Jump to content

Texas Basketball 2024-25


shadow_operative

Recommended Posts

5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'll be rooting for the good guys every game, as always, but this is not a top 25 team.  I can't predict what NET will say about our cupcake schedule coming up, but come on.

I like your music takes but you know fuck all about basketball. 

This team is kinda nasty and absolutely a SS contender. 

We'll see if they get there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'll be rooting for the good guys every game, as always, but this is not a top 25 team.  I can't predict what NET will say about our cupcake schedule coming up, but come on.

It is hardly a cupcake schedule. Seven of the eight remaining games are against Kenpom top-50 teams including #6 Alabama. Just about every game is against the equivalent of a tourney team. Most D1 teams don't face a stretch of games that hard all year.  It just seems easy compared to the brutal early schedule.

Net and KenPom are ranking us appropriately. We can beat anyone. We only lost by 5 to #1 Auburn and by 4 to #4 Tennessee. We should have beaten Ole Miss on the road. We can be frustrating AF, but will be a very hard out for whoever plays us. And we are getting better.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'll be rooting for the good guys every game, as always, but this is not a top 25 team.  I can't predict what NET will say about our cupcake schedule coming up, but come on.

I don't know if we're a top 25 team but in the last 4 games we've played #22 Missouri (won by 8), #13 A&M (won by 1), #23 Ole Miss on the road (lost by 3), LSU (won by 31).

We are certainly playing like a top 25 caliber-ish team recently. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

I don't know if we're a top 25 team but in the last 4 games we've played #22 Missouri (won by 8), #13 A&M (won by 1), #23 Ole Miss on the road (lost by 3), LSU (won by 31).

We are certainly playing like a top 25 caliber-ish team recently. 

Oh, I understand.  I'm just going on the eye test as someone who has paid close attention to this program for 40 years.  I'm no expert, though, but man we look rough at times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, ztejas said:

We've had a lot the past two seasons but there's just a ton of turnover in the sport in general. How you reload every season is frankly just as important as how you coach your guys during the season. If 10 games in to the season you realize the guys aren't a good fit or there are holes you weren't anticipating you're kind of fucked. 

It makes sense that wholesale changing out of guards and wings to the extent we did this year would require more time to develop chemistry than what would've been the case had we just changed out bigs and forwards. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With Disu they'd be ranked in the Top 15. Replacing Disu with Shedrick was a massive downgrade. Not knocking Shedrick, he's a fine bench player playing limited minutes....but he's not someone who should be leaned on and is best suited to a limited role. His production is on par with last season's totals playing 8 more minutes a game. The team has displayed a resurgence that gives me hope that they can make the tourney. The beginning of the conference slate led me to believe they'd miss the tourney entirely. I want to see Texas beat the teams they should and pick up an upset over Bama or Kentucky at home that would be a huge resume boost. I believe that Mississippi St game on the road doesn't look as daunting as it once did they've cooled off and it'd amount to a Q1 win if Texas wins that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

the remaining schedule is definitely not a cakewalk.  that's ridiculous.

Compared to the first 9 games, it's far easier.  We had a very front loaded schedule, facing 6 of the top 7 (and aggy twice).  Our back half, we only face 1 team in the top 7 (Bama) and 5 of the 6 at the bottom of the standings (Arky twice)

Average NET of our first half opponents was 21.56, with a conference record of 39-28
Average NET of our second half opponents is 39.78, with a conference record of 28-40

This team has to do what it did Saturday against LSU, but against OU, arky x2, Georgia and SoCar, which would give us a 9-9 conf record at a minimum. 

Also of our 4 toughest games left - Vandy got buttfucked by a bad OU team, UK lost at home to Arkansas and MSST got ass blasted by a Mizzou team that we beat.  The only auto-loss is probably Alabama 

Edited by Js1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think people are reacting to the word "cupcake". The schedule is still brutal just by nature of being in the hardest conference in the last 20 years. 

For comparison, I picked 4 similar teams from the other power conferences...

  • Texas (SEC) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 39.7 
  • Baylor (B12) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 47.4
  • Ohio St (B10) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 49.3 
  • St. Johns (Big East) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 67.4
  • Louisville (ACC) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 126.4

Maybe those other teams "look like top-25 teams" because they are constantly feasting on actual cupcakes.  It is hard to look great when you are playing against Auburn and Tennessee.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, HookEm said:

I think people are reacting to the word "cupcake". The schedule is still brutal just by nature of being in the hardest conference in the last 20 years. 

 

It’s by far harder than non-SEC teams in our conference position/NET but it’s 100% a cupcake compared to the first 9 games we had to face.

Remember all the “1-7 January or 0-8 January” posts? We did well to get 3 wins out of the first 8 games and then take care of business in Baton Rouge. 

With the strength of the SEC and how front loaded our schedule was, 4-5 was a blessing 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, HookEm said:

I think people are reacting to the word "cupcake".

OK, let's put this to bed.  Mea culpa.  It was an inference to the RELATIVE difference between the first half and second half of our conference schedule.

I will do better next time I post at 10:30 PM on a Sunday night, after consuming multiple beers at a family get-together.  Please don't ban me.

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Js1 said:

Compared to the first 9 games, it's far easier.  We had a very front loaded schedule, facing 6 of the top 7 (and aggy twice).  Our back half, we only face 1 team in the top 7 (Bama) and 5 of the 6 at the bottom of the standings (Arky twice)

Average NET of our first half opponents was 21.56, with a conference record of 39-28
Average NET of our second half opponents is 39.78, with a conference record of 28-40

This team has to do what it did Saturday against LSU, but against OU, arky x2, Georgia and SoCar, which would give us a 9-9 conf record at a minimum. 

Also of our 4 toughest games left - Vandy got buttfucked by a bad OU team, UK lost at home to Arkansas and MSST got ass blasted by a Mizzou team that we beat.  The only auto-loss is probably Alabama 

8 of the 9 remaining games are against teams currently ranked in the top 50 of kenpom.  5 of those game are against teams currently in the top 39.  just because it's not brutal like the first half of the conference schedule doesn't mean its easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Rickylovesweed said:

I don't know if we're a top 25 team but in the last 4 games we've played #22 Missouri (won by 8), #13 A&M (won by 1), #23 Ole Miss on the road (lost by 3), LSU (won by 31).

We are certainly playing like a top 25 caliber-ish team recently. 

I think we're definitely a top 25 caliber team. We're 4-5 in the SEC and Tennessee is 5-4. And we barely lost to them.

Somehow they're ranked 8th and we're in the "other votes received" column around 35th.

Doesn't make a lot of logical sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, MotownHorn said:

I think we're definitely a top 25 caliber team. We're 4-5 in the SEC and Tennessee is 5-4. And we barely lost to them.

Somehow they're ranked 8th and we're in the "other votes received" column around 35th.

Doesn't make a lot of logical sense.

1)tennessee is no.4 in both kenpom and net, texas is 29/24. tennessee also currently has the best defense in the history of kenpom.

2)Tennessee started the season ranked highly and proceeded to go 18-1 in their first 19 games. Texas opened up ranked 19th, lost our opening game, played the actual worst schedule of any power conference team, and then opened SEC play at 1-4, including a loss to tennessee.

it makes perfect logical sense.

Edited by Derka
Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, MotownHorn said:

I think we're definitely a top 25 caliber team. We're 4-5 in the SEC and Tennessee is 5-4. And we barely lost to them.

Somehow they're ranked 8th and we're in the "other votes received" column around 35th.

Doesn't make a lot of logical sense.

 

I mean…we also have 3 more losses than Tennessee overall. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mean, Tenn has wins over Louisville, Baylor, Illinois, MSST and Florida. They don't have a bad loss - at Florida, at Vandy, UK and at Auburn. 

They are ranked where they are for a reason.  It is hard to fall out of the rankings this late - Oregon is still ranked in the top 20 despite a 5-6 conference record.  Really living off those November wins over aggy and Bama. 

Texas fell out and didn't have a UConn type non-conf win to knock us back in, and we had chances in early Jan (Tenn/Auburn) to get ourselves ranked again.  

If we beat Bama and UK, we may pop in to the rankings.  But highly doubtful. 

Edited by Js1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I mean, Tenn has wins over Louisville, Baylor, Illinois, MSST and Florida. They don't have a bad loss - at Florida, at Vandy, UK and at Auburn. 

It doesn't change the overall conclusion, but a 30 point loss to Florida where you only scored 41 points is a pretty bad loss, even if Florida is a good team.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Texas Wahoo said:

It doesn't change the overall conclusion, but a 30 point loss to Florida where you only scored 41 points is a pretty bad loss, even if Florida is a good team.

100% true. that said, turning around and whipping florida without zeigler or milicic went ahead and made up for that. 

and for those who haven’t watched tennessee, i continue to be amazed that they are as good as they are considering their lack of depth, shooters, and high end talent. that defense, as i said, is currently the highest rated defense in kenpom history. when you watch that team play, their identity is evident. i really miss having that(a clear and defined identity) here at Texas. stupid beard and his dumbass, psycho gf.

Edited by Derka
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Devon Pryor is starting to get a lot of minutes, and he's been really good. Gerry said before the season, he was the #2 guy on the roster as far as NBA potential goes. I just don't see how Weaver gets on the court when he gets healthy now with Pryor's emergence. He's a great hustler, but his basketball skill has increased. Wouldn't be shocked if Weaver goes back down to the G5 level where his current skillset is a better match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it is wildly premature for this many people to be giving up on weaver. he was one of our better/more important players coming into this year, and we’re losing most of our players at the end of this year. he had a slow start this year and then got hurt. let’s not suddenly decide that he sucks because of that. his shot form was always good and his efficiency was on the upswing last year. as is, he is easily good enough to be on our team and give us some good energy minutes off the bench. should our staff actually be able to develop him any further then even better. we might not know how he fits with our current rotations, but that doesn’t mean he’s not good enough to play here.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Derka said:

it is wildly premature for this many people to be giving up on weaver. he was one of our better/more important players coming into this year, and we’re losing most of our players at the end of this year. he had a slow start this year and then got hurt. let’s not suddenly decide that he sucks because of that. his shot form was always good and his efficiency was on the upswing last year. as is, he is easily good enough to be on our team and give us some good energy minutes off the bench. should our staff actually be able to develop him any further then even better. we might not know how he fits with our current rotations, but that doesn’t mean he’s not good enough to play here.

Agreed. Weaver would stick on the roster of any program in the country. His playing time might vary, but there isnt a coach in the country that doesn't want a guy that with his athletic ability and relentless hustle. You don't count on him to carry your team, but the couple of extra possessions he's good for every game matter. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Blotto said:

Agreed. Weaver would stick on the roster of any program in the country. His playing time might vary, but there isnt a coach in the country that doesn't want a guy that with his athletic ability and relentless hustle. You don't count on him to carry your team, but the couple of extra possessions he's good for every game matter. 

if we get behind in a tourney game and need to press to come back then he’s the first guy on the floor for Texas.

Edited by Derka
Link to comment
Share on other sites

pope/larry

weaver

pryor

tre

kaluma

 

with weaver at his best that’s the type of small ball, pressing lineup we’d want to use to try and stage a comeback. and it’s not just his abilities on defense- his speed and ability to run the floor and get to the rim are excellent. he’s the fastest guy on the team by a mile.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Weaver. I'm far from giving up on him, I am just wary of re-integrating him at this late stage of the game... especially if his health isn't back to 100%.  That said, given his unique attributes he should absolutely play in every game once he is healthy. He can completely change the complexion with his energy. 

I also don't really see Pryor eating into his minutes.  Pryor should be getting all of his minutes at the expense of Kent and possibly Shedrick / Onyema when we go small ball (with Kaluma at the 5).  For as bad as Kent has played, I still see some sparks. He had 3 offensive rebounds against Ole Miss.  He also does some stuff that doesn't show up in the stat sheet like tip out rebounds that result in extra possessions.  

I agree with Derka that Pryor gives us some flexibility in a small ball situation.  He also gives us a super long defensive lineup like:  Larry + Mark/Tre + Pryor + Kaluma + Shedrick/Onyema 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, HookEm said:

I think people are reacting to the word "cupcake". The schedule is still brutal just by nature of being in the hardest conference in the last 20 years. 

For comparison, I picked 4 similar teams from the other power conferences...

  • Texas (SEC) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 39.7 
  • Baylor (B12) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 47.4
  • Ohio St (B10) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 49.3 
  • St. Johns (Big East) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 67.4
  • Louisville (ACC) - Average NET of remaining opponents = 126.4

Maybe those other teams "look like top-25 teams" because they are constantly feasting on actual cupcakes.  It is hard to look great when you are playing against Auburn and Tennessee.  

Yeah a .500 sec team will make the 2nd weekend this year. Maybe even a couple in the .500 range. 

People can’t seem to process that being .500 in this conference makes you a fringe top 25 team. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Yeah a .500 sec team will make the 2nd weekend this year. Maybe even a couple in the .500 range. 

People can’t seem to process that being .500 in this conference makes you a fringe top 25 team. 

I don't know. We had 22 votes last week in the AP poll, we go 1-1, barely losing to a Top 25 team on the road and blowing out another team on the road and now we get 1 vote this week. If Texas can some how get to 10-8 in this conference, we should be a 6-7 seed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

OK, let's put this to bed.  Mea culpa.  It was an inference to the RELATIVE difference between the first half and second half of our conference schedule.

I will do better next time I post at 10:30 PM on a Sunday night, after consuming multiple beers at a family get-together.  Please don't ban me.

"at a family get together"...like you aren't quaffing multiple beers on Sunday nights regardless.  This is the Surl you can't fool us.

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

"at a family get together"...like you aren't quaffing multiple beers on Sunday nights regardless.  This is the Surl you can't fool us.

Well sure, but these were IPAs.  I usually just drink Shiner Bock.  I was extra lubricated (so to speak).

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, BigOrange1 said:

i don't know why people care about rankings in basketball.  the committe more closely mirrors kenpom/net rankings than they do the ap poll.  i care much more about those sets of rankings than i do the media or coaches polls.

I think Kenpom (in particular) has been a pretty good judge of this team.

'23 (#5), '24 (#25), '25 (#29). This seems about right over the last 3 years. I think this team has more upside than last year's team though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

we were 1-4 in conference play on january 21st, with our best win being against #88 st.joseph’s. we’ve played better since then, but it’s not some injustice that we aren’t currently ranked. and as others have said, our ap poll ranking really doesn’t matter. we keep winning games and the rest will take care of itself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never said it was an injustice. I simply said I think we're currently being underestimated.

I also don't understand why you insist on responding to my posts after you made a huge deal last year trying to get me kicked off the board because I was allegedly so mean to you and it was hurting your mental health and you were going to name me in your suicide note.

I've put you on ignore and haven't responded to anything of yours except this post and another one asking you to put me on ignore and stop responding to me.

Please just leave me alone. I don't want to get into the same old back and forth with you that everyone else hates.

I was concerned when you were recently banned and weren't here that something bad happened to you. I wish you no ill will. 

I leave you alone. Please leave me alone. Thank you.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Weaver is a keeper and can/should get meaningful minutes, regardless of Pryor's ascent.  Just don't force him for long minutes into line-ups with limited scoring options.

The team has looked a lot better in the past few games.  That said, we are still somewhat basic in offensive sets and glaringly weak/inconsistent at center with defense and rebounding and that will be exploited by a good coach if we make the tournament and play against decent, physical, big men.  Assuming we keep improving and even get enough wins to make it into the tournament, we could win 1 or maybe even 2 games with good matchups if Shedrick does his job on the boards and 3 of the Johnson/Kaluma/Pope/Mark group play well and make enough shots to cover our defensive woes.

I'm not convinced yet that we can deal with a good coach that lures Shed out of the paint to cover a man on defense and attacks the paint with size and offensive rebounding.  That said, Pryor has been a nice find recently with interior help defense and rebounding.  Maybe with him and Kaluma, we have turned a corner on allowing a ton of layups a game.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...