Texas Basketball 2024-25

[Braff Zacklin 13665]

However the RT experiment goes, I'll take him in a heartbeat over Shaka.

Good for Coach Smart that he and Marquette have been ranked for the past three seasons and thrown up a lot of big wins. He did not/could not do that here. He had several years and every opportunity.

In his one full season on the Forty, RT eclipsed anything Shaka was able to do, and he did it with a team that he mostly cobbled together with spare parts plucked from the portal.

[tx 3 putt 77461]

 

[Gut Wagon 8087]

On 11/23/2024 at 9:39 AM, Braff Zacklin said:

However the RT experiment goes, I'll take him in a heartbeat over Shaka.

Good for Coach Smart that he and Marquette have been ranked for the past three seasons and thrown up a lot of big wins. He did not/could not do that here. He had several years and every opportunity.

In his one full season on the Forty, RT eclipsed anything Shaka was able to do, and he did it with a team that he mostly cobbled together with spare parts plucked from the portal.

Even If Shaka becomes John Wooden at Marquette or someplace else, that still doesn't mean Texas was wrong to send him packing. He failed spectacularly in Austin and has only himself to blame. We of course can blame him AND Patterson AND Fenves.

None of this makes a direct case for Terry, but he's done a far better job for us than the fraud ever did. 
 

 

[realgreggym 837]

3 hours ago, Gut Wagon said:

Even If Shaka becomes John Wooden at Marquette or someplace else, that still doesn't mean Texas was wrong to send him packing. He failed spectacularly in Austin and has only himself to blame. We of course can blame him AND Patterson AND Fenves.

None of this makes a direct case for Terry, but he's done a far better job for us than the fraud ever did. 
 

 

Don't you mean Al McGuire at Marquette?😁

[jimmyjazz 46189]

Shaka is a puzzler for sure.  Far more success at VCU and Marquette than at UT.  The B12 is a partial explanation, but in the end that David (v Goliath) underdog ball just couldn't transfer (or wouldn't transfer).

[Js1 85587]

5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Shaka is a puzzler for sure.  Far more success at VCU and Marquette than at UT.  The B12 is a partial explanation, but in the end that David (v Goliath) underdog ball just couldn't transfer (or wouldn't transfer).

The most obvious aspect pf his failure was that he refused to play HAVOC at UT because he didn't think he could get NBA talent from the HS ranks to come play it.  

[jimmyjazz 46189]

Just now, Js1 said:

The most obvious aspect pf his failure was that he refused to play HAVOC at UT because he didn't think he could get NBA talent from the HS ranks to come play it.  

Yeah, that's why I said "or wouldn't" transfer.  I don't think Havoc is only suited for underdog programs.  Beard showed it's possible to take high level recruits and fit them into a system that demands a certain amount of selflessness and then succeed.

[Gut Wagon 8087]

2 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yeah, that's why I said "or wouldn't" transfer.  I don't think Havoc is only suited for underdog programs.  Beard showed it's possible to take high level recruits and fit them into a system that demands a certain amount of selflessness and then succeed.

Love him or not (I lean strongly to the latter), Kelvin Sampson continues to get some pretty elite guys to play solid D. He might not be running "Havoc," but his time at UH suggests his formula isn't attractive only to spunky developmental guys. 

[Js1 85587]

Tells me Shaka didn't want to try (and fail), instead just opting to fail by doing something radically different from what made him the hottest coaching prospect in CBB. 

[Derka 6368]

didn’t see this one coming:

 

[Derka 6368]

his efg% is a whopping .678. however his FT% is an even more impressive .100.

Edited Monday at 08:41 PM by Derka

[KingBobo81 540]

Some not great news about Jayson Kent from Gerry...

 

Quote

Jayson Kent's injury status ...
OTF was informed that forward Jayson Kent's wrist injury is going to keep him out for a while. There is the possibility of a medical redshirt depending on how long he is out. 

This is a significant loss for the Horns. Kent is a key floor spacer, is terrific without the ball and was a player that impacts winning in multiple ways with plenty of experience. 

 

[MotownHorn 1798]

19 minutes ago, KingBobo81 said:

Some not great news about Jayson Kent from Gerry...

 

 

That sucks 

[Degenerate Gardner 4085]

Fuckity fuck. I’m choosing to hope Kent isn’t out the whole year. 

 

We would so be paper thin in the front court If not for Kaluma’s late signing. Shedrick, Onyema, Vinson, and a freshman coming off injury in Codie might have been the death of me.

Edited yesterday at 12:11 AM by Degenerate Gardner

[HtownHorn 14786]

Get Pryor some time there as well, but yeah, this is horrible news for Texas.

[Rickylovesweed 14542]

I don't know why we haven't picked up full-court pressure more. 

While Onyema isn't great he's a perfect 5 for that style of play. We have the guards to do it too. With less size now, I wonder if we do pick up full-court pressure more. 

[Derka 6368]

 

Something that gets talked about a decent amount around here is the fact that playing (and beating the shit out of) a bunch of cupcakes will be good for our net rating. for me, i’d rather play a brutal ooc schedule and actually give my team a bunch of experience against sweet 16 caliber teams. i could not give fewer shits about NET rating if it means scheduling the entire SWAC in ooc.

NET doesn’t help you win in march, being battle tested does. as i watch all of these great matchups here during thanksgiving week i am reminded of how much i megaloathe scheduling cupcakes and the fact that it really doesn’t help our team get any better or more prepared for the tourney. scheduling top tier opponents is best for the team and best for the fans. i hate our schedule. bah humbug.

[Derka 6368]

currently watching duke and kansas as Texas awaits its super important matchup against delaware state. the average kenpom ranking of our ooc opponents to this point is 243. 243!!! 

the varsity doesn’t get better by playing against the JV; 6A teams don’t get prepared for the playoffs by playing against jim ned and idalou; and our players and team aren’t getting prepared for tourney success by playing against the sisters of the poor. 

the majority of this board (and college hoops fans in general) has made it clear that all they care about is tourney results. with that being the case i’m surprised that there isn’t any outrage about our pussy ass ooc schedule. the games are boring and the team doesn’t face adversity. i’m very much against this practice.

[Pancho 45024]

I think a lot of us have been yelling about the schedule for years. I know I have. 

Not sure why we can’t get in one of those tournaments being played in a hotel ballroom in the Bahamas. that would have been much better than Syracuse and St. Joes. I don’t’ know what RT’s philosophy is on scheduling as we got UConn.

It also sucks to go 14-1, 13-2 in a mediocre to shitty non-con then proceed to go 8-10 or 7-11 in conference play. 

[Rickylovesweed 14542]

23 minutes ago, Derka said:

 

Something that gets talked about a decent amount around here is the fact that playing (and beating the shit out of) a bunch of cupcakes will be good for our net rating. for me, i’d rather play a brutal ooc schedule and actually give my team a bunch of experience against sweet 16 caliber teams. i could not give fewer shits about NET rating if it means scheduling the entire SWAC in ooc.

NET doesn’t help you win in march, being battle tested does. as i watch all of these great matchups here during thanksgiving week i am reminded of how much i megaloathe scheduling cupcakes and the fact that it really doesn’t help our team get any better or more prepared for the tourney. scheduling top tier opponents is best for the team and best for the fans. i hate our schedule. bah humbug.

I'm not saying you're wrong but NET does matter in the sense that a higher seed would hypothetically mean an easier opponent in the earlier rounds.

Our best run in a long time is when we were a 2 seed. We need to keep trying to get these high seeds. 

 

[KingBobo81 540]

 
Something that gets talked about a decent amount around here is the fact that playing (and beating the shit out of) a bunch of cupcakes will be good for our net rating. for me, i’d rather play a brutal ooc schedule and actually give my team a bunch of experience against sweet 16 caliber teams. i could not give fewer shits about NET rating if it means scheduling the entire SWAC in ooc.
NET doesn’t help you win in march, being battle tested does. as i watch all of these great matchups here during thanksgiving week i am reminded of how much i megaloathe scheduling cupcakes and the fact that it really doesn’t help our team get any better or more prepared for the tourney. scheduling top tier opponents is best for the team and best for the fans. i hate our schedule. bah humbug.

Agree with all of this - I wrote a similar draft about this after some great Maui games yesterday but decided not to post since it has been discussed at length here.

The huge number of home garbage games we play are largely worthless for fans and the team, but I guess because the computer likes it and it helps with seeding, there is no reason not to do it. I wish in seasons we weren’t playing in Maui or a similar tournament, we’d schedule a little more aggressively.

[Pancho 45024]

Well it’s just an assumption that we are scheduling like this because the computers like it. Until RT comes out and tells us why we aren’t playing tougher opponents in non-con, it’s just a guess.

 

It could very well be RT doesn’t want to schedule tough non-con games because he needs/wants his record to look good at the end of the season in order to keep his job. Shitty to say, but it’s a possibility. 

[Rickylovesweed 14542]

All I know is that scheduling this way is working. 

We are currently #30 in NET without a great win. If we beat @NC State or UCONN we are likely going to be sitting pretty based on just the non-conference schedule. Assuming we keep blowing these bad teams out at home. 

NET really rewards beating these bad teams by large margins. Texas A&M stepped up their non-conference schedule this year playing UH, @ UCF, Ohio State, and Oregon already and will likely be outside of the top 50 of NET tomorrow. Hate the system not how we are rigging it. 

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

Beard was the master of these shit schedules. He created an entire tournament out of thin are for the expressed purpose of playing a shit schedule. I don't think we've played in one of those really great preseason tournaments since the season that Andrew Jones was diagnosed with leukemia. It was the Phil Knight tourney. 

[KingBobo81 540]

Beard was the master of these shit schedules. He created an entire tournament out of thin are for the expressed purpose of playing a shit schedule. I don't think we've played in one of those really great preseason tournaments since the season that Andrew Jones was diagnosed with leukemia. It was the Phil Knight tourney. 

We won the Maui Invitational in 2020 in Shaka’s last year.

We are playing in it next year actually too, the field is us, Baylor, NC State, Oregon, Seton Hall, UNLV, USC, Chaminade.

RT really is following the Beard shit scheduling philosophy, though we at least got two good home games (Gonzaga and Creighton) before the Beard era came to a screeching halt. I guess I’ll take the NCAA tournament wins over a decent non-conference slate, but NET really should stop letting teams game the system by blowing out bottom feeders.

[Derka 6368]

5 hours ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Beard was the master of these shit schedules. He created an entire tournament out of thin are for the expressed purpose of playing a shit schedule. I don't think we've played in one of those really great preseason tournaments since the season that Andrew Jones was diagnosed with leukemia. It was the Phil Knight tourney. 

yeah i hated his schedules. barnes schedules were brutal, and then shaka schedules weren’t as tough, but we still usually had a couple of marquee opponents and way fewer of these games vs teams ranked in the 350s. then beard came and started scheduling five of these teams every november and that’s basically all we’ve done since then. i was willing to put up with it considering that his formula had led to so much tourney success, but after so many years of this scheduling i’m beyond over it. get the team some experience and give the fans something worth watching.

Edited 11 hours ago by Derka

[jimmyjazz 46189]

With where we are right now, it would seem risky to add much more noncon strength of schedule, even if the SEC is a slight step down from the B12.  Last year we tied for 7th in conference and were a 7 seed at 20-12.  At some point 18 or 19 wins is gonna leave a team on the outside looking in as far as the NCAA tournament goes.  The margin is razor thin.

But I agree, most of these games are a drag.  Conference play will be much more interesting.

[Dbeasy 15094]

I like the idea of scheduling some lower ranked teams at the beginning of the season to wring out the rotations, work on issues, etc. But it’s stunning how low ranked they’ve gone. How about playing teams in the high double digits or low triple digits, not 200+. It’s ridiculous. And make sure to have 3-4 marquee matchups to improve before sec play. 

[idigTexas 2290]

10 hours ago, Derka said:

the majority of this board (and college hoops fans in general) has made it clear that all they care about is tourney results. with that being the case i’m surprised that there isn’t any outrage about our pussy ass ooc schedule. the games are boring and the team doesn’t face adversity. i’m very much against this practice.

I wouldn't say that ALL I care about is tournament success.  What I have said is that if I had to choose one or the other, I prefer tournament success over gaudy regular season records. Ideally, I would like Texas to have both, as one often translates to the other, and I like winning. 

I don't see the point in feeling outraged about our schedule, as I have no idea how or why it was determined.  We are winning games we are supposed to win, and our conference is plenty good enough to present ample opportunities to test ourselves. 

Barnes loves a difficult schedule.  It can also be said that his Texas teams were worn down by the end of the season.  It is probably just a coincidence, but maybe it isn't.  How did all of those difficult matchups help his tournament success?    

I do agree that there is room to improve the competition without having to face ranked opponents every week.  

Edited 9 hours ago by idigTexas

[HookEm 2468]

I like the approach of playing a few great teams and then a lot of middle of the pack teams. The Big12/SEC is already a murderers row, so we will be tested for close to 3 months prior to the tournament.  What I don't like playing are a bunch of absolute bottom feeders in D1. 

Our top end is great with UConn, tOSU, Syracuse, NC State. Those are all very good historic programs.  It isn't our fault that some of them are a little down this year. But man, the bottom feeder teams we are playing are terrible. 

Here are the 25 year program ranks for our OOC teams:

• 7 - UConn
• 13 - Ohio State
• 21 - Syracuse
• 43 - NC State
• 93 - St Joes
• 107 - NM State 
• ------------------------
• 295 - New Orleans
• 297 - Northwestern St
• 346 - Delaware St
• 353 - Chicago State
• 355 - Houston Christian
• 358 - Miss Valley St
• 360 - Ark Pine Bluff

KenPom has program ranks for 362 teams.  We play 5 ranked worse than 345. Holy hell, we should be beating these teams by 40+ points. That isn't fun for anybody.

We need to schedule more teams in the 150-250 range. Teams like UT Arlington, Rice, Tulane, Texas State, UTSA, Tarleton. They should still be wins, but would generate a lot more fan interest. 

[Pancho 45024]

I thought Barnes mentioned a few times that it was tough to get marquee non-con because they wouldn’t want to come here to lose. I think he relied on his friendships with coaches to get some great home/home games—Michigan state, UConn, nawf Carolina. Did we ever play Duke at home or was it in Houston? 

 

It’s tough to gauge what RTs philosophy is. I don’t think he can claim what Vic is claiming now for the women’s team which is they can’t get anyone to come here because they know they’d lose, but that is definitely a great problem to have I guess. 

 

Really think you should try to get:

- 1 marquee non-con at home

- 1 marquee/2nd tier non-con on the road

- decent tournament come thanksgiving such as one of the hotel ballroom or Caribbean tournaments 

-  fill the rest with swac, soufland, a-sun, sun belt, m-valley, etc.  teams 

[Js1 85587]

14 minutes ago, Pancho said:

I don’t think he can claim what Vic is claiming now for the women’s team which is they can’t get anyone to come here because they know they’d lose, but that is definitely a great problem to have I guess. 

It’s not even that. Teams don’t want to come to Austin and play 40 min of hell. 

[Hookem2147 21361]

16 hours ago, Rickylovesweed said:

All I know is that scheduling this way is working. 

We are currently #30 in NET without a great win. If we beat @NC State or UCONN we are likely going to be sitting pretty based on just the non-conference schedule. Assuming we keep blowing these bad teams out at home. 

NET really rewards beating these bad teams by large margins. Texas A&M stepped up their non-conference schedule this year playing UH, @ UCF, Ohio State, and Oregon already and will likely be outside of the top 50 of NET tomorrow. Hate the system not how we are rigging it. 

That is last year’s NET ranking (#30). I thought the same thing as you the other day when searching around for it but it said it hadn’t updated since March 17th. https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2025/net

I don’t think they release the first one for this year until early December.

[Js1 85587]

There’s not enough games to update NET yet 

[jimmyjazz 46189]

So NYET?