40 Acres Sports

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

The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team went from a top ten ranking to possible on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. Saturday the team dropped its third in a row to [tag]Nebraska[/tag] to fall to 6th place in the Big 12 thanks to a 4-4 conference record.

This may have been one of the most disappointing games of the seasons as at the end of the first half and beginning of the second they played some of their basketball in weeks. In the end it was another hectic finish and just like in previous games the Horns couldn’t get it done. [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag] and [tag]Justin Mason[/tag] both had looks in the last moments but neither made the shot and Texas fell 55-58.

ESPN “highlights” are below:

Round Rock Stony Point defensive end [tag]Tevin Mims[/tag] was the last recruit to join Texas’ 5th ranked 2009 recruiting class but he’s excited to be a Longhorn. Mims exploded during his senior season and went from a relative unknown to a highly sought after 4-star player. When he finally got the offer in January from his boyhood favorite he jumped on it quickly.

Watch Tevin discuss his commitment to UT on [tag]National Signing Day[/tag] below:

Texas Ex [tag]Kevin Durant[/tag] was drafted number two behind Greg Oden but since then then their paths couldn’t be any more different. Durant was the 2007-08 Rookie of the Year while Oden missed the entire season due to an injury. This season Durant is averaging over 25 points per game and 6 boards while Oden is putting in 8.7 points and 7 rebounds for Portland.

There first head-to-head match-up in the NBA Friday night was even more one sided as KD came up huge in a 102-93 Oklahoma City win. He had his third straight 30+ point game while Oden played only 16 minutes and scored 4 points. Watch a nearly all-Durant highlight reel from ESPN below:

Think Portland GM Kevin Pritchard might be having a sleepless night tonight thinking about that draft pick? The Blazers are a great young team, but add a dominant player like Kevin Durant at small forward to a lineup that includes former Horn [tag]LaMarcus Aldridge[/tag] and they’d be tough to beat.

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.

The Texas Longhorns lost another one in the final seconds Wednesday night at the Erwin Center to [tag]Missouri[/tag]. With less than 6 seconds to go the Tigers banked in a layup to break a tie on the way to 69-65 win. Just about every Horn struggled mightily, but the one bright spot was center Dexter Pittman’s career night. Dex was able to stay out of foul trouble enough to play 23 minutes and pour in 25 points and 7 rebounds. Hopefully a sign of big things to come for Dexter.

Watch brief ESPN highlights below:

In a recent meeting, UT’s Athletic Director Deloss Dodds revealed that part of the $27 million renovation project in the south end-zone with include replacing the current natural grass field with a synthetic turf. The field will be replaced after spring practice and available for use before the start of next season.

Luckily the technology used to create these synthetic has increased dramatically since the old astro-turf that everyone associates with causing knee injuries. The new fields contain small rubber pellets to soften the impact on the body. But with this new technology also means a significant increase in price. Fields are expected to run between $500,000 and $2 million.

Not sure how I feel about this change, but from everything I have read the previous grass field was pretty slick and you might remember seeing many players slipping in the last Texas / Texas A&M game. When I was on the field I remember it feeling like I was walking on a green at a golf course, so I can see how those can get slippery with any sort of moisture.

One interesting note, the last time Texas switched from grass to turf (1969), the Longhorns won a National Championship. See you at the Rose Bowl.

College coaches are not allowed by NCAA rules to talk about potential recruits or commits until National Signing Day. With signatures from all 20 commits this morning, Texas head coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] finally has a chance to talk about each of the future Longhorns and breaks down each one on film. Mack sits down in front of reporters and talks to reporters for nearly 30 minutes and it is definitely worth your time to sit down and watch.

Watch Mack talking about the class and discussing each of the recruits below:

Many thanks to Statesman.com for again providing embeddable video of Mack’s press conferences.

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.

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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.