Texas basketball '21-'22: Welcome Chris Beard

[shadow_operative 15932]

 

[Radical Larry 28826]

[shadow_operative 15932]

4 minutes ago, usmc0331horn said:

So any predictions what the rotation is going to look like?

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

[Catdaddyhorn 3468]

On 4/11/2021 at 12:53 AM, Catdaddyhorn said:

I can't emphasize enough how much I love Arterio Morris' game. IMO he has the potential to ultimately end up being the best player out of this absolutely exceptional 2022 class of Texas basketball players. I'm dumbfounded at how he's currently slotted as the 10th best player in the state in the 247 composite rankings (in fairness to 247 they actually have him at #5 in their specific site rankings), but nonetheless this kid is a star in the making. I've made the Ja Morant comparisons before and that's who he is with his blend of elite athleticism and great playmaking ability. 

 

Check out some of the highlights from this outstanding playoff game between Dallas Kimball and Frisco Wakeland earlier this year. Frisco gave Kimball all they could handle.

 

Fucking A!!!

I can't describe how elated I am about this recruit. This guy is fucking Ja Morant in the making and the fact that he's still not rated as a top 10 player in his class is beyond stupid. This dude is the fucking truth. Not only did we get my favorite player in the 2022 class, but Beard has made his presence felt in the Metroplex, which is no small task.

To put our woeful recruiting in the Dallas area into perspective in the last 19 years of college basketball recruiting we've gotten only Lamarcus Aldridge, Andrew Jones, and Myles Turner out of Dallas when it comes to elite, top tier recruits. We've fucking sucked there. In one fell swoop (because Beard is going to get Keyonte George and hopefully at least one of Anthony Black or Cason Wallace or Rylan Griffin) Chris Beard said fuck that Dallas recruits don't go to Austin noise. And with Kentucky faltering and Coach K retiring we're going to absolutely dominate Dallas for the foreseeable future. 

Edited July 17, 2021 by Catdaddyhorn

[shadow_operative 15932]

37 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

Morris and George are both talented enough to be lottery picks after one year.   George is already polished enough where that is frankly the expectation.  Morris is more raw, but he has a freakish size and explosiveness combo for a lead guard (like a Westbrook or Wall), so I would still expect he is a one and done guy and high pick.

assuming George joins Morris at Texas, we have two guys being respectively compared to Ja Morant and James Harden taking the reins from Jones, Carr, and Ramey. with Askew still in the fold. yeah, i like that. 

[Rip76 5022]

Fucking Wow.

[Dbeasy 15613]

This is one of the most remarkable off seasons in Texas sports history for roster management and recruiting. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

2 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

This is one of the most remarkable off seasons in Texas sports history for roster management and recruiting. 

at the end of March it looked like we would be returning 3-4 players from last year's team + Shaka. we were staring down the barrel of one of the most depressing, and potentially damaging seasons for Texas hoops since Bob Weltlich was here. we're now only halfway through July and we've acquired so much talent that KD is trying to find a way to join the team (boom, roasted). there truly are no words. it's just so beautiful.

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1714]

Carr / Askew / Jones

Jones or Ramey / Febres

Allen / Cunningham / Tyson

Disu / Bishop / Allen

Mitchell / Disu / Bishop

 

My best guess at depth chart. 

[Catdaddyhorn 3468]

2 minutes ago, BurntOrangeBlooded15 said:

Carr / Askew / Jones

Jones or Ramey / Febres

Allen / Cunningham / Tyson

Disu / Bishop / Allen

Mitchell / Disu / Bishop

 

My best guess at depth chart. 

I could see Askew transferring within the next 2 seasons. 

[Pancho 46372]

32 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Fucking A!!!

I can't describe how elated I am about this recruit. This guy is fucking Ja Morant in the making and the fact that he's still not rated as a top 10 player in his class is beyond stupid. This dude is the fucking truth. Not only did we get my favorite player in the 2022 class, but Beard has made his presence felt in the Metroplex, which is no small task.

To put our woeful recruiting in the Dallas area into perspective in the last 19 years of college basketball recruiting we've gotten only Lamarcus Aldridge, Andrew Jones, and Myles Turner out of Dallas when it comes to elite, top tier recruits. We've fucking sucked there. In one fell swoop (because Beard is going to get Keyonte George and hopefully at least one of Anthony Black or Cason Wallace or Rylan Griffin) Chris Beard said fuck that Dallas recruits don't go to Austin noise. And with Kentucky faltering and Coach K retiring we're going to absolutely dominate Dallas for the foreseeable future. 

[Lerka Lerka 1097]

 

[Pancho 46372]

 

[Chad 1728]

https://longhornswire.usatoday.com/lists/texas-longhorns-basketball-chris-beard-roster-2021-2022-season/

7 players that can light up the stat sheet, that team is gonna be fun to watch. Picking up Morris was great news for the future as well.

Allen - 17.2 ppg

Disu - 15 ppg

Andrew Jones - 14.6 ppg

Ramey - 12.2 ppg

Mitchell - 18.8 ppg

Carr - 19.4 ppg

Bishop - 11 ppg

 

 

[Guest Lobo]

Well, we can now run, we can jump, we can handle the ball, we can drive, we can shoot, we can post, and we can go 11 deep for the first time since some great Barnes' teams.  If we can play good to great defense, we can play travel agent to Fort Worth, San Antonio, and New Orleans.  I'll bring my shoes and my glasses with me.  So that I have them.  

Judges will also accept San Antonio regionals, but starting in Greenville, South Carolina.  Where I know for a fact the committee is already penning in Duke for Coach K's swan song.  So we can skullfuck them in the second round before we move on.  I dunno, that would be on March 20.  And I have something at 11 that day.  

[Wally Pryor 5413]

God dammit I love this man.

[Teryor 5014]

Pre-Carr, but discusses what the roster looks like with him. Vecenie on why Texas is an undervalued champion bet. Part that jumped out to me was his expectation that the starting front court would be Allen, Disu, Bishop (over Mitchell):

 

https://theathletic.com/2702031/2021/07/14/2022-college-basketball-championship-futures-placing-early-bets-on-texas-purdue-and-ucla-to-win-march-madness-in-2022/

Spoiler

Texas (+2000 at BetMGM)
Again, I think this is just a good number. Why? Because Chris Beard is one of the best coaches in college basketball, he has proven he can take a team on a deep NCAA Tournament run. And he’s never had a team this talented before in his tenure. Torvik has Texas at No. 7 right now, and they’re being priced more as a top-16 team like Purdue.

What is the calling card here for a team that is essentially brand new? Well, this is the deepest frontcourt in college hoops. Gonzaga’s combination of Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren is probably the best frontcourt. But no other team in the country can quite match the sheer breadth of options here. And more importantly, this foursome all complements one another. To me, the two most talented guys here are Vanderbilt transfer Dylan Disu and Utah transfer Timmy Allen. Allen is just an absolute load to deal with as a scorer at the college level. He’s stronger than you as a combo forward, and he can get to his spots whenever he wants as a midrange shot-creating killer. He’s a multi-time 17-point-per-game scorer in the Pac-12 while surrounded by undermanned Utah rosters. Disu, on the other hand, is more of a bouncy, skilled hybrid big who can step away and shoot 3s, block some shots, and finish above the rim as a diving rim-runner. He’s the best NBA prospect of the group because of that. Behind them, Christian Bishop was something of a do-it-all swiss-army knife for Creighton. He’s wing-sized but can play up the lineup and finish well around the rim. He’s switchable defensively and can protect the rim a bit. I’d venture that these are your three starters at the three, four and five. But even more, behind them, the team also got first-team All-Atlantic-10 forward Tre Mitchell, one of the best post weapons in the country.

Basically, they’re going to be able to mix-and-match these four players — all of whom are darn near high-major all-conference level performers — into whatever situation they need. Need to play switchable, athletic defenders? Disu and Bishop fit. Need athletic weak-side rim protectors? Again, that’s Disu and Bishop. Need to punish someone inside? Mitchell can step up. Or guard a big post? Yeah, that’s Mitchell again. Have a situation where you need the ultimate mismatch threat against smaller guards and wings? Allen will go get his buckets. It’s a group of players that just fit together in terms of skill level.

The backcourt isn’t a joke, either. Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey return as older, multi-year starters from last season’s Big 12 Tournament champion. Jones was second-team All-Big 12, and Ramey was third team. They’ve already brought in Devin Askew as well, who had a rough freshman year at Kentucky but still profiles as a long-term high-major starter. He just got to Kentucky a year before he was ready after reclassifying. I’d expect he’ll be better as a sophomore.

But the bigger news is what could be to come. Former Minnesota point guard Marcus Carr is down to a final five teams in his recruitment for his final year of college basketball. Texas is on that list, along with Kentucky, Kansas, Auburn, and Louisville. Carr also made third-team All-Big Ten last year, but I think he’s better than either Jones or Ramey. Coaches around the league rave about how creative Carr is off the bounce both as a distributor and scorer, which is a complementary skillset to both Ramey and Jones. He’d step in and be the leader at the lead guard spot that Texas could really use to finalize its roster. Right now, he’s the best transfer available on the market.

And if we’re looking through it, Texas makes the most sense for Carr. Kentucky’s backcourt has Sahvir Wheeler, Kellan Grady, Davion Mintz, C.J. Fredrick, and incoming freshman TyTy Washington. Kansas just got Remy Martin and Ochai Agbaji back from the NBA Draft process, plus recruited Joseph Yesufu, Bobby Pettiford, and Jalen Coleman-Lands this summer. Auburn also recruited a three-point guard in the transfer portal this summer in K.D. Johnson, Zep Jasper and Wendell Green. Louisville makes the most sense out of the other teams on that list, but they still also brought in El Ellis and Jarrod West as options and don’t project to be as good as these other teams. Transfers make decisions that often aren’t necessarily the most logical choice to help their careers, but Carr’s best choice in that regard seems to be to head to Texas among the teams he’s considering.

If they got Carr, I don’t think there would be a case against Texas as a top-five team in college basketball heading into next season. They’d have elite veteran guard depth in Carr, Jones and Ramey, all of whom are high-major all-league players. They’d have the deepest frontcourt in the country. They’d have a couple of good, older rotational wings in Jase Febres and Brock Cunningham. But more than that, they’d have seven guys who could have a legitimate all-conference case at different spots in high-major leagues, and all of them provide differing skillsets that the team can mix and match with depending on what it needs on a given night. On top of it, they have someone I consider to be a top-five coach in the country in Beard. Heck, even if they don’t get Carr, the team is still loaded.

Maybe the integration of too many new pieces will prove too difficult. Maybe there will be too many mouths to feed. Those are real concerns here with a team this talented. Role allocation could end up being an issue. But in terms of pure talent, this is undeniably a top-five team in the country. And again, it’s being priced only at a top-16 level. Basically, a Texas bet is a bet on Chris Beard to be able to figure out how to make a roster work. Personally, that’s something I’m more than comfortable with doing, given what we’ve already seen from him in his career.

 

Edited July 17, 2021 by Teryor

[TexArcher 39077]

Show me a loss.  Like, ever again.

[shadow_operative 15932]

my presence on social media is minimal to say the least. no facebook, only use twitter for sports updates, and have an IG where i post a photo about once a month. and yet and still, over the last 24-48 hours i have been running across an interminable deluge of tech tears. and a lot of is just shit ghat they've made up to make themselves feel better, which is hilarious. "oh you know how Texas does- that dirty-ass program will pay for whoever they want, there's no way the Australian League will be able to put up a better offer than Texas." ive heard some derivation of that 10 times the last two days, which again, is hilarious.

the best HS players from Texas have been leaving the state for 20 straight years to go to Kentucky, UNC, and Kansas, but yyyyeeaaahhhh, we're over here splashing the cash on...Will Baker? Courtney Ramey? Jase Febres? we are just now getting top flight recruits to commit to Texas because of Ulric Maligi who was previously at Texas Tech, but sure, throw the "dirty program" accusations this way if it will help you cathart. 

[MotownHorn 1907]

6 hours ago, Jebus said:

Quoting just to repeat and emphasize 

Yep. I hated losing that game but it looks like it was a great thing in the long run.

Thank you ACU and thank you Marquette!

[MotownHorn 1907]

2 hours ago, Teryor said:

Pre-Carr, but discusses what the roster looks like with him. Vecenie on why Texas is an undervalued champion bet. Part that jumped out to me was his expectation that the starting front court would be Allen, Disu, Bishop (over Mitchell):

 

https://theathletic.com/2702031/2021/07/14/2022-college-basketball-championship-futures-placing-early-bets-on-texas-purdue-and-ucla-to-win-march-madness-in-2022/

  Hide contents

Texas (+2000 at BetMGM)
Again, I think this is just a good number. Why? Because Chris Beard is one of the best coaches in college basketball, he has proven he can take a team on a deep NCAA Tournament run. And he’s never had a team this talented before in his tenure. Torvik has Texas at No. 7 right now, and they’re being priced more as a top-16 team like Purdue.

What is the calling card here for a team that is essentially brand new? Well, this is the deepest frontcourt in college hoops. Gonzaga’s combination of Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren is probably the best frontcourt. But no other team in the country can quite match the sheer breadth of options here. And more importantly, this foursome all complements one another. To me, the two most talented guys here are Vanderbilt transfer Dylan Disu and Utah transfer Timmy Allen. Allen is just an absolute load to deal with as a scorer at the college level. He’s stronger than you as a combo forward, and he can get to his spots whenever he wants as a midrange shot-creating killer. He’s a multi-time 17-point-per-game scorer in the Pac-12 while surrounded by undermanned Utah rosters. Disu, on the other hand, is more of a bouncy, skilled hybrid big who can step away and shoot 3s, block some shots, and finish above the rim as a diving rim-runner. He’s the best NBA prospect of the group because of that. Behind them, Christian Bishop was something of a do-it-all swiss-army knife for Creighton. He’s wing-sized but can play up the lineup and finish well around the rim. He’s switchable defensively and can protect the rim a bit. I’d venture that these are your three starters at the three, four and five. But even more, behind them, the team also got first-team All-Atlantic-10 forward Tre Mitchell, one of the best post weapons in the country.

Basically, they’re going to be able to mix-and-match these four players — all of whom are darn near high-major all-conference level performers — into whatever situation they need. Need to play switchable, athletic defenders? Disu and Bishop fit. Need athletic weak-side rim protectors? Again, that’s Disu and Bishop. Need to punish someone inside? Mitchell can step up. Or guard a big post? Yeah, that’s Mitchell again. Have a situation where you need the ultimate mismatch threat against smaller guards and wings? Allen will go get his buckets. It’s a group of players that just fit together in terms of skill level.

The backcourt isn’t a joke, either. Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey return as older, multi-year starters from last season’s Big 12 Tournament champion. Jones was second-team All-Big 12, and Ramey was third team. They’ve already brought in Devin Askew as well, who had a rough freshman year at Kentucky but still profiles as a long-term high-major starter. He just got to Kentucky a year before he was ready after reclassifying. I’d expect he’ll be better as a sophomore.

But the bigger news is what could be to come. Former Minnesota point guard Marcus Carr is down to a final five teams in his recruitment for his final year of college basketball. Texas is on that list, along with Kentucky, Kansas, Auburn, and Louisville. Carr also made third-team All-Big Ten last year, but I think he’s better than either Jones or Ramey. Coaches around the league rave about how creative Carr is off the bounce both as a distributor and scorer, which is a complementary skillset to both Ramey and Jones. He’d step in and be the leader at the lead guard spot that Texas could really use to finalize its roster. Right now, he’s the best transfer available on the market.

And if we’re looking through it, Texas makes the most sense for Carr. Kentucky’s backcourt has Sahvir Wheeler, Kellan Grady, Davion Mintz, C.J. Fredrick, and incoming freshman TyTy Washington. Kansas just got Remy Martin and Ochai Agbaji back from the NBA Draft process, plus recruited Joseph Yesufu, Bobby Pettiford, and Jalen Coleman-Lands this summer. Auburn also recruited a three-point guard in the transfer portal this summer in K.D. Johnson, Zep Jasper and Wendell Green. Louisville makes the most sense out of the other teams on that list, but they still also brought in El Ellis and Jarrod West as options and don’t project to be as good as these other teams. Transfers make decisions that often aren’t necessarily the most logical choice to help their careers, but Carr’s best choice in that regard seems to be to head to Texas among the teams he’s considering.

If they got Carr, I don’t think there would be a case against Texas as a top-five team in college basketball heading into next season. They’d have elite veteran guard depth in Carr, Jones and Ramey, all of whom are high-major all-league players. They’d have the deepest frontcourt in the country. They’d have a couple of good, older rotational wings in Jase Febres and Brock Cunningham. But more than that, they’d have seven guys who could have a legitimate all-conference case at different spots in high-major leagues, and all of them provide differing skillsets that the team can mix and match with depending on what it needs on a given night. On top of it, they have someone I consider to be a top-five coach in the country in Beard. Heck, even if they don’t get Carr, the team is still loaded.

Maybe the integration of too many new pieces will prove too difficult. Maybe there will be too many mouths to feed. Those are real concerns here with a team this talented. Role allocation could end up being an issue. But in terms of pure talent, this is undeniably a top-five team in the country. And again, it’s being priced only at a top-16 level. Basically, a Texas bet is a bet on Chris Beard to be able to figure out how to make a roster work. Personally, that’s something I’m more than comfortable with doing, given what we’ve already seen from him in his career.

 

thanks for sharing. i'm about to go put some money on our Longhorns!

[Guest Lobo]

Ulrich Maligi & Vidal Massiah.  If that's who we're thanking for this phenomenal week in Longhorn hoops recruiting history. Then I'd also like to add, Jeff...the God of Biscuits.  

[Snake Diggity 4720]

G: Carr/Askew/Perryman

G: Jones/Ramey/Febres

W: Allen/Tyson

F: Bishop/Benson/Cunningham

F: Disu/Mitchell

 

Jesus.

[shadow_operative 15932]

 

 

 

[Blotto 24044]

Frankly I dont get these kids. Dont they know bout Beard and his penchant for extra butter? Why would they want to play for an egotistical monster like that? Whatever, I'll  take it. I'll also take me some of this 15-1 action before it drops further. 

[TexArcher 39077]

26 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

Jesus.

I'm sure Beard's on the phone with his people.

[conVINCEd 21477]

I’m beyond impressed.  I don’t think it’s possible for a new coach to have a better first few months on the job.  Actually Steve Fisher at Michigan did, but that’s probably it.

[EZ$ 2130]

1 hour ago, Blotto said:

Frankly I dont get these kids. Dont they know bout Beard and his penchant for extra butter? Why would they want to play for an egotistical monster like that? Whatever, I'll  take it. I'll also take me some of this 15-1 action before it drops further. 

I put $100 at +1400.  Not good at math, but I told my boss I’ll be retiring by April. 

[Snake Diggity 4720]

It's going to be extremely interesting to see how the playing time and chemistry pans out.  This roster is 7 deep with guys who have legit NBA potential and 10 deep of guys who would start at most D1 schools.  7 of these players were stars on their last team who averaged 25+ minutes per game.  Of course I guess this is how it is regularly for elite programs like Kentucky, Duke, UNC, and Kansas, but it's just really hard to see how Beard will be able to keep all these guys happy.  For these guys to generally improve their PPG from last season the team would have to average like 140 ppg

 

6 months ago if you'd told me the starting 5 next season would be Askew, Ramey, Febres, Tyson, and Mitchell, I would have been STOKED with that.  Now that is our SECOND TEAM.  Fuckin' A.

Edited July 18, 2021 by Snake Diggity

[Blotto 24044]

6 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

It's going to be extremely interesting to see how the playing time and chemistry pans out.  This roster is 7 deep with guys who have legit NBA potential and 10 deep of guys who would start at most D1 schools.  7 of these players were stars on their last team who averaged 25+ minutes per game.  Of course I guess this is how it is regularly for elite programs like Kentucky, Duke, UNC, and Kansas, but it's just really hard to see how Beard will be able to keep all these guys happy.  For these guys to generally improve their PPG from last season the team would have to average like 140 ppg

 

6 months ago if you'd told me the starting 5 next season would be Askew, Ramey, Febres, Tyson, and Mitchell, I would have been STOKED with that.  Now that is our SECOND TEAM.  Fuckin' A.

Issues with PT seem like the biggest challenge Beard may have next season. I don't see how he keeps them all happy. and once the minutes shake out however they shake out, could be rocky for a bit. 

[totallynotabuttpirate 5492]

Just win baby should help. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

i still don't see it. i'm not worried about egos at all. these guys came here to win. they know what they signed up for. you don't win by bitching about minutes, you win by buying in and giving max effort with the minutes that you do get. it would be one thing if we had four guards who all got 20 ppg on 15 fga last year, but that's far from the case. yes our roster is deep and talented, but we don't have a ton of duplicate skill sets within that roster. guys will have their roles, and as long as we're winning, they will be happy, barring any actual attitude problems among the players.

again, this team learning to jell together is a potential issue that worries me much more than anybody's feelings being hurt because they aren't getting their shots or minutes. on-court cohesion and chemistry is 100% what will determine how far this team goes. knowing where your teammate likes to receive the ball and where he likes to shoot from, knowing where your teammates will be on the court, understanding how best to play with your teammates, etc. you can't acquire these things with practice reps, you can only get this cohesion through playing games, and we only have so many games to find the right combination of guys who understand each other the best and have us playing our most efficient ball. with so many talented players and so few games to play, this issue worries me 10x more than any potential issues about ego. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

also, if you look at championship coaches around every major sport, it's pretty much nothing but guys who are both extremely demanding and extremely honest. their players know what's what. i have no idea how many of you are familiar with the types of things that coaches say to their major college scholarship athletes (i really don't, i'm not trying to be patronizing), but i can guarantee you that the guys on our team have heard/will hear some form of this message:

We have the capability to win big with this team. We can win the Big XII, and we can win the NCAA title. We are talented, and athletic, and deep, and all we have to do to accomplish our goals is simply bring the shit together. there is no room for your ego. if you can't get on board, too fucking bad. look around you- there are plenty of good players here who would love to have your minutes. if you can't get on board then we will without you.  

100% guarantee. besides which, ego issues are about bad apples, and over the years we've had 100x more studs whose egos never were a detriment to the team than vice versa, and we've had some really deep and/or talented teams. call me a stupid asshole if i end up being wrong, but i'm just not worried about anyone's ego getting in the way of our success. 

[Blotto 24044]

I want to be wrong. I also know that most of these guys want to play professionally. Sitting on the bench doesnt do  a lot to move you closer to those aspirations. We'll see how it plays out. The classic "good problem to have".

[shadow_operative 15932]

here's a potential on-court cohesion issue that i think is a decent example of the type of thing that i'm talking about:

remember how J'Covan Brown had great vision and the ability to make spot-on no-look passes?  yeah. remember how many times he pegged Wangmene dodgeball style because Wangmene didn't even realize he was open and therefore wasn't even ready for the pass?

so let's say that Carr has that in his bag, that he has the ability not only see the floor, but to be able to hit an open teammate with a no-look pass; well, some guys are always ready for those passes, and some guys are never ready. some guys aren't ready for them at first, but then get more used to them as time goes on. Carr only has x amount of minutes in x amount of games to acquire an understanding of who will turn those passes into buckets, and who will get pegged in the head resulting in a turnover. 

that's one fairly realistic example of the type of stuff that "worries" me about this team. however, as the great Marlo Stanfield might say, "sound like one of them good problems."

[shadow_operative 15932]

4 minutes ago, Blotto said:

The classic "good problem to have".

haha. see the end my last post. 

 

[closetojumping 65538]

Derka has it straight. I’m not worried about guys complaining about minutes. I’m worried about guys knowing how to play together. None of these guys came to Texas with illusions. 

[Fletch 5817]

This is fucking insane. I’ve always (besides the late Barnes and Shaka shit) have been a pretty big fan of UT basketball. It’s easily 3rd behind baseball and football for me. But mother fuck for the first time in my life I’m more excited for basketball season. Yeah yeah “no shit” with what Beard has thrown together on paper, but still. Even in 2015 when Shaka got here and we were in year 2 of Charlie pretty much knowing 7-5 would be a fucking miracle, I was still looking forward to football season more so than year 1 of Shaka. Fucking a let’s roll. Beard and Pierce got us on the right track. Sark, you got this. Please 

[shadow_operative 15932]

34 minutes ago, Fletch said:

This is fucking insane. I’ve always (besides the late Barnes and Shaka shit) have been a pretty big fan of UT basketball. It’s easily 3rd behind baseball and football for me. But mother fuck for the first time in my life I’m more excited for basketball season. Yeah yeah “no shit” with what Beard has thrown together on paper, but still. Even in 2015 when Shaka got here and we were in year 2 of Charlie pretty much knowing 7-5 would be a fucking miracle, I was still looking forward to football season more so than year 1 of Shaka. Fucking a let’s roll. Beard and Pierce got us on the right track. Sark, you got this. Please 

i'm a cubs fan. over a period of 2+ years we acquired Theo Epstein, Joe Maddon, Jon Lester, Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Aroldis Chapman, et al. as it happened, it was surreal; like a dream. my team was really, *really* going for it. and as we were acquiring all of these pieces, and adding them to the pieces we already had, i had the strangest experience, which is what i think you're describing- i was like, "holy fuck, we should win it all. we should it all? we should win it all! the Cubs should win it all! HOLY SHIT." well, we fucked around and won it all. that situation is the only comparable experience i have to this one, and again, that one took 2+ years to play out; this has happened in 3 1/2 months! it's fucking insane! it's a real life video game. "oh, i'll take the best available coach, all of the best available transfers, oh, and throw in some 5* HS guards, you know, for the future or whatever." it truly is surreal. November cannot get here fast enough. 

[Snake Diggity 4720]

The main player I think would be at risk of being deeply unhappy is Askew.  Carr wasn’t here when he committed and that obviously will have a major impact on the number of minutes Askew will get.  The rest of the 2nd and 3rd team guys seem like they will be ok: Mitchell and Ramey will get plenty of run as the primary backups to all 5 starters, Tyson is a freshman, and Febres was already used to a lesser role (same for Benson and Cunningham).  But surely Askew would not have come here if he’d known he would be the 3rd guy off the bench and in line for <20 minutes a game.  I hope I’m wrong and Askew came here with the understanding that it was a developmental/multiyear move, and Beard has already managed to set everyone’s expectations that nobody will be getting 30+ minutes per game and everyone is on board.  This is the deepest roster in Texas basketball history.

Edited July 18, 2021 by Snake Diggity

[Brian Fantana 6876]

2 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

i still don't see it. i'm not worried about egos at all. these guys came here to win. they know what they signed up for. you don't win by bitching about minutes, you win by buying in and giving max effort with the minutes that you do get. it would be one thing if we had four guards who all got 20 ppg on 15 fga last year, but that's far from the case. yes our roster is deep and talented, but we don't have a ton of duplicate skill sets within that roster. guys will have their roles, and as long as we're winning, they will be happy, barring any actual attitude problems among the players.

again, this team learning to jell together is a potential issue that worries me much more than anybody's feelings being hurt because they aren't getting their shots or minutes. on-court cohesion and chemistry is 100% what will determine how far this team goes. knowing where your teammate likes to receive the ball and where he likes to shoot from, knowing where your teammates will be on the court, understanding how best to play with your teammates, etc. you can't acquire these things with practice reps, you can only get this cohesion through playing games, and we only have so many games to find the right combination of guys who understand each other the best and have us playing our most efficient ball. with so many talented players and so few games to play, this issue worries me 10x more than any potential issues about ego. 

This is 100% right. This was a problem with Tech last year, specifically with Mac McClung and a few other players. Kyler Edwards likely ended up going to Houston because he thought McClung was going to be returning. It's just something you gotta hope happens organically.

[CurlyDumps 4664]

I should just start a Jeff Goodman appreciation thread, He’s at it again:

 

 

[UTDD 362]

For the first time in a long time, I'm definitely more excited about basketball than football.  There may be an issue of not reaching peak efficiency due to playing time with specific rotations/combinations, but this is a pretty good concern versus not having...you know, good (even average) coaching, enough talent, etc.

[shadow_operative 15932]

i'm more excited about Texas basketball than Texas football for the first time since last year.

[BowleggedMonkey 3]

The main player I think would be at risk of being deeply unhappy is Askew.  Carr wasn’t here when he committed and that obviously will have a major impact on the number of minutes Askew will get.  The rest of the 2nd and 3rd team guys seem like they will be ok: Mitchell and Ramey will get plenty of run as the primary backups to all 5 starters, Tyson is a freshman, and Febres was already used to a lesser role (same for Benson and Cunningham).  But surely Askew would not have come here if he’d known he would be the 3rd guy off the bench and in line for

Bob Weltich would be proud! #noCheerleaders


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[EZ$ 2130]

One thing about this “stacked” lineup is that its all experienced/older players. We aren’t doing the Kentucky or Duke thing where you are trying to get five 5-star freshman to gel in 4-5 months. I think this older lineup will be able to get it going much quicker. 

[Guest]

10 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

i still don't see it. i'm not worried about egos at all. these guys came here to win. they know what they signed up for.

Nimari Burnett.  Khavon Moore.

It happens.  It'll happen again.  Your program will keep churning towards wins though too.

Fuck the quitters is how I feel.

[closetojumping 65538]

9 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

The main player I think would be at risk of being deeply unhappy is Askew.  Carr wasn’t here when he committed and that obviously will have a major impact on the number of minutes Askew will get.  The rest of the 2nd and 3rd team guys seem like they will be ok: Mitchell and Ramey will get plenty of run as the primary backups to all 5 starters, Tyson is a freshman, and Febres was already used to a lesser role (same for Benson and Cunningham).  But surely Askew would not have come here if he’d known he would be the 3rd guy off the bench and in line for <20 minutes a game.  I hope I’m wrong and Askew came here with the understanding that it was a developmental/multiyear move, and Beard has already managed to set everyone’s expectations that nobody will be getting 30+ minutes per game and everyone is on board.  This is the deepest roster in Texas basketball history.

This isn’t the Astros farm system. You can stop handwringing about potentially losing a guy down the line, as it’s not a limit issue like losing top draft picks. You’ve just witnessed the weaponization of the transfer portal and we know this staff can recruit. If Askew leaves after the season, so be it, they’ll find other guys. 

Texas intentionally waited on pushing Carr until after July 1. It wasn’t an accident. But guys in 2022-2023 are fungible. 

[Wally Pryor 5413]

7 hours ago, CurlyDumps said:

I should just start a Jeff Goodman appreciation thread, He’s at it again:

 

 

Was there any place in / near Lubbock to use this ?

Serious question.