Texas Could Be in for a Long (but Familiar) Season
Texas opened the 2015-2016 season with an underwhelming loss to a young Washington team. If it weren’t for Isaiah Taylor, it could’ve been even worse.
Never should a team be solely judged by a 40-minute sample, especially a season opening one in Shanghai.
Still, the Texas Longhorns could not have left a worst first impression in head coach Shaka Smart’s debut.
Picked to finish 4th in the Big-12 this season, Texas—whose 11-man rotation on Friday consisted of five seniors and three juniors—looked like the more erratic and divergent squad against Washington, who not only were chosen to finish second-to-last in the Pac-12 but also played seven freshman (including four who started).
It’s not often that a program that has made 16 of the last 17 NCAA tournaments decides to go in a different direction as far as their head coach is concerned. But such is the case at Texas, where expectations are higher than most.
The Longhorns’ last Sweet 16 appearance came in 2008. In seven years since, they have accounted for twice as many 1st-round NBA Draft picks (6) as NCAA Tournament wins (3).
A change was needed. So out went Rick Barnes, and in came Smart, 38-years-old and the leader of mid-major darling Virginia Commonwealth for six seasons prior.
Smart couldn’t have handpicked a better incoming roster on DraftKings. On paper, Texas’ backcourt is loaded: Isaiah Taylor, Demarcus Holland, Kendal Yancy, Javan Felix, plus incoming freshmen Kerwin Roach (#34 recruit in the 2015 class per Rivals), Eric Davis Jr. (#59 per Rivals), and Tevin Mack (#61 per Rivals).
And, while the frontcourt has a different look to it from last year with Jonathan Holmes and Myles Turner moving on, there’s still Cameron Ridley, Connor Lammert, Prince Ibeh, and Shaquille Cleare (transfer from Maryland).
The same theme that has plagued Texas for the better part of the last decade—great talent underachieving—reared its ugly head again on Friday. Texas shot 26.8%, was outrebounded by Washington 62-49, and seemed to finish runner-up in every loose ball.
Without Isaiah Taylor, UT might have gotten run out of the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The junior point guard was terrific, scoring a career-high 29 points on a career high 12 free throws made. Taylor was 8-17 from the field, 12-15 from the line, and 1-2 from “three.”
The rest of Texas? 11-54 from the field (20.4%), 19-33 from the line (57.6%), and 1-13 from “three.”
The Longhorns looked completely lost on offense, deprived of any semblance of rhythm or cohesion, and posed no threat whatsoever outside the paint. Texas shot 4-39 on jump shots and had five team assists compared to 14 turnovers. Unless it was Taylor bailing out his teammates by breaking down the defense and getting wherever he wanted, UT possessions mostly ended in ill-advised jumpers, wild drives to the rim, or poor post feeds.
Felix and Yancy didn’t make a single field goal, combining for 9 points on all free throws. The freshmen trio of Roach, Davis Jr., and Mack totaled 14 points on 3-30 shooting.
Plus, Smart must have left his “HAVOC” style of play back in the United States. Texas scored just six points off turnovers and six points on the fast break.
Again, it’s only one game, and UT will probably never shoot under 27% again this season. Also, while Washington is predominantly wet behind the ears and is basically in rebuilding mode, they played much better than advertised and should grow up quickly.
But the point is that the initial version of the 2016 Longhorns looks like more of the same from the recent past and, aside from the visual broadcast, you would’ve had no idea that it was Shaka Smart and not still Rick Barnes holding the clipboard.
Mr. Ball Is Life 