Wheels coming off in Austin??
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@cragarhawk I think the jury is still out.
First of all, the conference title is not out of touch for at least 6 of 10 teams.
Second, Texas has the talent. They theoretically match up well with a lot of teams that they could meet in tourney. While unlikely that a team with a lot of losses in league play would make a run in the national tourney… we all know it’s not unprecedented.
Barnes has been to the final four. He knows how to make a run. I think things may look wobbly, but it’s too soon to tell.
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@bskeet Agree the jury is still out. Lots of ball to be played. And certainly no question on the talent level. But if im a Longhorn fan(im not even close
) maybe not even a pessimistic one right now. I look at the remaining schedule. I see 4 road games. And Isu and Baylor still to play in Austin. 9 games to go. Giving the benifit of the doubt that those 9 can go better. Im thinking 5 and 4 is in line or optimistic even at this point. Which would net an overall of 19 and 12. And a bottom half finish in this league. Might put them squarely on the bubble. Or just plain out. It should be interesting to see how they respond.
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Consistent coaching under Barnes, once again. He under achieves with some good talent. He’s doing a ‘great’ job with Turner. Turner would be budding into a promising big at KU right now. He would thrive under Self’s hi-lo offense, but he seems to thrive under Barnes’ system at this point. Turner would also be able to pick and pop under Self. We had room too.
We’ve seen this before from Barnes. I even gave him the benefit of the doubt in years past. I thought UT would come back at some point. He tends to lose the handle each time they play and lose to KU. There’s a lot of bball left, but Barnes never seems to get back on track and deliver.
I just don’t get it…
Hook 'em Horns and do I have a job after this game?
How in the hell does Bill Self beat me?
Where is Kevin Durant?
I’m done
Forget Calipari…I’ll show him. Jay Z has nuttin on the Beav…And I might recruit this one for locker room entertainment
Where is that redhead?
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@truehawk93 I don’t think we could handle the bucket hat though!!
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Two players at KSU including Foster were suspended. Game reports indicate that Foster mopped on the bench the entire game and his body language was bad. I would not be surprised if he does not come back since this is the second time he has been suspended. Too bad, the kids is ubber talented by his work ethic and attitude are suspect.
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Realistically, a team with 5 loses has a tiny change to even tie for the conference title let alone win it. KSU and OSU the 2 teams with 5 loses would have to go 8-0 the rest of the season while KU would have to go no better than 5-4 in the next 9 games which is possible but highly improbable. OU and Baylor would have to go 8-0 and 9-0 while KU goes no better than 6-3 just to tie for the title. Given how KU is playing it is of course possible but not likely. Which leaves ISU and WVU each with 3 loses as the only teams with a realistic chance of catching up with KU; WVU in particular has 2 games with KU in which they could make up the 2 game difference.
Short of a complete collapse by KU, the conference is theirs to lose.
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@JayHawkFanToo I didn’t see him on the bench but heard that he and Harris were suspended. I’m guessing it just happened or they would have left him home.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Foster and Harris weren’t on the bench but according to the announcers they were at the practice in Lubbock today so they speculated that they were both sent back to the team hotel.
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@JayHawkFanToo True…
Impossible for 2 teams (TCU & TT).
Virtually impossible for Texas.
Improbable for two teams (KSU & OSU).
Unlikely for three teams (OU, BU and ISU)
Still possible for WVU.
But Texas doesn’t have to win conference to feel good about the season; they just need to finish in the top 3 or 4. If they are below that, I think Barnes will be questioned.
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I Believe OU and ISU have the capability of putting together a good run to end the season and if KU falters they do have chance. WVU’s edge is that they have two games against KU but I am not convince they can put together the run that would get them close to KU.
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IMHO, we go 1-1 with WVU, we win league title outright, no ties.
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Does Turner regret choosing TX over KU? Personally, I am content that he did migrate to Austin. Has been a splendid Jayhawk experience, to date, watching our coaching staff adjust to a squad w/o a steady tall go-to player. We might have won as many games with Turner in Lawrence; but probably we would not have gotten the chance to watch Bill Self pilot this spiffy new car by the seat of his pants.
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Texas probably deserves a coaching change, maybe to a Greg Marshall or that shifty Shaka guy, VCU. If Barnes’ days aren’t seriously numbered, then TX is completely bailing on the sport of basketball, saving dollars on custodial help not needed to sweep empty aisles after home contests…but for occasions when Jayhawks swoop into Austin. Barnes is likely one of the good guys, maybe too good to be super competitive like his iron-willed peer who rules the roost in Lawrence. Marshall comes to UT, Barnes goes to Wichita State: a decent flip-flop.
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@REHawk Or maybe Barnes is let out to pasture at TX Tech; Tubby goes to Wichita…
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If Bill Self had landed in Austin instead of Lawrence -
Unfortunately, he’d probably STILL have 10 straight conference championships.
Barnes has had an un-natural amount of gifted players at Texas.
Dude can’t coach.
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@nuleafjhawk Man, just imagine Bill coaching Durant and that super talented point guard who played alongside him!
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If the jury is still out, I’m wondering what else you’re waiting on. Texas still has games @KU, @OU, @WV, and @KSU. Texas is showing that they can’t win. They don’t know how to win. I think @drgnslayr made a great argument about the likelihood that KU wins the league because they know how. I see the exact opposite with Texas.
Also, I don’t want to bemoan Myles Turner’s decision. It is what it is. I like this KU team too much to be upset about a player we didn’t get (although I’m still upset about Caleb Tarzcewski). I think barring a nice little run to the Elite 8, Barnes is done at the end of the season. If he can’t win with this squad, what can he do? I like Barnes. I actually ran into him at a gas station in the middle of South Carolina, if you can believe that. Had my Rock Chalk Jayhawk shirt on and everything
But he’s a standup guy, and I know Coach Self likes him. But I just think his time may have passed.
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I think we split with WVU. Lose the first one down in Morgantown, and get’em back in AFH.
To snag #11, I think we need to create a nice buffer and win a couple of the toughest games on the road… any of KSU, OU, OSU, or WVU. In reality, we probably just need one of those games to at least tie for the crown.
I like our shot at KSU and OSU the best. It’s tough for us to win in Stillwater… but this is a game we can win if we bring game.
OU and WVU will be really tough in their buildings. I still can’t believe Self didn’t see the potential in Buddy Hield. He may easily be the best NBA prospect in the B12. Self should work on his relationship with Sunrise Christian Academy. Lots of great talent goes through there and it is right in our backyard.
Barnes is easily the nicest coach in the B12. He’s a class act. But those traits don’t win games. I’m not saying winning coaches are classless and unfriendly, but they know how to bear down and push players hard.
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After seeing UT lose again last night and then KSU losing to Tech I would say the wheels are off for both teams.
Look at the upcoming schedules for UT and KSU. Not a lot of easy games. Both teams could end up being under .500 in the Big 12. At this point are these honestly even tournament teams? Both have terrible resumes. UT has beat one team that is currently ranked. KSU has zero wins against the top 25.
Obviously UT has far more talent than KSU and has a much better overall record as of today but honestly it looks like both of these teams could miss March. They play each other twice and those games are huge for both programs. Joe Lunardi currently does not have KSU in the field and has Texas as an 8 seed. That was before last night.
Texas needs to go 6-3 the rest of the way in conference play to even get to .500. That includes games against KU, ISU, Baylor and OU. I honestly don’t see it. I doubt that make it to the tourney and it is probably the worst coaching job in the country.
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From the Austin-American Statesman this morning. I’ll tell you again that fans want a change and are tired of Barnes getting all that talent and then not doing anything with it.
**By Brian Davis - American-Statesman Staff **
Since Texas officials are in a mood to try new things, they should encourage fans to skip the first half completely. Just stay in the parking lot or Burnt Orange Room.
Most of them miss the first four minutes anyway, so what’s another 16? Here lately, the first 20 minutes are just plain atrocious.
Texas followed the same script Wednesday night against Oklahoma State. Watching the Horns pile up 13 turnovers and fall behind by 15 points, you would’ve thought they had given up on coach Rick Barnes completely.
The 25th-ranked Longhorns (14 - eight) fell to a frustrating 3-6 in the Big 12 standings.
##Hundreds of Texas fans couldn’t wait to bolt, turning their backs and leaving during the post-game rendition of “The Eyes of Texas.”##
“Why do I worry? I don’t even know if I’m going to live tomorrow,” a philosophical Barnes said. “So why am I going to worry? I’ve got to worry about one day at a time. Can’t think about a month down the road.”
After last week’s loss to Baylor by 23, they didn’t even post an article on TexasSports.com about it.
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Imagine if Kansas had the sports revenue Texas has?
Imagine if KU was in a State the size of Texas, with all that incredible talent to draw from?
Imagine if Kansas had the “Jayhawk Network” in a proportional size similar to the “Longhorn Network?”
Texas and Barnes really does squander crazy amounts of potential.
If Texas is left out of the big dance this year he should get fired from the B12. If Texas doesn’t have enough drive to do better, our conference should start calling the shots. On paper, I’m not sure if there is another athletic department in the country with as much to draw from as Texas has. The next question would be why isn’t Longhorn football much better?
We need Texas to compete nationally. Overall, they are a big part of the faceplate of the B12. If you want to point fingers at why the B12 is not always respected in sports… start by pointing to Austin!
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Texas is a destination job and one of the best with more local talent than almost anywhere. If Texas wants an elite coach, they will get one. the money will be fabulous and the prestige of the University and what it could become with a winning coach will make Texas a tough out if Barnes leaves.
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Right… but what great college basketball coach wants to go to Texas and play second fiddle to football?
It would be great for the B12 if they could land someone better.
The B12 does have some quality coaching… Self, the Mayor, Kruger, “Huggy Bear”… but Texas gets so much attention and Barnes continually drops the ball. I recall just a couple of months ago all the rage about Longhorn basketball and a possible FF appearance.
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You are missing the most important part, Texas is a football school in the heart of football country and basketball comes a very distance second to football. It is in may way the reverse of KU; here we watch the first few football games and if they do well we stick around and if they don’t (which is most of the time) we start the wait for basketball and write off football. The fact that their football programs has been down has not helped the basketball programs since there it has attracted more attention and higher expectations. Barnes is a good coach and well respected by his peers and runs a clean program but lately he has been competing with Baylor for players and Drew is known for being less than honest.. Much like Texas, OU is also a football school and it is sad to see a really good OU basketball team play in a half full arena.
As far as Buddy Hields, he was ranked in the 80s out of HS and much like Niang, he has been a late bloomer. KU typically recruits in the top 50 and the lower ranked players are only selected to use up available scholarships after the top players are gone. No one could have predicted how well Hield and Niang would turn out.
Here is a 2 year story about Texas and Baylor that could have been written yesterday…
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@drgnslayr said:
Right… but what great college basketball coach wants to go to Texas and play second fiddle to football?
Zackly why we can’t get a great football coach!
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“As far as Buddy Hields, he was ranked in the 80s out of HS and much like Niang,”
I can see how Self could miss on Niang… but Buddy has the body and athleticism and he showed plenty of signs over at SCA… Self actually looked at him, but didn’t see it. So it wasn’t like he didn’t take a look because Buddy wasn’t ranked high enough. Sorry… but that was a major blunder. Buddy certainly passed Lon’s eye test.
If that kid stays healthy I believe he’ll be one of the better NBA players to come out of the B12 in recent years.
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Self wanted Hield but didn’t Buddy sign with OU because was basically recruiting him from the beginning. You win some you lose some, as they say in recruiting.
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@BeddieKU23 Good point. Hield was even quoted saying that KU recruited him. Sometimes you get em, sometimes you don’t. Do you think a few teams out there are upset they didn’t pick up Frank Mason who was not heavily recruited and had a low ranking? A handful of guys ranked in the 80-100 range end up being studs. There are a variety of factors for why this happens. I am quite happy with our perimeter as is.
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@JayHawkFanToo Ya, but one could easily turn around and say, “ok. Their football program isn’t so great either.” And as far as competing with Baylor for players, the obvious first point to make is that Texas just landed the second best basketball player in the country. And with the amount of upperclassmen, they should be good (not to mention they have one of the best point guards in the Big 12). That team is talented. Too talented to be playing the way they are. All of this second fiddle stuff is secondary to the fact that Texas has a good team. They’re not facing the gaps in talent that TCU does. They have the talent. At what point does the coach start shouldering the blame? Football is not irrelevant to this point, but it does not explain why Texas is as bad as they are. They are one of the only teams in the Big 12 to have multiple 5 star recruits. I mean, this is fairly easy to explain.
After KU beat Texas down in Austin, I pointed out that Barnes was willing to give Turner what he wanted rather than what he needed. Myles Turner is 7 foot (almost), and has no post game. Ridley faces similar problems. Personally I think this is why Turner committed to UT over KU. I don’t think he wanted to be thrown into the post. He wanted to play the perimeter like Durant. A square peg does not fit into a round hole no matter how bright and shiny that peg is. Again, if the blame doesn’t fall on Barnes for the way they’re playing, who does it fall on?
I agree with what other posters have said too. For better or worse, Texas is the face of our conference. BUT I HAVE NO PROBLEM REMINDING THEIR FANS THAT THEY TRIED THEIR BEST TO STAB US IN THE BACK. Texas only stayed because the Pac 12 turned them and Oklahoma down. Texas needs to perform, and if that means getting rid of Barnes, so be it. I like the article that @RockChalkinTexas posted. My parents live in Austin too, and they’re constantly telling me how Texas basketball is ridiculed in the media. Calling the Erwin Center the “Erwin Library.” The days of Kevin Durant are gone. Long gone. If UT can’t right the ship fast, Barnes will be done at the end of the season.
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I think you might be over estimating Hield’s NBA potential some. He is considered short for the position he plays and also a shoot first, shoot second type of player that is nowadays frowned upon. He has been ranked as high as 21 but currently he is 48 as his rating seems to be falling. Most mock drafts have him as a late first round or second round prospect. Oubre and Alexander are consistently ranked above him.
Sometimes our perception of a player, what scouts think and how he eventually turns out can be quite different. Most of us thought that TRob should have been a top 2 pick but was picked #5 and now he is playing very little on his third team in three years…not what you would expect from #5 pick, right? Look at who was select #6 on the same draft…Damian Lillard, a NBA superstar or #21 Jarred Sullinger who start for the Celtics and leads the team in scoring. As you know Mock Drafts are finicky and can change quite a bit form one week to the next and I try to look at multiple publications, preferably those that average results. Maybe you have access to better information on Hield than I do and I would be interested in seeing it,
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I don’t have a problem with your logic; there is no reason why Texas should not be better other than the talent available has the wrong fit/chemistry. Did you read the link I posted on Texas and Baylor? For the size of the school. there is no question that Baylor has over achieve both in basketball, and of late, in football.
As far as Texas being the face of the conference, I don’t agree with that, at least not in recent years. If you ask sports fans across the country who the face of the Big 12 is…the overwhelming majority will say Kansas in basketball since it has dominated the conference for a long time, and in football I would say Oklahoma, Baylor and maybe Texas after that with TCU, OSU and KSU also getting votes; those are the only sports that really matter. Texas and Ohio State have the two largest Athletics budgets, but where Ohio State has done well, Texas has seriously underachieved.
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@JayHawkFanToo No I didn’t see that. It seems like some comments got deleted. And you’re probably right about the face of the Big 12 in certain sports. But from a monetary standpoint, I don’t think there’s any denying Texas as the face. And as a current Ohio State student I will definitely agree with you.
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@RockChalkinTexas I’ve been to two games there and noticed the crowd does miss the beginning of the game.
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Here’s my two cents worth: Ike Taylor has ruined the team with his selfish play. Take a look at UT’s record with Felix running the team, and with Taylor running the team - it is astonishing. I really think their season is an object lesson on how a selfish point guard can ruin a team.
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@KUSTEVE I noticed that too. He tried way too hard against KU, even late in the game. He is selfish and sad that his coach doesn’t know how to channel the talent.
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There she is…Need I say more?
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@truehawk93 I like it … the Score is 64 to 56 !!!
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@RedRooster good one!
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“Maybe you have access to better information on Hield than I do and I would be interested in seeing it,”
I don’t have better access than you and I probably study this less than you. I just see a guy that can play. He can shoot and he just looks more NBA than anyone else in the B12 (IMHO).
These “mock” people are often wrong. NBA GMs are often wrong. I’m often wrong. But I sense a big career ahead for Buddy.
I don’t consider 6’4" to be short or tall for a SG. He does have a nice wingspan, is athletic, can shoot well and handle the ball. He has big hands and can control the ball like a big man.
Rivals had him at 86th… the 17th best SG in his class. Not too impressive, but he didn’t attract a lot of attention. I don’t think Sunrise players get the same attention as other prep schools do. We always like to go to areas where players tend to be over-ranked, like back east.
I think Buddy would have jumped to be a Jayhawk, had he been offered.
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@truehawk93 Nice breasts but face is just above very nice -I would give her an 8 tops. This from a guy who lived in LA three times, and knows the difference between a Texas (or Kansas 10) and a LA 10. granted an LA 10 most often has been under the knife.
And to quote one of my favorites: “I’m no slouch myself.”
“Don’t sell yourself short Judge, you’re a terrific slouch.”
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The wheels might be coming off but the headlights seem to be doing just fine…
