Let me start off by saying that I can never remember who the evil one was ... Jekyll, or Hyde. Having said that, it's the contrast between the two that is most important right now - and most pertinent to the UT men's basketball team as they head down the stretch to the Big 12 conference tournament.
This team has bewildered me all season. You can't really seem to get a good feel for where they stand anymore. Rick Barnes is a tremendous coach. I have always thought that Barnes' teams tend to be a little shaky in the early part of conference play, but they always end up playing their best basketball at the end of the season. He generally does a good job of getting them ready for the Big Dance. They almost always improve their shooting, playmaking, and defense as the season goes on. This is one of the reasons why I have truly appreciated Barnes since he took over from Tom Penders.
But this season, there is something elementally different.
After watching them in December, I was convinced that this was going to be a solid season. Wins over Villanova and UCLA would tend to confirm that observation. A number 5 ranking at the time would also tend to support the notion of a solid run towards March. This team is truly 10-deep on the roster, with a steady flow of people coming off the bench if in fact the starters aren't pulling their weight.
What normally happens, year in and year out, is that Barnes goes into the lab and keeps tweaking the rotation, trying to find the best combination of players and strategies. He has never hesitated to sit someone down and give them bench time if they weren't producing.
So what has happened since December? Either we are not truly 10-deep, or we have a 10 player mass slump going on right now!
Lately, it seems like the Horns have struggled in all facets of the game. They have played pretty reasonable defense - but in many cases, have still given up a bushel of points to any given opposing guard. Case in point: Denis Clemente of Kansas State. Actually, there are many cases in point on this one. Players that have typically been solid for the Horns - poster child being senior Connor Atchley - are struggling mightily on defense and offense.
And then there is the legendary free throw - or the shot "from the charity stripe" as they said in the movie "Hoosiers". How many times have these players stood at the free throw line in their careers? And even to this day, after thousands of attempts in games and practices, there is still the legendary "clank" off the rim? Oh what a nasty sound. How can you NOT put back at least 75% of charity shots??
Which makes me think of Damion James - and his two missed free throws at the end of the game against Colorado. Sink one, Damion, and the game is over. Sink none and it goes to OT.
Or how about the blinding performance of senior A.J. Abrams against Texas A&M on Monday. I am still not sure how A.J. thought he was going to be a draft choice in the NBA if he came out early this year. There is no way it would have happened, as is evidenced by his 30 points one night, and his 7 quiet points the next. "Having a bad night" is one thing, but the consistency still needs to show through somewhere.
And, admittedly, thoughts drift to a fantasy land in which Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin would have been leading this group as we speak ...
Now we're heading into the stretch run to the conference tournament. Next up - number 2 Oklahoma on Saturday. I really think this is a must-win game for the Horns. We have to put a favorable spin on all of this as we head to March Madness, and now would be a prime time for a shocker. If we lose, we will still be struggling for a number 4 or 5 seed in the conference tournament, with the big wins of December fading as a distant memory. If we win, we may still be struggling for that same number 4 or 5 seed - but we can at least provide the pundits with a recent memorable win.
My question is: who shows up this Saturday? Jekyll? Or Hyde?
< Prev | Next > |
---|
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.