"Texas isn't a basketball school" is a Bullshit-Ass Excuse

"But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’"
Luke 14:18

The Shaka Smart situation is a mess.  Personally, we're over him.  But we understand the numbers.  There are times when reality constrains you.

Nevertheless, there's one part of this discussion that bothers us: This notion that "Texas isn't a Basketball school" because "Texas is a Football/Baseball school."

Horse manure.

The reason why, historically, Texas' fan base has paid more attention to Baseball and Football is because, historically, Baseball and Football has been more interesting.

There's nothing wrong with the Basketball program that a decade of winning wouldn't fix.

Especially with a new arena.

We're not advocating any specific course right now.  As we said above, we understand the constraints reality is currently imposing.  But it is to say that those constraints are temporary.

It can be done.

Even with the challenges, Kevin Durant, Myles Turner, Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, and Jaxson Hayes sure seemed to think Texas was a Basketball school.  That's a sure-fire Hall of Famer and a whole bunch of All-Stars.  Imagine what could happen if the entire program were moving in the right direction.

Bottom Line: It's a matter of will....

Thoughts on the new Longhonrn Basketball Arena

"Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David."
1 Kings 6:12

Well this is all sorts of interesting:

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin (UT) and a group led by the Oak View Group (OVG) will build a world-class arena on campus that will be home to Texas Men's and Women's basketball games, graduations, concerts and other events. It is expected to be opened in 2021.

The innovative 35-year agreement between UT and ArenaCo — which includes OVG, Live Nation, C3 Presents and Matthew McConaughey — will be groundbreaking in college athletics and provide a public benefit for UT and the City of Austin for decades to come. The $338 million venue will be constructed on land fully owned by UT without using any university or public money.

The arena will be located on a current parking lot south of Mike A. Myers Stadium. It will replace the 41-year-old Frank C. Erwin Center, which will make way for the future expansion of the Dell Medical School. UT may be responsible for certain infrastructure improvements near the site to make it ready for construction.

....

The 10,000-seat arena will provide an intimate, state-of-the-art men's and women's Longhorn basketball fan experience and feature student seating surrounding the court. Much like how the Erwin Center currently operates, the new venue will be a prime location for university, campus, community and high school events. Additionally, the new arena is designed to expand to 15,000 seats and will provide a world-class venue for touring concerts and shows.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

 Thoughts:

• That no public or university funds will be used in constructing the area is awesome.  There's also (unlike certain other local sports related construction projects) no land giveaway.  In other words, this might actually be a good deal for the public!!!

• That being said, C3 doesn't exactly have the best record, so only time will tell.

• We didn't realize the Erwin Center's age.

• The fluctuating seating capacity alleviates our biggest concern.  10,000 seats is plenty for the overwhelming majority of basketball games.  As long as they're willing to use the extra seating capacity when a major opponent comes to town (eg. Kansas or OU), ticket prices should remain reasonable.

• Shaka's seat just got a lot hotter.  Ain't no way the university will be satisfied with the current inconsistent play heading into a new arena.  Rebuilds take time.  Three years is just enough time for a new coach to implement his system.

Bottom Line: Time will tell if this proposal ends up being too good to be true, but at first glace it looks pretty awesome.

A Statement Win

"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge," 
2 Peter 1:5

Start by thinking about the lead the Longhorns blew against Duke in the equivalent game last year.  Next, think about the lead the Longhorns blew in the tournament last year.  Compare those two losses to how they ground out the win last night.

The contrast speaks for itself.

Last night, the Longhorns fought off several late surges to upset #7 North Carolina 92-89.  They never surrendered the lead they took into halftime.  Every time North Carolina got close, Texas pushed it a little further.

Snoop Roach led with a dominant performance.  Career high 32 points.  We could get used to his second half dunks.

What's not to say about Dylan Osetkowski and Jaxon Hayes?!?  Osetkowski hit a key three pointer for the halftime lead then played key minutes down the stretch.  Hayes is a rebounding machine.

The only shortcoming was free throw shooting.  Had the Longhorns been better from the line, they could have put the game away several minutes earlier.  But the free throw shooting was good enough.

Bottom Line: A very encouraging sign....

Early Season Promise

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:9

Yeah, we get it. You're supposed to blow out the Citadel in an early season non-conference home game. Well, guess what?!? These are exactly the type of games that have given the Longhorns fits in recent years.

Last night's blowout win came from a level of team play we haven't seen in ages.  In addition, there's a level of depth that allows the team to compete regardless of who's on the floor.  There's a world of difference between a seven man rotation and a ten man rotation.

The biggest change is that there now appears to be a legit inside presence on offense.  In addition to last season's breakout star Dylan Osetkowski, Jerico Sims and freshman Jaxon Hayes are stepping up.  And having a real inside game frees things up at the perimeter.

Speaking of the perimeter: What a night for Snoop Roach.  In addition to scoring his 1000th point in Burnt Orange, his second half dunk was the final momentum shift in the Longhorns favor.  Could be on his way to a monster senior season.

Elsewhere in the backcourt, sophomore Matt Coleman continued his solid play from last season.  Sophomore Jase Febres' scoring ability continues to improve.  That being said, Junior transfer Elijah Mitrou-Long (#55) might be this season's breakout star.

Obviously, Shaka Smart's tenure has been inconsistent (at best).  Still, his recruits are now sophomores and juniors.  The team chemistry that emerged down the stretch last season appears to have grown.  It'll be interesting to see where Shaka can take it.

Bottom Line:  You still need to play the games.  But there are no obvious red flags.  That's more than we can say about other recent seasons.

Snoop Roach's dunk up-close 

Dylan Osetkowski dunk

Don't Blame Shaka for Fenves' Toxic Culture

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

Well...it's over.

Last night's loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament was incredibly disappointing.  That they blew a fourteen point lead made it that much worse.  Infuriating.

But here's the thing: The chronic underperformance in the athletic department is just a symptom.  The real problem is the toxic, money-worshipping, culture of the entire institution.  What's happening in the athletic department is a microcosm of the University of Texas as a whole.

Shaka's an easy scapegoat.  But he's being set-up to fail.  We know more than we can publish, but the buck stops with Greg Fenves and the Board of Regents.

A year and a half ago, during last Basketball season, we wrote: "the corrupt institutional mismanagement that has plagued the past decade has finally bled into the athletic department."  Last night was a continuation and acceleration of that trend.  And nothing is going to change as long as the corrupt, money-worshipping, UT Politburo remains in charge.

It's fascinating how arrogance is almost always accompanied by ineptitude.

Bottom Line: To attack symptoms, while leaving the underlying pathology intact, is pointless.  Throwing Shaka under the bus for the sake of a "new coach" dog-and-pony show is a waste of time and (especially) money.  The University of Texas needs a much deeper top-to-bottom housecleaning, and it needs to start in the President's office.

Longhorns Play Defense for Five Minutes...AND BEAT OU!!! #HookEm #Longhorns

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
2 Timothy 4:7

Holy [REDACTED} what a finish!!!

This author attended this evening's UT basketball game against Oklahoma.  To be honest, for 35 minutes it looked like it was going to be the type of dumpster fire of a game that has become all too typical for this athletic department over the past five years.  We spent most of the game pondering how we could spin the loss we assumed was inevitable to make it as politically painful for Greg Fenves (who was at today's game) as possible.

Then the final five minutes happened.

For most of the game, OU led between 5 and 8 points.  The Longhorns would occasionally make a push, but OU consistently used superior effort on defense and higher percentage shot selection to maintain their lead.  Everything seemed to point towards yet another one of those type of Longhorn games that have become all too typical across the athletic department over the past five year.

But then, with five minutes to go, the team pulled their heads out of their backsides and played real defense.  It was the first time during the Shaka Smart era that the team's effort matched their talent.  We weren't taking notes, so we'll leave it to Burnt Orange Nation to explain the details:

Roach responded with a three-pointer before Texas cashed in with six straight free throws to tie the game at 66 with 5:39 remaining. After a Young three-pointer didn’t find its mark the ensuing possession, Coleman continued his offensive hot streak, giving Texas its first lead since 10-9 with 5:01 left to play.

After playing from behind throughout much of the evening, Texas was now the aggressor, utilizing high ball screens and isolations on Young for points at the rim and from the charity stripe down the stretch to assure the lead wasn’t relinquished.

Much of that had to do with Coleman.

After missing three potential game-winning free throws against Texas Tech, the Longhorns freshman guard nailed all four attempts in the final two minutes to push Texas’ lead to 76-70. Of course, seemingly no lead is safe with the sharpshooting Young on the other end, but after a prayer from three fell short, Texas got out in transition for an Eric Davis Jr. lob to Bamba to seal the win, capping a 20-4 Longhorns run.

Bottom Line: For the first time during the Shaka Smart era, the Longhorns had five minutes where their effort matched their talent.  The results speak for themselves.  Imagine what could happen if this sort of effort were delivered on a more consistent basis.