Texas Baseball Takes 2 of 3 from Baylor

Kenn Kasparek texassports.com

Jordan Danks texassports.com

Five Longhorns chosen in 2008 NFL Draft

MackBrown-TexasFootball.com

The Million Dollar Question

In writing the preview for this year's offense, there was one inescapable question that could have an enormous impact on literally everything else: what to do with John Chiles?

To start, let's accept the premise that Colt McCoy is the starting quarterback. There are some who think he shouldn't be, but it's a moot point, given what we know. For the purposes of this post, it's Colt.

Colt McCoy mackbrown-texasfootball.com

We can go one of two ways from there. First, we can keep Chiles at quarterback, and get a QB/WR depth chart that looks something like this:

?

Alternatively, we can decide to use Chiles as a receiver, with a QB/WR depth chart looking something like this:

POSITION	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3
Quarterback	McCoy	Harris	Chiles*
Flanker	Chiles	Kirk/Collins	Grant/Buckner
Split End	Shipley	Williams	Webber
Sub B Wideout	Cosby	Hales	Kirk/Collins

?

(You can quibble with some of the ordering and positioning, but we just don't know what we've got with most of these kids yet. Still, feel free to revise as you see fit.)

John Chiles

Which is preferable? It seems to me that if you're the offensive coordinator and you go with Option A, you're committed to using John Chiles in a not insignificant role at quarterback. A repeat of last year would be a waste of Texas' best playmaker on an offense that desperately needs them. Don't forget: Texas lost its three top weapons from a B+ 2007 offense.

Option B appears to make a good deal of sense. For starters, by almost all accounts, Harris is further along as a passer/game manager than Chiles. Moreover, he's perfectly capable of running the zone read, which means you don't lose the ability to have a back up come in for a change of look/pace. And you get Chiles on the field where he can affect the game from the get-go.

On top of all that, it's worth noting the secondary effect such a move would create by forcing opposing defenses to gameplan for a diverse unit featuring a flanker like John Chiles. All those nifty trick plays we've run with Jordan Shipley would be run through Chiles, who's not only a better athlete, but also can be used as a second quarterback on the field. The opportunities to be creative are limited only by your imagination.

Am I missing something, or does this not make a lot of sense?

If DJ Stays...

If DJ Augustin comes back.

Andrew and I think DJ's headed pro, but let's pretend he's not and talk about it for a few minutes, both because it'll be fun and I need a break from work.

D.J. Augustin (Yes, I realize that this very pic was used in a recent news story, but how bad ass is it?!) statesman.com

ROSTER

The 2008-09 team would look exactly like this year's team, minus a couple dozen minutes from JD Lewis and Ian Mooney, both of whom graduate. Texas would replace those two with two superior guards in J'Covan Brown and Dogus Balbay. Both are 6'2 Brown is 6-2, Balbay 6-0, and both can handle the ball, instantly upgrading our depth at guard by 67%.

Texas is still in the mix for a couple other big name recruits, but under the assumption that DJ and Damion return, there's a scholarship problem. Either someone like Harrison Smith would have to go off scholarship, or there'd need to be a transfer. For now, we'll just cap the roster as is; anyone else that comes aboard would be gravy.

OFFENSE

Texas did a lot well on offense this past season. We were off the charts protecting the ball, solid beyond the arc (38%), and surprisingly strong on the offensive glass, securing nearly 37% of our misses (40th best nationally).

What didn't Texas do well? We were a below average team shooting twos (48.5%) and we struggled all season to get to the free throw line. Texas' 21.8% Free Throw Rate was 271st in Division 1 basketball. (Good news caveat: none of this season's Final Four participants finished in the Top 50 in FTM/FGA, and only North Carolina finished in the Top 100.)

Mostly, it was an outstanding year on offense, as evidenced by Texas' Adjusted Efficiency of 123.8, third best nationally. Looking beyond the stats, though, for two straight years Texas has struggled when its undersized guards have been smothered by long, athletic defenses. We saw it for the first time in February 2007, when Kansas State came to the Erwin Center and muscled around DJ and Abrams, stealing the upset. The same problem plagued Texas in the second round of the '07 tournament, as Texas' guards were handcuffed by a bigger, more athletic USC squad. And we all just saw what Memphis did to the Longhorns in the regional finals.

Part of the solution next season would involve bench help from Brown and Balbay - allowing us to rest better our starting guards - but the bigger solution involves improvement in the frontcourt. Texas will certainly have depth in that regard, so much so that the competition for minutes should be fierce. Gary Johnson, Connor Atchley, Dexter Pittman, Alexis Wangmene, and Clint Chapman all return, and Matt Hill should be all the way back from the foot injury that sidelined him for '07-'08.

That's a good problem to have, allowing Barnes both room to experiment with different lineups, an ability to play different match ups based on opponents, and some margin for error should any of Texas' forwards befall injury (or fail to develop). One thing you had to love about this year's national champion Jayhawks was their ability to succeed with a variety of personnel groupings. Bill Self could go long and fast with his big guys or insert a Jumbo package with big bodies to bang.

Texas will have some of that ability next year. Texas can run with DJ-AJ-Mase-Connor-James, it can go a little bigger but still athletic with DJ-Mase-Gary-Connor-James, Barnes can go big with DJ-Mase-James-Gary-Wingman, or Barnes can go Jumbo with Pittman-Wingman-James and two guards. And those are just a few of the possibilities. Hell, if we had flash cards with Texas' roster, we could spend an entire afternoon playing Line Up Musical Chairs.

DEFENSE

This roster should help Texas on defense, as well. Not only will Rick have more options, but he won't be forced to play DJ and AJ for 38-40 minutes a game. As we all know well, Abrams is a very useful college player. But he has limitations, and when Texas finds itself matched up with an opponent which is going to take away the things he can contribute, we can just change our look. That's not just better for our offense; it's huge for our defense, where AJ is often a liability. (To his credit, AJ improved a lot this year. Still, there's only so much you can do at 5-10, 160 pounds against Memphis-type guards.)

The roster flexibility helps the defense in other ways, as well. With more bodies at his disposal, Rick can experiment with full court pressure without worrying that he'll be gassing the only guards on his roster. For a team that gave team after team hell because of our quickness, we weren't able to do much full court pressuring because we had three guards we counted on for 35+ minutes and no back ups to speak of. Barnes (wisely) played to avoid foul trouble or fatigue, but if DJ returns, this roster would give him a lot more options.

Don't forget, too, that the next time we see these guys will be after another offseason working with Todd Wright. The impact of that probably can't be overstated.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It's fun to think about another year with this group, isn't it? Give this year's squad a couple back ups at guard, a year of maturity, and another offseason of strength and conditioning and you can imagine this team being incredibly special. Things to consider as we await DJ's decision:

• Zero percent chance that DJ Augustin doesn't see Andy Katz's article. Any chance the prospect of returning as preseason #1 has any effect on his decision? Not saying it should, but... hey, who knows.

• Dogus Balbay, assuming he's at full health, is going to surprise Texas fans. When I was trying to get the scoop on Kevin Durant's decision last offseason, I chatted on the phone with a draft expert who - after breaking the bad news that Durant would be leaving - went out of his way to make sure I understood what a strong player Texas was getting in Balbay. He would have made a big difference this season. If he's at full strength next year, I expect good things.

• Whether DJ returns or not, I'm fascinated to see what happens with the Texas front court next season. What's the next step for Pittman? For Johnson? Clint Chapman is intriguing as hell. When WingMan gets the game to slow down, he's going to be incredibly useful.

Congratulations, Augie!

Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido crossed a milestone in last night's 5-3 win over Texas State at The Dell Diamond, becoming only the second coach in NCAA history to win 500 games at two separate schools.

Augie Garrido texassports.com

According to Texas Sports, Coach Garrido got 929 wins in two stints at Cal State Fullerton. Interestingly, though, the Fullerton website lists him with 875 wins there. Augie's total of three national championships there are undisputed. His two tenures for the Titans were sandiwched around a short gig at Illinois.

The Kiddie Corps hurlers were big in getting Augie Texas Win #500. Chance Ruffin, Stayton Thomas, Cole Green, and Brandon Belt combined with junior Pat McCrory to hold down the Bobcats and allow only six hits for the game. Michael Torres played second base again and committed two errors, but he also hit a two-run homer in the third and scored another run in the fifth to make up for them. Travis Tucker--a natural second baseman--also made an error at third, giving the Longhorns a total of three on the night.

The most important thing about this week, though, is the games that are not being played. With only one mid-week game scheduled, this week will feel for Texas more like an average week in the pre-Condensed Schedule era. The Horns have Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday to prepare for this weekend's big Missouri series in a practice setting.

Here's hoping it pays off.

Memphis-Texas Post Game Thoughts

More "Great season, guys" type stuff later, but for now, a review of what happened out there on the court today. My notes are pretty scattered, so I'll stick to bullet points and jump around. We'll start with game-specific stuff before moving on to Big Picture thoughts.

D.J. Augustin (with the ball) finds the going tough under the basket as Memphis' Derrick Rose, left, and Joey Dorsey close the lane during the first half. Rose's defense made the game difficult for Augustin, who produced more turnovers (4) than assists (3). -statesman.com

MEMPHIS 85 - TEXAS 67

• Rick Barnes has done a phenomenal job with this team this year. And I don't mean that just in the sense of assembling the kind of talent that can lose Kevin Durant and have a better team the following year. He certainly did that, but he also did a lot of great X's and O's coaching this year, getting the better of coach after coach throughout the season.

Not today. To be frank, today's game plan was shocking. And not in a good way. I'll get to the details in the points below, but let's just lead with this: Though I think Memphis whipped Texas pretty good today, I thought Rick Barnes only helped the Tigers. After a season of great coaching, today's showing was a disappointment.

• Why, for instance, did Rick Barnes open in man to man defense? Anybody who's watched the two teams at all this year thought to himself, "Texas certainly can't take this team in straight man defense." But that's what we opened with. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts quickly took advantage of their enormous size advantages, Memphis built a quick lead, and the tone was set for a long afternoon.

A.J. Abrams statesman.com

• Equally troubling: why, oh why, was Texas sending two guys to the offensive glass? The key to Memphis is making them earn every single point in the half court, but there Texas was, sending Atchley and James to the offensive glass, only to see a superfreak Tiger pull down the board and start a fast break. At that point, it's over. Just score the two points. (As Memphis repeatedly did.)

• Along those same lines, though this game may have been played in Texas' back yard, the game was unquestionably played on Memphis' terms. Instead of slowing the pace, taking our time, and making a deliberate affair of the game, Texas got into an Athlete Contest with Memphis. Did that look to anyone else like a team you want to get into an Athlete Contest with?

• I was shocked at how ill-prepared Augustin, Abrams, and Damion looked in the first half. All three seemed utterly stunned by the team they were up against, shocked at their length, their athleticism, their quickness, and their agressive ball denial on defense. Result? Eight first half turnovers and an insurmountable Memphis lead.

• Add it all up and the one comment that sticks out in all my notes is a simple one, jotted down with about six minutes left in the first half: "Did we scout this team at all?"

• I'm speculating, but my gut feeling is that Rick just got too cute. He's done a fabulous job this year zigging when teams have expected him to zag. More often than not, it's been a wonderful strategic gambit that's helped Texas overcome various deficiencies. Today? I thought he out-thought himself. By the time the first half ended, I'm certain Rick realized his mistake, but it was too late. We wound up playing right into Memphis' hands in the first half, and that was that. Instead of a slower paced, deliberate game that sought to frustrate Memphis' open floor freaks, we played precisely the kind of game they're most comfortable with. And though John Calipari may not have been expecting it... I guarantee you he and his players were thrilled to indulge in it.

• If you're wondering what limitations DJ Augustin might have as a professional, today was your window into the future. With athletes who he couldn't just destroy with quickness, DJ struggled to find a good game rhythm. And without a good rhythm, he made uncharacteristic mistakes. My jaw hit the floor on several first half turnovers - plays you just don't see DJ Augustin make. But we haven't seen DJ Augustin play against a group of athletes like the Tigers.

• Only one player - Justin Mason - came out playing with the kind of athletic purpose you need to attack Memphis. Everyone else looked afraid to make a mistake. (Which inevitably led to mistakes.) On the bright side, I thought everyone improved significantly as the game went on. Once Texas adjusted to Memphis' athleticism, they did reasonably well, and if we played Memphis again tomorrow, I'd favor Memphis by a half dozen points and expect a very competitive game. That's not how it works, of course, and I can guarantee you Rick Barnes isn't very happy with himself for today's game plan. Our kids weren't ready for Memphis, and that's on the coach.

• It's easy to look at Texas' 9-28 shooting day from three point range and conclude that we just had an off day with our stroke, but that would be too charitable. The offensive system as a whole was broken, with most of those three point looks coming in less than ideal situations. I thought John Calipari did a terrific job of preparing his players for what we like to do, and we weren't at all well prepared to take advantage of the way they were playing us. You could see the kids out there trying to run the very sets that Memphis was specifically denying. Our adjustments came far too late.

• Finally, let's just give Memphis some serious credit for their performance today. For starters, John Calipari did an outstanding job preparing this team. Watching Memphis the past two tournaments, there was a sense that Calipari's players wanted too much just to be able to Be Better than their opponents. This year, I saw a team that listened to their coach and everything he taught them about how to play Texas. They executed his game plan well, and their ability more than took care of the rest. I haven't seen a team this loaded with athletic talent since 1991. Scarier still, Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts are wonderful basketball players, too. Dynamite.

D.J. Augustin texassports.com

BIG PICTURE THOUGHTS

• I know it's tempting to wonder whether Texas might have been better served as a #1-seed in a No Memphis Region, but I just can't buy into the logic. First, I believe very much that it was good for Texas to play in Houston. Less travel, a supportive crowd, and comfortable environment are good things for the team. But more importantly, to win a national championship you're going to have to beat at least two truly elite teams. Would I have prefered UCLA's or Kansas' path to the Final Four? In a heartbeat. But in the final analysis, if Texas was to be a national championship team, it was going to have to beat Memphis (or their equivalent, should one exist). Getting them in Houston is, in my estimation, preferable. Bottom line: Memphis took us to task in an environment that was pretty friendly to Texas. We put ourselves in a great position by playing in Houston, but they were better. End of story, and I don't wish we'd been placed elsewhere.

• The big question left for Texas is: what of DJ and DJ? Will either (or both) turn pro? We certainly expect Augustin to enter the draft, but today wasn't his finest hour on a big stage with NBA-caliber athletes. As for Damion, he didn't put on a performance that could have catapulted him up in scouts' minds, either. I'd say both would be wise to test the waters and declare. James should plan on returning unless he's guaranteed a first round selection. As for Augustin... who knows? This wasn't his finest performance of the season, but if he's locked in to the first half of the first round, coming back will be difficult.

• Tyreke Evans is still deciding between Texas and Memphis. Damnit.

• Watch carefully how UCLA plays Memphis next Saturday night. Assuming Ben Howland slows the game into the kind of half court affair that favors his team's strengths, we'll get a good look at what we should have been asking Memphis to do on offense. I know one thing above all else: Rick Barnes' biggest mistake today was letting Memphis get into the flow in transition. We could have lived with hard earned Tiger buckets in half court sets. The easy looks on the run were fatal.

Peter Rolled! Texas burns Cardinial down, advances to Sunday!

Horns advance to the Elite 8 Texassports.com

How Sweet It Is: Texas To Houston!!

For the fifth time in the last seven years, the Texas Longhorns are headed to the Sweet 16. Any and all Rick Barnes haters can [redacted to keep the site PG-13].

Texas' Justin Mason falls back while defending Miami's Jack McClinton during the second half Sunday. statesman.com

If you're a little uneasy about the way this game finished, let me urge you to set that aside for a moment and let out a primal scream of joy. Texas dominated this game throughout, and though the ending was closer than you'd like to see, the outcome was never seriously in doubt. Most important, Texas is headed to mother#$@*& Houston!!!

One of the nice things about watching a game by yourself is the opportunity to take solid notes. That was me today, so I've got quite a bit of post-game commentary. The notes are so diverse that I won't bother trying to make it all flow together. Straight bullet points:

About five minutes before tip, I scribbled down the following "Keys To The Game" :

A.J. Abrams give another MVP performance statesman.com

1. One and done - imit Miami on the offensive glass; be especially aware of long boards off jumpers.

2. AJ feeling it - We're unstoppable when he's locked in on his jump shot

3. Be an inside team - Control the glass, don't just weave the perimeter

4. Be determined to win - as opposed to afraid to lose

Reviewing each, today was quite the success.

1. Texas outrebounded Miami 39-25 on the day and, most impressively, limited the 'Canes to just 5 offensive rebounds. I'm pretty sure Miami secured three of those offensive rebounds in the first three minutes of the game, and the issue never appeared in my notes again.

2. Abrams finished 7-13 from the floor, including 6-10 from downtown. Add in 6-6 from the stripe for good measure and Texas fans are wondering whether we can petition to have the Houston Regional moved to Little Rock. For the weekend, AJ finishes 17-29 from the floor, 12-20 from downtown, leading Texas with 26 points in both games. Absolutely brilliant, and if he's feeling it in Houston, we're the favorites.

3. Texas didn't run the offense through the low-post too often, but when you're hitting 13-26 from three-point range, it doesn't matter. Most importantly, Texas cleared the glass and didn't just run the perimeter weave. Even though there wasn't much low-post scoring from Texas' forwards, the Longhorn guards did a good job of getting into the lane on penetration.

4. Texas came out confident and playing to win. You can quibble that we eased off the gas pedal a little too early, but in a one-and-done tournament, draining that clock wasn't a strategy I disagreed with. Moreover, if Texas shoots adequately from the free throw line, they coast in to the victory by 8-12 points.

AJ Abrams wasn't just the Offensive MVP today, he was probably the Defensive MVP as well. Miami must have run a hundred screens for McClinton today, and AJ was absolutely phenomenal in chasing him around the court. He took the right angles around screens and did a terrific job of making Miami's sharpshooter catch the ball at least 23 feet from the basket. AJ also did a great job of being involved in the rebounding effort, securing four tough boards in traffic. Absolutely his best game in weeks.

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