40 Acres Sports

Harrison Smith had a career night, but it came due to massive struggles from Justin Mason & Varez Ward.

Stop if you’ve heard it before, the Texas basketball team is struggling. The Longhorns followed their huge home victory up with a close and ugly win over [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] and then a loss in Stillwater to [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag].

In both games Texas was sloppy on the offensive end. Texas’ main problem is their personnel combinations. The whole season hinged on [tag]Justin Mason[/tag] and/or [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] being able to play the point consistently. Both were given chances and both failed.

That inability forced another point guard into the starting lineup. And that is Rick Barnes’ dilemma, do you move [tag]Damion James[/tag] to the four and play the small guards and a big like last year’s team or do you bring Mason, your best perimeter defender, off the bench to keep James at the three with two big men.

The answer so far has been James to the four. The decision has brought mixed results, but I don’t think Barnes likes the decision. All offseason Barnes stressed getting bigger in the back court. Playing Mason at the three makes Texas one of the smallest perimeter teams in the country.

But what choice does he have?

[tag]Gary Johnson[/tag] is hurt. [tag]Alexis Wangmene[/tag] is hurt. [tag]Connor Atchley[/tag] has been sacked. [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag] can’t play over 20 minutes per game. And I’m not sure [tag]Matt Hill[/tag] still can play without his hair. Barnes has put more faith in [tag]Clint Chapman[/tag] as of late, but the sophomore is nothing more than a role player with some offensive upside at this point.

The fact is the Longhorns hands, or hooves, are tied. This is last year’s team without a superstar point guard who can shoot from the outside. For all intents and purposes that is like saying the Bulls were the same team when MJ was trying to hit curveballs in the minor leagues.

Barnes’ team has two conference games left ([tag]Kansas[/tag] and [tag]Baylor[/tag]) before the conference tournament. As long as Texas splits those games and wins their opening round tournament game they’ll get into March Madness.

Luckily Texas won some early games against big name opponents and Blake Griffin can’t handle contact or NIT would have been what this team had for supper.

There aren’t any great teams in college basketball. North Carolina, Connecticut, Duke, [tag]Oklahoma[/tag], and everyone else have shown the ability to drop a game they should win. That fact gives Texas hope if they can hang in there and get to the tournament. The Longhorns could be a bracket buster this year.

Maybe not.

Former second string quarterback John Chiles made the switch to wide receiver today.

Football season never really ends in the state of Texas, but the start of spring drills is one of the biggest days for every die hard fan. The team hits the field for their first practice tomorrow and several big pieces of news came out today. Injuries and a huge position switch have Longhorn fans buzzing.

The biggest and most surprising news is that second string quarterback [tag]John Chiles[/tag] went to the Texas coaches today and requested he be moved to wide receiver. This is a move many Internet coaches fans have been calling for for over a year, but not one expected to happen before he gave it at least one more shot during spring practices. Despite struggles, the Texas coaching staff felt Chiles was good enough to be the team’s clear number two quarterback but if he was going to have an NFL future it is clearly as a wide receiver. His position change leaves the Longhorns with only two scholarship players at QB and likely means incoming freshman [tag]Garrett Gilbert[/tag] will not be redshirting for the 2009 season.

It was also announced that 9 players would be missing spring practices due to injury. Sadly, safety [tag]ishie Oduegwu[/tag] has been forced to give up football after several serious injuries and surgeries. He made several starts as a sophomore and missed all of last season with a shoulder injury. Oduegwu, a former academic All-Big 12 selection, is on set to graduate on schedule with a Youth & Community Studies major.

Redshirt freshman defensive tackle [tag]Jarvis Humphrey[/tag] will also miss practices with what appears to be a serious kidney ailment. Team trainers said “that Humphrey’s condition would be watched.” Defensive tackle is one of the team’s greatest depth concerns, but with this news a young man’s health definitely takes primary concern.

The other players that will miss spring drills are P [tag]Trevor Gerland[/tag], TE [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag], DE [tag]Dominique Jones[/tag], DE [tag]Eddie Jones[/tag], WR [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag], DB [tag]Kenny Vaccaro[/tag], and Alex Zumberge.

Related Links

• MBTF – Chiles to move to wide receiver
• 9 Longhorns to miss spring drills

Connor Rowe slides back into the newly FieldTurfed first base during the season opener.

With [tag]Augie Garrido[/tag] watching from home the 2009 Texas Longhorn baseball team got the season going on the right foot sweeping four games against Illinois-Chicago. This year’s version of Texas baseball looked to be a throwback to the 2002-2005 Longhorns. Texas won 6-1 Friday, took the double header Saturday 3-1 and 10-1 (in seven innings), and 1-0 on Sunday.

Texas’ pitching staff showed off all weekend combining for a 0.79 ERA and striking out 24. Texas has four capable starters in [tag]Chance Ruffin[/tag], [tag]Taylor Jungmann[/tag], [tag]Cole Green[/tag], and [tag]Brandon Workman[/tag]. All four of them went at least six innings and none of them gave up more than one run. And the best part is all of them are not yet draft eligible.

It wasn’t just the starters that were on display in the opening series. Newly appointed closer senior [tag]Austin Wood[/tag] was nearly perfect in his two appearances, both of which were for two innings to finish off games. Wood gave up only one hit and walked one batter.

Defensively the Longhorns were stellar. For the weekend Texas committed one error. Last year’s ball club struggled defensively all last season. Garrido teams usually defend well and this year’s team looks to fit the mold early. The new surface provides truer bounces and speed so look for the defense to be much improved, especially in the infield.

Offensively Texas did enough. The Longhorns won’t have the pop they did with [tag]Kyle Russell[/tag] in the lineup, but Texas will make contact and stay on the base paths. The Longhorns only registered six extra base hits in the series, but did a good job of getting runners on with one and two outs and using the sacrifice bunt to produce runs. Some fans might not like it, but it works. And it will work even better on the new and slow motion playing surface.

Overall it was just one weekend, and in baseball fortunes can change quickly, but Garrido has shown his recipe for success in the past: pitching, defense, sacrifice bunts. This team showed all three this weekend in the sweep over a pretty good ball club. Mentally Texas has been lacking after the run early in the decade. Changing that mentality will decide if this team has a trip to Omaha in their future.

What a difference a week makes? Last week at this time the fans on the 40 Acres were left scratching their heads wondering out loud if their Texas Longhorns were really going to end up in the NIT.

One week later on the back of [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] scoring ability and the inability of player of the year candidate Blake Griffin to take a hit the Longhorns are right back in the thick of things after a win over [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]. The team now holds wins over Oklahoma, [tag]UCLA[/tag], [tag]Villanova[/tag], and [tag]Wisconsin[/tag]. Out of their eight losses only the [tag]Arkansas[/tag] and [tag]Kansas State[/tag] losses can be considered bad.

The style of play Texas uses makes every game a dog fight. The style is a double edged sword. Every game being close makes teams vulnerable to lesser teams who are hot down the stretch of a ball game, i.e. Kansas State. The style also keeps a team in a game they probably shouldn’t be in, i.e. Oklahoma.

Texas’ back yard mentality stifled the Sooners in the first half while Griffin dealt with foul trouble and a glass chin. The Longhorns made a run to push out the lead, but anyone who has watched this team play all season knew Oklahoma would make a run. In fact, the Sooners made two double digit to zero runs in the second half as the Longhorns struggled to score when Abrams was being guarded and forwards [tag]Damion James[/tag] and [tag]Gary Johnson[/tag] struggled with their mid-range game.

Texas has been prone to long dry spells offensively all year because of inconsistent point guard play. The major bright spot, besides the win itself, on Saturday night has to be the emergence of [tag]Dogus Balbay[/tag] as the true starting point guard.

The move makes this team the same as last year’s with the trade at the one guard Balbay for [tag]DJ Augustin[/tag]. While the trade is nowhere near even, it does allow [tag]Justin Mason[/tag] to stay on the floor and concentrate on defense and clean ups instead of running the show and more importantly it puts James back at power forward where he can slash to the bucket and be a monster on offensive rebounds.

Balbay has the ability to penetrate the lane and either finish with his underrated athleticism or find a shooter in the corner. Abrams can shoot from anywhere at any time, but the other Texas shooters like James, Mason and [tag]Connor Atchley[/tag] enjoy success when they catch and shoot. The ease in which their shot came off of drive and kick plays has been missing all season. When Abrams was the point guard the offensive relied on isolation and pick and rolls, when Mason was the point guard he had the ability to get to the bucket but only to get himself points, but now that Balbay is the man at the point the whole Texas offense has opened up.

Another positive that came from beating the Sooners was the play of [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag]. The big guy dominated the paint even when Griffin was still healthy and fresh. He also made the key rebound and bucket of the game following an Abrams miss with less than 15 seconds left in the second half.

Saying Atchley is struggling on par with our economy. And just like the guys in Washington it looks like head coach [tag]Rick Barnes[/tag] is at a loss on what to do. Barnes has started him, brought him off the bench, played him inside, and even tried playing him at the small forward for stretches. Atchley played decent against Oklahoma but he is not the threat he once was. There was a time some were calling him the best pro prospect on the roster this year. Not anymore.

Pittman received the start because of the matchup with Griffin, but after his strong play with Griffin out of the game don’t be surprised to see Atchley coming off the bench for the rest of the season. If Pittman does get the start it will mean Atchley would be the second big man to come off the bench after Gary Johnson. Right now Johnson and Pittman do more for this team, and while I’m sure it is hard for Barnes to sit a senior who has given so much for the program Barnes still has to do what is best for the program. At this time that may be taking away significant minutes from Atchley.

While the win has many guaranteeing a tournament berth for the Longhorns, Texas still has work left to do. They have three winnable games against [tag]Texas Tech[/tag], [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag], and [tag]Baylor[/tag] before finishing up in [tag]Kansas[/tag] against the Jayhawks before the Big 12 Tournament.

If Texas can go three of four in that time they’d finish at 10-6 in conference. That gets Texas in no matter what happens in the tournament because believe it or not the nation respects the Longhorn basketball program more than the fans and students do.

For the first time in the [tag]Rick Barnes[/tag] era the University of Texas basketball team is in real danger of not making the NCAA tournament. This could be the most any of the major three programs (football, basketball, baseball) has struggled in the regular season since their respective coaches arrived on the Forty Acres.

Rick Barnes is an amazing coach, but sometimes the players just aren’t there. For the 2009 UT basketball team that player is [tag]DJ Augustin[/tag]. Last year Augustin was recognized as the best point guard in the nation. He decided to leave after his sophomore year for the NBA, a move that has worked out for everybody but the Longhorns.

Texas has been spoiled in the backcourt in recent memory. The stellar play started with [tag]TJ Ford[/tag], next came [tag]Daniel Gibson[/tag], and then Augustin. Right now they’re stuck with Justin Mason who can’t score, [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] who can’t dribble or pass, and [tag]Dogus Balbay[/tag] who can’t shoot and struggles with consistency.

Every key member from last year’s Elite 8 team returned besides Augustin. Last year at this time Texas was playing for a number one seed and the talk around town was of national championships. This year the Longhorns are coming off four losses in their last six games, none to a top 10 team, and the talk is centered around if the team will even get to be a part of March Madness.

There is still talk of national championships on campus, but the sport is football.

Texas went through something similar following their Final Four berth when the then sophomore Ford decided to skip his last two years of college for the NBA. Barnes had his whole team coming back then too, but the group led by Brandon Mouton, Royal Ivey, and James Thomas at least made it to the tourney. On the message boards, at the water cooler, and on the couch most fans are looking for someone to blame. Has Barnes forgotten how to coach? Did the players regress that much? Who kidnapped [tag]Connor Atchley[/tag]?

The answers aren’t that simple. Or maybe they are. We’ve all heard the expression, “It isn’t the X’s and O’s it’s the Jane’s and the Joe’s.” The 2009 version of Texas basketball has proved the old saying to be right.

The Longhorn offense is set up for a player to dominate the ball and create for teammates who are coming off screens. Texas has the players to come off the screens but they don’t have the guy to get them the ball at the right time in the right spot. On top of that Barnes likes to have a guard who can shoot and score off the dribble. Texas has guards who can shoot and they have guards who can score off the dribble, but they don’t have any who can do both. This allows defenses to play a box and one, trailing Abrams, and making other people beat them.

So far Texas hasn’t done it enough. It is hard to imagine this same team beating UCLA and Villanova, but they did. And that fact leaves some hope, but with [tag]Kansas[/tag] and [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] still on the schedule it looks like a .500 finish may be in sight. With the Big 12 in a perceived down year, that just won’t cut it.

It is looking more and more likely that the Longhorn fate will be decided in the Big 12 tournament. And this year it has nothing to do with seeding. It will have to do with the bubble. A word Texas hasn’t had to worry about in a decade.

The good news is the cavalry is coming. Texas has a top three recruiting class coming in and they all can score. Just another reason to wish for next fall to get here.

In what will probably be his last season for a while that he’s not in the NBA All-Star Game, Texas Ex [tag]Kevin Durant[/tag] absolutely dominated last night’s NBA Rookie Challenge. Durant led the Sophomores from behind late with a record 46 points on 17-for-25 shooting and was named the game’s MVP. He put on quite a show and scored from all over the court including 4-8 from three-point land and multiple highlight reel dunks.

Durant’s MVP award gives the Longhorns back-to-back winners after [tag]Daniel Gibson[/tag], now of the Cleveland Cavaliers, won it by scoring 33 points last year.

Highlights from the game are posted below:

Durant has improved every month this season and he is on an absolutely torrid pace during the month of February, averaging 30.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Durant’s regular season PPG average of 25.5 are good enough to be in the top 5 in the NBA, but somehow he’s not in Sunday’s All-Star Game. His performance last night should service to anybody who has somehow missed the kid become one of the league’s best.

If you’re a Texas fan or just a basketball fan and you’re not paying attention to what KD’s been doing this year you’re missing a show.

Garland receiver John Harris was the Longhorns' second 2010 commit (PrepTicket)

We’ll have a post up when the dust settles, but 2010 recruiting is underway and the Texas coaching staff has hit the ground running. The first 2010 [tag]Junior Day[/tag] was today and since last night six commits have pledged to play for the Longhorns. Make sure you’re following @40acressports and you’ll always be up to date on the latest Longhorn news including this huge recruiting weekend.

Here’s the breaking news and commits you might have missed in the last two days:

• Another 2 big defensive pickups confirmed today. Waco Midway S Ahmad Dixon and Cedar Hill LB Aaron Benson are commits 9 & 10. #UT 12:35 PM Feb 9th
• Two more commits from Garland (GHS this time) were confirmed last night. Athlete/safety Adrian Phillips and linebacker Tevin Jackson. #UT 8:02 AM Feb 9th
• Several other rumored #UT commits on Orangebloods, go check it out if you want the scoop: http://tr.im/fce6 ($) 8:26 PM Feb 8th
• DeSoto WR [tag]Darius Terrell[/tag] also committed to #UT last night. Another big (6’3″) WR like Harris, Terrell has impressive offer list. 6:31 PM Feb 8th
• Another top state DT has committed to #UT: Alief’s [tag]DeAires Cotton[/tag]. According to Orangebloods, Cotton and Bible are the state’s top guys. 6:06 PM Feb 8th
• Horns 4th commit of 2010 is a familiar name: QB [tag]Case McCoy[/tag]. Just like in his bro’s class, #UT likely looking to bring in 2 QBs this yr. 6:02 PM Feb 8th
• Denton Guyer DT [tag]Taylor Bible[/tag] is the Horns’ 3rd commit. He is Orangebloods’ top DT in the state. Big pickup. #UT 7:32 PM Feb 7th
• 2nd commit is WR [tag]John Harris[/tag] from Garland. Should be more to come and we’ll have a recap of what is sure to be a big haul tomorrow. #UT 6:30 PM Feb 7th
• Orangebloods was reporting 2 weeks ago #UT might not take any OL recruits this yr, instead [tag]Trey Hopkins[/tag] is the 1st commit of the 2010 class 6:24 PM Feb 7th

Varez Ward and the entire Texas team struggled against Missouri (TexasSports.com)

Texas had not lost at home since February of 2007; they’ve now lost twice at the Frank Erwin Center in the last seven days. [tag]Kansas State[/tag] came in and won in overtime thanks to Denis Clemente’s 44 points. Then on Wednesday [tag]Missouri[/tag] came in and outlasted the Longhorns to capture sole possession of third place in the conference.

Texas had won three straight since dropping a game in [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]. But even with those wins it was obvious something was missing on this team. Against OU, Tech, and [tag]Baylor[/tag] Texas failed to score over 30 points in the first half. Against Kansas State it got even worse as the Longhorns scored only 22 points in the first 20 minutes of the ball game.

Rick Barnes’ team just can’t get it all together at the same time. One game [tag]Damion James[/tag] will go off, next game [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] can’t miss, and in another [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag] looks like an unstoppable force in the paint. A week ago it looked like [tag]Dogus Balbay[/tag] was finally going to be the answer at point guard, flash forward to the Missouri loss and Balbay only registered two minutes of play.

Basketball is all about confidence, and right now as a team Texas has none. Early in the season the Longhorn defense put fear in opponents, especially on the ball. Now it looks like Texas is lost. They let a marginal player in Clemente take over a game, and then on the key play of the Missouri game Texas’ best on ball defender, [tag]Justin Mason[/tag], allowed a Missouri guard to get all the way to the paint for a game winning bucket with 5.5 seconds left on the clock. No big guy came over to help on the play.

Everybody knows Barnes is a great coach, so it is hard to understand the lapses in mental judgment by this team. There is no doubting their effort, this team plays hard, but at times the fundamental flaws on this team are just mind boggling. If it isn’t poor rotation of defense it is a bad block out on the defensive boards, if it isn’t a horrid fast break attempt it is the lack of passes on the offensive end.

This season has shown how important a point guard is in college basketball. Texas doesn’t have a player, like in past seasons, that can sense when the team needs a bucket and has the ability to go get it. Texas went scoreless for the last 5:01 of the first half against Missouri, erasing what was a 12 point lead at one time, because nobody on the offensive side can create for themselves or other people. James has become a one on one player, [tag]Gary Johnson[/tag] wants to be a jump shooter, [tag]Connor Atchley[/tag] looks lost, and Abrams is only effective when he running off screens.

Fortunately it will take a mega meltdown to miss out on the tournament. With wins over [tag]UCLA[/tag], [tag]Villanova[/tag], and [tag]Wisconsin[/tag] it is a safe bet that Texas will get in there. Especially considering it is a down year in the Big 12. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like there are any answers to what ails this ball team. Something about them doesn’t seem right, and I’m not sure even Rick Barnes knows what is going on.

Garrett Gilbert and Paden Kelley sign their Letters of Intent (Image: Statesman.com)

Wednesday is [tag]National Signing Day[/tag] and we’ll have frequent updates throughout the day on the 40 Acres. This is the first day high school senior recruits can sign a binding letter of intent to play college football. The Longhorns have 20 commits in the 2009 class with 8 already on campus and 12 expected to send in their LOI tomorrow. We’ll have updates when those letters come in as well as the important news on the two remaining targets, linebacker Jarvis Jones and corner Dre Kirkpatrick.

Follow @40AcresSports on Twitter (after the jump) and keep track of other #signingday news as well.

(more …)

Texas guard AJ Abrams shot the ball well against Baylor on the way to 19 points

Texas won two games in four days against in state conference foes Texas A&M and [tag]Baylor[/tag]. Combine those wins with one against [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] earlier in conference play and the Longhorn domination of the state of Texas has continued in a season most are considering a down year.

For all the conceived shortcomings of the 2009 version of Longhorn basketball has, Rick Barnes’ team is 4-1 in the Big 12 with the only loss coming to soon to be number one ranked Oklahoma on the road. They are also ranked in the top 15 with no real bad losses on their resume. They do however have wins over [tag]UCLA[/tag], [tag]Villanova[/tag], and [tag]Wisconsin[/tag].

Texas has accomplished this by outworking their opponents on the defensive side of the court. No team in the Big 12, and maybe the country, can pressure the ball on the perimeter as well as Texas. A lot has been made about the progression of [tag]Damion James[/tag] as a perimeter player, but few take into account what it has done for the Texas defense. With James at 3 it allows another big guy to work the paint. Instead of having say [tag]Justin Mason[/tag] at 3, which you would if James still played 4 because [tag]Dogus Balbay[/tag] would come in to play point guard, now you have a 6’7″ guy getting hands in the face of a good outside shooter. Basically the move adds five inches to the Longhorn lineup.

Banes’ team is also aided by being full of tough guys, mentally and physically. None of them shy away from physical play or melt under pressure. [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] is a cold blooded assassin; the little guy wants the ball when the game is on the line. Everything that needed to be proven about Abrams toughness should have been laid to rest in the last few minutes of the [tag]Notre Dame[/tag] game. Texas lost the game, but Abrams singlehandedly would not let Texas give up. He made shot after shot, and came an inch or two away from draining a half court shot to steal the win.

Justin Mason may not be a great offensive point guard but the guy is a junk yard dog. He is relentless on defense and takes pride in guarding the opponent’s number one perimeter scorer. Mason is also a great rebounder and is considered by most on the team as the on and off court leader.

James, [tag]Gary Johnson[/tag], and [tag]Dexter Pittman[/tag] give Texas size, strength, and physicality to the Longhorn middle. A Rick Barnes front line is not going to be soft, and these guys are no exception.

With all that said, this year’s team is not as talented as some of the year’s past. Texas ranks last in the Big 12 in three-point shooting in part because the team doesn’t have a point guard to set up Abrams, [tag]Connor Atchley[/tag], and James up for easy shots and in part because Texas simply lacks more than one legit perimeter shooter. The only player on the roster opposing teams don’t want shooting threes is Abrams. If James is shooting threes he is not driving to the bucket or collecting rebounds. If Mason is shooting threes he is not playing within his game. If Atchley is shooting threes, at least this year, it is not a good thing. If Balbay is shooting a three the shot clock is about to go off.

With no one to stretch the floor teams can basically play a box and one, leaving one man on Abrams at all times, turning the basketball game into four on four. And without a dominating point guard Texas is left to taking off rhythm jump shots in half court offense.

Point guard has been the bugaboo position for Texas all year. It is clear Mason isn’t the answer, and it is also clear Barnes feels Abrams is limited when playing the role. Enter Dogus Balbay. The Turkish national player earned more minutes than Mason in the game against Baylor. It is clear that Texas’ half court offense is at its best with Balbay at the point. The problem is you have to sit Mason or Abrams. Or do you? Don’t be surprised to see Texas go back to a small lineup when offense is needed. A lineup of Abrams, Mason, Balbay, James, and Johnson would be Texas’ best on the offensive side of the ball.

The problem is that takes away the defensive size discussed earlier. And there lies the crux for this Texas team. The Longhorns have the players to excel offensively and to excel defensively. The problem is that there isn’t a combination of five guys that allows them to do both at the same time.

The conventional wisdom is that the defensive priority will win out. Barnes stresses defense and will not likely sacrifice pressure for points. Texas will continue to rely on defense to create points and scrap out wins as they come. And the wins will come, but it will be interesting to see how they come during tournament time.