaka Smart teams, these guys actually are tough minded and battle tested, and just all seem to a)love playing with each other, and b)seem totally ready for any challenges which may be foolish enough to challenge them. this team is special, and they even have room to grow. the sky is the limit for these boys, and the conference title is now the objective goal. i'm fucking pumped to watch this team compete on their quest for that title. Hook em. 🤘🏼 

[Huckleberry 33099]

12 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

that's why you don't call TO; don't give WVU any chance to get organized. with the game on the line and Ramey charging the rim, all five defenders instinctively ran to him. kudos to Ramey for making the right play, and shouts out to Andrew "Bigass Balls" Jones. fuck it feels good to have experienced talent again. helluva win today. great fucking win. 🤘🏼 

This is a terrible post.

 

 

 

 

I've got him as Andrew "Titanic Titanium Testicles" Jones. 

[SDG 3319]

When you're off; find a way to contribute and GB did that today.  

[Machinator 32099]

This game was more telling for me than the KU game, which was driven in large part by unsustainable disparities in 3 point shooting. Loved watching our guys grit it out.

[realgreggym 837]

43 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

that's why you don't call TO; don't give WVU any chance to get organized. with the game on the line and Ramey charging the rim, all five defenders instinctively ran to him. kudos to Ramey for making the right play, and shouts out to Andrew "Bigass Balls" Jones. fuck it feels good to have experienced talent again. helluva win today. great fucking win. 🤘🏼 

Congrats. You got this one right. Must be a new year.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4781]

2 hours ago, Dr. Beeper said:

Down the stretch Sims played great D on Culver. 

Culver shrugged off Sims’ 2 point, 3 rebound, 5 foul performance.

I just hope being in the same gym as Culver gave Sims an idea what determination and toughness play like.  Be a big for Chrissake!  Somebody has to pick up the slack playing that much in a three guard set.

[shadow_operative 15932]

oh yeah, Kenpom had this game as 71-70 Texas. that shit is scary sometimes. 

[BigOrange1 6471]

fucking awesome comeback and an absolutely incredible moment for andrew jones.  this team has a shit ton of heart.

[VaLonghorn99 341]

3 hours ago, dcar00 said:

we definitely need to take advantage of the "road" games this year.  I see this team ending up as a 4 seed at worst and probably a 3 at best.

If we can turn a sweet sixteen trip into recruiting a big time point guard we could have the makings of something.

Right now, both 1 and 2 are in play. Why such a low ceiling? (I would be thrilled with a 3 too, after 8 and 9 seeds since forever) 

[NashLonghorn 272]

3 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Soak it in:

 

Nice highlight link!!!  I wish all BB games were like this. 2 hours condensed into 9 mins. 

[dcar00 14369]

22 minutes ago, VaLonghorn99 said:

Right now, both 1 and 2 are in play. Why such a low ceiling? (I would be thrilled with a 3 too, after 8 and 9 seeds since forever) 

I think our shooting is just too unpredictable.  that said its only a prediction.  a 2 or 1 would be incredible and certainly not impossible at all.

[jimmyjazz 46141]

We should just call ourselves UTSD -- University of Texas Stress Disorder.  We are so preconditioned to the early spring collapse that we can't imagine it not happening.

Well, I'll call my shot.  Yes, we'll lose some games we "shouldn't".  No doubt a team like TCU will blast us by 15 or so.  Baylor is obviously a huge roadblock, but I would not be surprised to split.  KU should be expected to take the next game, because Kansas.

But the thing is, this team truly looks different:  they play for each other, they have a shit ton of experience, they play strong aggressive defense, and they spread the scoring around.  All of those are characteristics of a team that DOESN'T collapse, regardless of what we as fans are primed to expect.

I'm not about to jinx anything, but these guys could easily be in the running for a top _X_ finish in the Big XII, where in the limit, X --> 1.

Oops.

[SA-KC_Horn 1295]

Anyhow.

 

Today's offensive game plan was unique. The analysts must've seen a hole in Hugg's defense.

The offense we ran for most parts of the game was a sort of a "spread screen roll option offense". Four guys spread across the perimeter, two of them buried deep in the corners and post player (mainly Sims). The post player would run out towards the guard and he then has the option to set a screen.  The same goes for the guard, when the post player pops out, the guard has the option to use the screen on either side to confuse both defenders. In addition to that, the post player will role out of the screen and land in the perimeter and the guard swings the ball to the opposite side and the player in the corner runs "spread screen and roll". See the game winning shot, they spread out and Ramey caught the D slippin' and drove and kicked out. GAME OVER!

I'm liking what I'm seeing offensively.  

 

[Somnio 751]

4 hours ago, dcar00 said:

we definitely need to take advantage of the "road" games this year.  I see this team ending up as a 4 seed at worst and probably a 3 at best.

If we can turn a sweet sixteen trip into recruiting a big time point guard we could have the makings of something.

A 3 seed at best?  Are you expecting the team to regress the rest of the season?  They're currently ranked 4th in the nation, are 10-1, and have quality wins over UNC and Kansas.

I understand not wanting to jinx the rest of the season or whatever, but this team is legit and a 3 seed is absolutely not the best these guys can achieve.

Hook 'em!

[honolulu horn 6165]

A few thoughts:

Any win in Morgantown is a good win. 

Beating KU and WVU on the road is special, especially since we beat them in different ways. I agree that today's victory is the better win, simply because our shots were falling like Jesus was behind the arc in Lawrence but not today. We had to grit it out, and we did. 

Craig Way's call is fantastic. Go listen to it in the previous post. 

AJ is the definition of "let's go!"

[Blotto 23579]

4 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

that's why you don't call TO; don't give WVU any chance to get organized. with the game on the line and Ramey charging the rim, all five defenders instinctively ran to him. kudos to Ramey for making the right play, and shouts out to Andrew "Bigass Balls" Jones. fuck it feels good to have experienced talent again. helluva win today. great fucking win. 🤘🏼 

That aint no joke. We were getting a good look at a 3 pt shot one way or another, lulz

[Machinator 32099]

5 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Pittsnoggle for 3. Got it!

Now its Texas driving, 5 seconds, 4.....

Paulino for 3 to win it..... OHHHHHH!

 

TEXAS wins on a last second shot by Kenton Paulinooooo!!!!!!

How has nobody posted this yet?

 

 

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

If I'm allowed to revel in this moment a tad longer:

I was already pretty gruntled that WVU had missed three-straight free throws and that Texas was gonna have a chance to steal a win, but the moment I saw AJ1 come free on the wing, I was ecstatic!

We couldn't have asked for a better look, and our best sharpshooter (at least on this day) was about to take it.

Even if the shot hadn't gone down, it had been a helluva game thanks to a great, gritty effort from our 'Horns and a Mountaineers team that always defends its home court fiercely.

But the moment the ball left AJ's hands ... fuck, man ... I started yelling cuz you could tell it was good. AJ knew it, too. (Maybe everyone in the arena knew it?)

So the ball rips nylon and here we are, 10-1 overall and tied with No.2 Baylor at 4-0 in league play.

Got dam, what a moment.

 

[GreenspointTexas 9672]

1 hour ago, Machinator said:

How has nobody posted this yet?

 

 

I was pretty close from memory. One of my favorite texas basketball moments ever

[Gut Wagon 8087]

4 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

oh yeah, Kenpom had this game as 71-70 Texas. that shit is scary sometimes. 

Guess Drew didn't know to step inside the arc. 

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

Another highlight reel. This one's shorter, with a from-the-floor perspective and Craig Way's commentary. Look how much it meant to Drew.

 

[Funk Doctor Spock 12512]

7 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Pittsnoggle for 3. Got it!

Now its Texas driving, 5 seconds, 4.....

Paulino for 3 to win it..... OHHHHHH!

 

TEXAS wins on a last second shot by Kenton Paulinooooo!!!!!!

This still gives me goosebumps. That shot was just beautiful. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Spider2YBanana

[conVINCEd 21469]

7 hours ago, Dr. Beeper said:

Kai is good. Anyone who ranks him about Brown is insane. 

As an NBA prospect?  That long pass Kai reeled in today was an incredibly impressive exhibition of athleticism.  That pass looked like it was overthrown by a decent amount, and he ran it down and still had enough composure to catch it and lay it in.  That was a really difficult play that he made look easy.  He also has one drive per game where he kind of looks like Giannis, long strides and long arms somehow getting to the rim when you’re not quite sure how he did it.  Thus far Brown has shown me he is an elite athlete, a great rebounder for his position, and an inconsistent scorer.  Which is fine because he’s a freshman.  But Kai is intriguing af.  He does some things that just make you shake your head.  

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

Outside of his ridiculous athleticism the thing about Brown that I find really impressive is his touch. Kid has a really soft hands and touch for someone who doesn't really have a technically proficient shot. As he gets older and his form irons out, he's gonna explode into a really elite scorer in the league provided he puts the work in. 

[SDG 3319]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Beeper said:

As an NBA prospect. Greg Brown is as athletic as Kai but already a better scorer. He will only get better in that regard. Brown is ready made for the NBA. 

They both are which is why there's lottery talk for both.  

 

I just wish Kai was on the floor more.   

Edited January 10, 2021 by SDG
fuck auto correct.

[conVINCEd 21469]

1 minute ago, Dr. Beeper said:

As an NBA prospect. Greg Brown is as athletic as Kai but already a better scorer. He will only get better in that regard. Brown is ready made for the NBA. 

I don’t really have a position on this, I just don’t think it’s a done deal.  Throw in the fact that Kai has only been playing basketball for a few years and it’s worth having a conversation.