Rick Barnes is concerned about J'Covan Brown's outburst

This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - It's not a difficult argument to make that J'Covan Brown had been the best player in the country for the first two weeks of the season.

He came into the game leading the nation in scoring at 29.3 ppg while adding 5.3 rpg, 7.7 apg and committing just seven turnovers. He was shooting 50.9% from the floor, 48.3% from three and getting to the free throw line eight times a game. Those are pretty impressive numbers from a kid who came into the season with a reputation for being little more than a chucker.

Little changed on Monday night when Brown took the court in the consolation game of the Legend's Classic against NC State. For the first 31 minutes and change, he was absolutely terrific, scoring 17 points, handing out seven assists and turning the ball over just once.

"J'Covan Brown, he sliced us up like a side of fries," NC State head coach Mark Gottfriend said after the game. "I'm sure we'll play some great guards this year, but when the season is over, I think we'll look back and he'll be one of the better guards we play all season."


With freshman point guard Myck Kabongo struggling for the second straight game, Brown's play was all the more important. His ability to create not only for himself, but for his teammates as well -- and, for that matter, the focus that the NC State defense showed him -- was a huge reason that freshmen Jonathan Holmes (16 points, eight boards) and Sheldon McClellan (16 points) had big games.

With 8:25 left, Brown managed to make an even stronger case for his MVP candidacy, but it may not have been the best case to make.

Brown was called for a foul, his third of the half and fourth of the game, and was not happy about the call. As he walked past the official that made the call, he was whistled for a technical. That was his fifth foul. NC State was on a 5-0 spurt when Brown was tossed. They hit four free throws -- two for the foul, two for the technical -- to get within nine, and proceeded to score 19 of the next 21 points. In less than nine minutes of basketball, NC State turned a 65-47 deficit into a 75-67 lead.

The Longhorns simply couldn't function offensively without Brown in the game. Myck Kabongo, for all the natural ability that he has, doesn't yet understand how to run the point or have the confidence to take control of this team. Simply put, he looked nervous and hesitant in the final eight minutes of the game.

"Myck Kabongo's still trying to figure it out," Texas head coach Rick Barnes said. "We weren't aggressive [without J'Covan]."

As an isolated incident, this is a problem, but its a manageable one. Tempers flare. Its happened to all of us in situations much-less tense than a high-level college basketball game. The problem with Brown is that there is a history. Throughout the high school and the AAU ranks, Brown's temper and on-court attitude were notorious. There were the technicals and there were the ejections accompanying the typical entourage that comes with elite recruits. There were also academics issues, as it took him a year before he was able to qualify.

To his credit, Brown's improved his temper. He's gotten better. But blowups like this simply cannot happen when you're being counted on as the veteran leader of a team.

"He's come a long way. He really has," Texas head coach Rick Barnes said after the game. "But there shouldn't be anymore. He should have figured it out by now. He's been around long enough."

"When your older players do that, its tough. That's where he has to grow up. I mean, he's been in the program for three years. He's in a different role now where these guys are looking for a lot from him and you just can't do that. Its happened too much, and sooner or later he's going to figure out that its going to keep him from being where he wants to be."

There are a few differing accounts of what, exactly, happened that earned Brown the technical foul. According to him, he did curse as he walked past the ref. But the curse was directed at himself -- he was upset that he had committed his fourth foul -- and not aimed in the direction of the ref. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that the referee heard it.

But from what the folks sitting at press row had to say, Brown's anger was intended for the referee, and he repeatedly said as much under his breath.

"There's no doubt in my mind that J'Covan created the situation," Barnes said.

That's a problem. The "situation" that Brown created cost Texas a game. And this is the player that the Longhorns are counting on to be their leader? To be the guy that a talented group of freshmen look up to? Is that really the example you want the face of your program to be setting?

"I'm concerned for J'Covan," Barnes said. "We're going to be fine. We've got enough guys that work. The concerning part is for him. He's a junior, he's been here long enough and he ought to know that our team, if we can't do it with him, we'll do it without him. We don't want to do that, everybody likes him and we know he's trying and he's worked harder than he's ever worked in his life during the offseason. He's worked hard in the summer and he's worked hard in practice. But there's more to it than that. There's a mental side to it, there's a team component side to it."

From what Barnes had to say after the game, it sounds like Brown is getting better. It sounds like he's trying, that he truly does want to be the guy that carries this team. Texas comes in without any expectations, meaning that any success the Longhorns have will be attributed to the play of Brown, particularly if he continues to perform at this rate.

But there is always going to be the chance that Brown will meltdown. Remember last season, when someone -- he claims it wasn't him -- tweeted from his account about the lack of playing time he was getting. This is something that is always going to be in the back of his coaching staff's mind. No matter how much he has his temper under control, who knows when the next time will be that he decides to pop off to a referee. What if it happens again in the Big 12 or NCAA Tournament? What if he reacts negatively to a call during a crucial bubble game? There is no guarantee that this Texas team will be in position to earn a bid when the season is over. Losing to Oregon State and North Carolina State -- two more team that look headed for a nervous Selection Sunday -- doesn't help their profile.

More importantly for Brown, there were a myriad of NBA scouts in attendance that were there not only to see him play, but to see potential first-round picks Jeff Taylor, John Jenkins and Jared Cunningham in the nightcap. Its easier to overlook this kind of personality trait when you are picking a potential all-star. But for a guy that will have to battle his way into the second round, these kind of memories are not easy to forget.

"I'm more concerned for him than for our team," Barnes said. "And again, he hasn't been disruptive. What he did today, he made a bad mistake and it cost us."
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UPDATE: Wait, Baylor beating TCU blew up the Big 12?

(Ed. Note: Before I get into the meat of this post, I think we should all take a moment and think -- truly think -- about the absurdity of conference realignment.

Last night's game between Baylor and TCU is what college football is all about. A stadium packed with fans on a Friday night watched an underdog shred one of the best defenses in country before blowing a 24 point lead and then having the intestinal wherewithal to respond with a game-winning field goal and a game-ending interception. It was truly a magical game, one that should have every college football fan in the country buzzing -- both literally and figuratively -- for today, the first Saturday of the season.

Instead, all anyone can talk about is realignment. Can the Big 12 hold on to Texas and Oklahoma? Who does the SEC get as a 14th? Is the Pac-12 done expanding? Cougars and Hokies and Noles, oh my!

Not only are the power conferences and their rich, white middle men lining their pockets off of the product that a bunch of college kids put on the field -- and on your television -- every weekend, now we are ignoring that product to speculate how the next billion-dollar deal shakes out.

I need a shower. If you dare, read on.)


Basketball isn't the only sport played at the collegiate level that can get, well, crazy.

Take Baylor and TCU last night. If you missed it, I don't blame you (too much). It was the Friday of Labor Day Weekend and all. Baylor hit a three hit a 37 yard field goal to knock off No. 14 TCU 50-48 despite blowing a 24 point second half lead. It was wild, and I'm sure a perfect example of why all those college football zealots are so ... zealous? I'd be willing to bet that Baylor-TCU would post a similar score if the two were to play in hoops.

But the game itself isn't what truly mattered last night. It was the news that leaked out while the game was being played.

Let's start with the comments that Oklahoma president David Boren made yesterday. Read them in full here, but the money quote is right here: "I don’t think there’s any chance OU’s going to end up being a wallflower." That was the last thing Boren said, but when taken in context with the rest of his press conference -- again, I urge you to read it in its entirety -- its not hard to read between the lines.

It gets worse. Oh, so much worse. Chip Brown from Orangebloods.com -- who has been all over the conference realignment story dating back to last year -- paints a dreary picture for the Big 12. Not only does Brown report that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe held a conference call for the program president's -- excluding Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M -- in which Beebe essentially asked the rest of the league to plead with Texas not to leave for the Pac-12, but he quotes one source as saying that there is a "50 to 60 percent" chance that UT bounces.

Poor Dan Beebe. He's either totally clueless or already accepted defeat and that he's out of a job.

Texas doesn't hold the power here. Oklahoma does. Another interesting tidbit from Brown's report is that a source tells him the Pac-12 would be willing to accept Oklahoma and their tag-along little brother, Oklahoma State, should they opt to leave the conference. With those two gone, the Big 12 will be nothing but a memory. I'm sure Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott is keenly aware that by landing Oklahoma and hitting the Big 12 with a crippling blow, he makes his conference look just that much more attractive to Texas.

So either Beebe doesn't realize that he needs to rest of the Big 12 to beg and plead with Oklahoma not to go anywhere, or he's resigned himself to the fact that the Sooners are westward bound and is doing what he can to hold the Big 12 scraps together by duct-taping the rest of the conference to Papa Texas.

Pick your poison, I guess.

So I hope the Bears enjoyed that win last night. Because fairly soon -- possibly as early as next week -- we could find out that it is TCU, and not Baylor, that has a BCS conference membership.

UPDATE: It didn't exactly need to be said, but according to Barry Tramel of The Oklahoman, OU's "sole focus" is heading west. Hello Pac-16, goodbye Big 12, and for the love of god, will the Big East scoop up Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri already?
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West Virginia gets their point guard, Texas swaps out bigs

West Virginia got some big news on Wednesday afternoon as it became official that point guard Jabarie Hinds would be eligible to play this season.

There was some concern that he would not get cleared. Hinds did not travel this summer with West Virginia to Europe as he had to makeup some course work. Bobby Huggins, however, wasn't worried:

"We thought we knew that it was kind of a foregone conclusion (that he would qualify), it was just a matter of time," he told MetroNews Statewide Sportsline. "This time of the year you’ve got football in full swing and (the NCAA) is trying to get football guys on the field, they’re trying to get soccer players on the field and cross country. So, it's a busy, busy time for them."

Hinds will be a nice compliment to Truck Bryant in the back court. Where Bryant is a strong ball-handler and a physical point guard, Hinds thrives on his quickness and ability to beat a defender off the dribble.

Texas, on the other hand, got a bit of bad news.

Incoming freshman Kevin Thomas was declared ineligible by the NCAA. But only hours after that announcement was made, Texas announced that Jaylen Bond had been released from his letter of intent to Pitt.

There was some concern initially that Bond wasn't going to get his release. With him in the rotation, it provides some much-needed depth along the Longhorn's front line, but Rick Barnes is still going to be at a major disadvantage this season. His front court goes four-deep -- two seniors that have never been more than serviceable backups, Clint Chapman and Alexis Wangmene, and two freshmen, Bond and top 100 recruit Jonathan Holmes.
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Rick Barnes, Texas, and player vs. team success

Sometimes there is a downside to being consistently good.

People start to ask why you never broach greatness. They wonder when the next step will occur. They are only satisfied with good enough for so long. And that is exactly what Rick Barnes is experiencing right now.

The Texas head coach has ushered in a new era in Longhorn basketball. No longer is hoops just something Texans do to take their mind off the football-less doldrums of winter. But in his 13 years at Texas, he's turned the hoops program from something to keep them busy into something that they actually follow. Its a golden era for hoops in Austin. Barnes hasn't missed an NCAA Tournament in tenure with the Longhorns. He's consistently competing for Big 12 titles, he made a Final Four, and he churns outs NBA players at as high of a clip as any coach in the country.

But his recent lack of on-court success is starting to get noticed. His Final Four came in 2003. His last Elite 8 came in 2008. The past two seasons have started so promising -- in 2010, the Longhorns spent time at No. 1 in the country and in 2011, Texas was on pace to have a record-setting defense -- and finished in disaster, as UT failed to make it to the second weekend of the tournament.


Barnes, perhaps justly, has earned the reputation of being a recruiter more than a coach; of being a guy that simply rolls the ball out on the court and lets his team play. Lute Olson had the same reputation. Jim Calhoun did for a while as well. Its enough that the Star-Telegram brought up Barnes' comments in a March, 2010, ESPN the Magazine article. In that ESPN article, Barnes said that as much as he would love to win a national title, he's obsessed with trying to get his players to live out their NBA dreams. "I'd give up a national title for all of our guys to be able to live their dream," he said.

He clarified those comments with Mike Jones on Wednesday:

"I was asked, 'Would you rather guys go to the NBA or would you rather win a national championship,'" Barnes said. "Obviously, my response was you'd like to do both. I was pinned down again and asked to pick one or the other."

"So, now they're asking me do I want to be selfish on my behalf. Think about it. If I had said I would rather us win a national championship than have one of our players ever get to achieve his dream, I'd be done in coaching. Everyone would say, 'You don't want to play for him because he doesn't care [about player development].' I was asked a question I couldn't really answer a smart way."

Given the opportunity to clarify, Barnes responded this way:

"If you asked me in the end would I want us to win a bunch of championships and our players not succeed -- I wouldn't want to do that. But on the other hand, if you could guarantee that every player you coach could have a chance to live out his dream -- and I'm not just talking about basketball, but life -- and that means your guys aren't going to win a championship, what would you take? I'd have to say I would want our guys to have a chance to live their dreams. Does that mean I don't care? That's not what I'm saying at all. Because I'm smart enough to realize if these guys live their dream, we're going to keep putting ourselves in position and one day it is going to come together, and we're going to win it. We do this for a lot of reasons. But if I didn't have the desire to win it, I wouldn't do this."

Personally, I don't think that Barnes needed to clarify his comments.

I think that his initial answer was perfect, and I hope that its the way every coach in the country feels.

The idea that Barnes doesn't want to win a national title is foolish. Of course he does. You don't get into the coaching profession -- one that requires endless hours on the road, long nights breaking down film, days and weeks away from your loved ones, and the ability to suck up to a 16 year old and his family -- without the desire to win. Obviously, there are some folks that are strictly in it for the paycheck. And there are some folks that do it simply because they love coaching and they love the game.

But at the end of the day, a coach is still a competitor. They are going to want to win as much as possible and on as big of a stage as possible. Its like being a doctor -- some practice medicine because they want to own a big house and a fancy car and some simply love being a doctor, but at the end of the day every doctor in the world is going to do their damnedest to help, sometimes even safe the life, of their patients.

For Barnes -- and for coaches in general -- the bigger issue is that they are coaching student-athletes. And since these student-athletes are not professionals and are not allowed to make money until they leave the amateur ranks, the role of a collegiate coach is that of a teacher.

The Longhorn players are basketball majors, and Barnes is their professor. His role is to make them the best basketball players that they can be and to help them find individual success and happiness. The fact that he has been successful in producing pros is a major reason why he continues to land top-flight high school talent, and sending three players to the first round this year -- including Tristan Thompson at No. 4 and Cory Joseph at No. 29, both of which were a surprise -- only helped that fact.

Barnes' job at Texas is to produce pros. If he's doing his job correctly, then along the way he is going to have some very good teams, wins some conference championships, and compete for Final Fours and national titles.

But he shouldn't put his success as a coach over the future success of his players, and he certainly shouldn't do it in a public forum.
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NBA Draft Profiles: Tristan Thompson, Texas

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 13.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg (3.0 off), 2.4 bpg, 48.7% FT, 54.6% FG

Age: 20, freshman

Size:

• Listed: 6'9", 230 lb
• Official: 6'7.5" (no shoes), 6'8.75" (with shoes), 7'1.25" (wingspan), 9'0.5" (reach), 227 lb

Strengths: Tristan Thompson is about as raw offensively as big men get, but what makes him a potential lottery pick is how hard he plays the game. Thompson has a terrific motor. He's always attacking the offensive glass -- seeing him get five or six offensive rebounds was common, he grabbed 10 against Texas A&M -- and was impressive moving without the ball. The majority of the points that he scored this season came off of catch-and-finish situations, be it a put back dunk or a lay-in off of a dump down. Thompson is a bit undersized for the power forward position at 6'8", but he makes up for it with a massive wingspan and above-average explosiveness. He is strong enough to hold his position in the post on both ends of the floor, but still needs to add some muscle and mass to his upper body to help himself finish through contact. Thompson is also a terrific shotblocker and will only become a better defender as he learns to better position himself on the block.

Weaknesses: Thompson is far from a finished product on the offensive end of the floor. He's so raw, in fact, that there is some debate about just how good of a prospect he is offensively. We'll start with the worst -- Thompson cannot shoot the ball. He rarely steps out to take a jump shot. And while he is one of the best players in this draft at getting to the foul line, he shoots an abysmal 48.7% from the charity stripe. Thompson's back-to-the-basket game also is going to require quite a bit of refining. He doesn't have a go-to move in the post, far too often settling for fadeaway jumpers with a hand in his face. For him to be more than just a rotational player in the NBA, he is either going to have to develop a consistent post game or be capable of knocking down a 15-18 footer when he is left open. Thompson's defensive rebounding is another area of his game that is lacking. He has a bad habit of going after the ball instead of boxing a man out. That will hurt him quite a bit at the next level.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: The two comparisons that I have seen the most have been Paul Millsap and Tyrus Thomas. I'm not sure I love either of them. Thompson doesn't have the same kind of strength and wide body that Millsap does, and Thomas is not the kind of hard-worker that Thompson appears to be. The role that Millsap and Thomas play, however, is probably equivalent to Thompson's upside. A part-time starter that averages around 12-15 points and seven or eight rebounds.


• Worst Case Scenario: Joel Anthony. There are some things that Thompson is always going to be able to do on a basketball court regardless of the level that he plays at -- he'll always be able to get to the offensive glass, he'll always be able to defend, and he'll always play hard. That will earn him, at the very least, a spot in a rotation for a while. But if his offensive ability doesn't develop, his upside is severely limited.

Outlook: Thompson has some skills that will, eventually, translate well to the NBA. He is going to be able to defend and rebound. He has the tools, the motor, and, most importantly, the desire to succeed in those areas. But Thompson has a long way to go offensively. His shooting motion is likely to be completely overhauled by his NBA coaches, his post game needs to be expanded, and he could stand to use some added muscle in his upper body. It's not likely that Thompson is going to be able to see many minutes immediately until he addresses -- or at the least begins to address -- those issues. What the future holds for Thompson as a basketball player is unclear, but what is known is that he has enough potential to warrant a late lottery pick. Whether or not Thompson fulfills his potential is going to be up two him.

Draft Range: Mid to Late Lottery

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "Thompson needs plenty of work. Another year at Texas would really help his game. But his draft stock? I don't think it will ever be higher. Teams are looking for tough, athletic, versatile forwards. Thompson's work on the offensive boards alone should get him into the lottery. Right now, folks are willing to overlook the flaws in his game. If the flaws persisted over another year at Texas, I'm not sure they'd do it again."


• Draft Express: "His development could follow any number of trajectories from end-of-bench rotation player to NBA starter, from Carl Landry to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. His ceiling is arguably higher than both, however, if further develops his post skills and re-tools his jumper. The said, such development is never a given, particularly with raw post players who are two-years older than most of their classmates, as is the case with Thompson. Ultimately, however, it is clear why Tristan Thompson is a likely lottery pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. His size, athleticism, and energetic style of play on both ends of the court should earn him rotation minutes early and his potential is certainly enticing looking to the future. Whether or not he achieves this significant potential is unknown, but even now, there is clearly a niche in the NBA for Tristan Thompson."


• Swish Scout: "Athletic, but undersized, talent in the paint with great post awareness, ball moves, motor, and toughness. Thompson has tremendous defensive potential and rebounding skill, but lacks a reliable face up jumper and is very inconsistent on a night to night basis."

Highlights:


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NBA Draft Profiles: Jordan Hamilton, Texas

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 18.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 44.0% FG, 38.5% 3PT

Age: 20, sophomore

Size:

• Listed: 6'8", 230 lb
• Official: 6'6.75" (no shoes), 6'8.5" (with shoes), 6'9.5" (wingspan), 8'8" (reach), 228 lb

Strengths: When their NBA careers are all said and done, Hamilton may end up being the best scorer to come out of the 2011 draft class. He is the prototype for what NBA teams look for. He's a terrific spot-up shooter with the NBA three point line well inside his range. He has a knack for hitting tough, off-balance pull-ups and runners. And when he gets it going, Hamilton is capable of reeling off eight or ten points in the span of a couple of minutes. Hamilton has also developed an improved post game -- complete with a jump hook! -- and is very good at coming off of off-the-ball screens. There are aspects of his offensive arsenal that do need a bit of improvement -- he is far from what you would consider a quality ball-handler and his shooting ability off of the dribble needs work -- but at his size (he measured out at over 6'8" in shoes) with his length and his ability to score on the perimeter, Hamilton has the tools to one day be a very, very dangerous weapon in the NBA.

Weaknesses: While Hamilton projects as a potent NBA scorer, he appears to be headed down quite the opposite road as a defender. To put it nicely, Hamilton struggles on the defensive end of the floor. To put it bluntly, I may be able to beat him off the dribble. He's not all that tough, he's not all that strong, he lacks lateral quickness, and he just doesn't seem to have that desire to shut down his man. We've heard of bad decision makers offensively. Hamilton is a bad decision maker defensively. He bits on pump fakes, he gambles on trying to jump passing lanes, and he reaches in instead of moving his feet. Hamilton's offensive repertoire can fill out eventually. Defense is a mentality, and Hamilton may never be a good defender.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: Stephen Jackson is a solid comparison, as is a less-athletic Ricky Davis. Both Davis and Jackson were terrific scorers in the NBA, maxing out as over 20 ppg. Neither of them, however, really bought into the concept of being an all-around player, however. Hamilton may end up being a 20 ppg scorer at the next level.


• Worst Case Scenario: Wally Sczcerbiak at the end of his career. If Hamilton doesn't improve his ability to defend, he is going to struggle to find consistent minutes. His ability to shoot and his knack for scoring will always be there, but if he truly wants to become a first option in the NBA, he is going to need to provide a team with more than just points.

Outlook: Heading into his sophomore season at Texas, everyone knew that Hamilton could score. The problem he had as a freshman was his inability to separate what was a good shot from what was a bad shot and his lack of acceptance for being the third or fourth option offensively. Hamilton is always going to be a player that takes bad shots because he can make them. Whoever he ends up playing for at the next level is going to have to accept that. An off-balance runner for Hamilton is a 15 foot pull-up for another player. The acceptance of his role is going to be another issue. Unless he can drastically improve his ability to shoot off the dribble, his effectiveness as a slasher, and how well he finishes around the rim, Hamilton may not ever become a primary scoring option in the NBA. He may average 15-18 ppg, but it will be as a complimentary player. Can he handle not shooting every other time down the floor? Defensively, the biggest reason that Hamilton needs to improve is so that he can defend NBA two-guards. If he is forced to play the three in the NBA because of defensive matchups, it is going to be detrimental to the size advantage that Hamilton will have on the offensive end of the floor.

Draft Range: Mid to Late 1st Round

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "NBA scouts have always loved his talent. They believe he's one of the few guys in this draft who could average 20 ppg in the NBA. He measured well for a small forward (6-8 with an 8-8 standing reach) and I'm told he was very good in interviews. If teams feel confident that he'll mature and quit taking crazy shots, he's a very interesting prospect who could go as high as the Kings at No. 7. The Bobcats, Warriors, Suns and Rockets also have major interest."


• Draft Express: "Even though he has the offensive skills to operate as a shooting guard in the NBA, his defensive shortcomings could very well push him to the 3, where he isn't quite as dangerous a mismatch. All in all, Hamilton is clearly a big time offensive talent with a game that is probably better suited for the more wide-open style of the NBA. The superior spacing and faster pace of the professional game will make his shooting and overall scoring ability stand out even more. If he wants to reach his full potential, though, he must improve his mentality on both ends of the floor."


• Swish Scout: "Protégé NBA scorer who is a very good shooter and creator off the dribble in addition to superb offensive awareness. Despite his skills, Hamilton forces too many shots and can appear overly selfish, getting too caught up in scoring during stretches of games and can disappear in the big moments too."

Highlights:


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The Big Three of Texas go pro; who else has been hit hard by early entry?

On Thursday, news leaked that Tristan Thompson would be entering the NBA Draft.

It was mildly surprising, simply because of the number of players that have been returning to school and the fact that Thompson made mention that he would not be going pro once the Longhorn's season ended.

On Friday, Jordan Hamilton officially entered his name into the NBA Draft and announced that he would be signing an agent, which was an even less surprising move than Thompson's decision.

What was surprising, however, was that freshman point guard Cory Joseph also put his name into the NBA Draft. Joseph had a decent season, but he came no where near living up to the hype that he had coming out of high school. Part of the problem was the fact that he had to share ball-handling duties with Dogus Balbay and J'Covan Brown, and while Balbay graduated, Rick Barnes brought in Myck Kabongo, who may be the best pure point guard in the country this season. If Joseph has no desire to play another season splitting minutes as the lead guard, there is a chance that he could stay in the draft.

If he does, it will be interesting to see what happens to Texas. With all three back, the Longhorns were a top ten team and the favorite in the Big XII. Without all three gone, this team could fall to the NIT. Their front line will consist of Alexis Wangmene and a group of freshmen. Their back court will lack size and experience, relying on Kabongo and Brown to do all the scoring.

That's a precipitous drop for a program that recruits the way that Texas does.

Here are a couple of other programs that have had a season obliterated by early entry:

2011 Georgia: The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament in 2011, although they still had a bit of a disappointing season. With two potential lottery picks on their roster in Tristan Thompkins and Travis Leslie, the Bulldogs lost two of their last three games, backed into the tournament as a 10 seed, and lost to Washington in the first round. With Leslie and Thompkins both entering the draft, it will be tough for Mark Fox's program to get back to the dance.

2010 Nevada: Yes, Nevada deserves to be on this list. In 2010, this looked like a team that was peaking. They had won 21 games and finished in tied for second in the WAC regular season race. The Wolfpack made the second round of the NIT, but then both Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson entered the NBA Draft. Combine that with Mark Fox's decision to take the head coaching job at Georgia, and Nevada had a disastrous season in 2011. They finished 13-19, a record that was bolstered by an 8-8 record in a watered-down WAC.

2009 Arizona: Despite losing five of their last six games in the regular season, Arizona was led by Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill to the Sweet 16 of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. But after the season, as Arizona made their fourth coaching change in four seasons, both Hill and Budinger went pro, skipping their senior seasons. The Wildcats finished 2010 just a game over .500 and didn't play in the postseason.

2009 USC: The Pac-10 was loaded in 2009, which is why USC -- like Arizona -- was able to get into the NCAA Tournament with a 9-9 league record. A 10 seed, the Trojans advanced past Boston College before falling to eventual national runner-up Michigan State in the second round. But after the season, the drama surrounding OJ Mayo's recruitment by Tim Floyd came to a head. Taj Gibson, Daniel Hackett, and Demar DeRozan all entered the draft, Floyd resigned his position, and the Trojans lost their entire recruiting class. USC finished 16-14 overall and 8-10 in 2010.

Ironically, the Trojans seemed to be the surprise team of the nation in 2009-2010 after winning eight in a row. But USC handed down a self-imposed postseason ban for the 2010 season in December of 2009.

2008 Stanford: In 2008, the Cardinal rode the broad shoulders of twins Brook and Robin Lopez to the Pac-10 title game and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. But after the season, the sophomores both left for the NBA, leaving Stanford with a depleted roster. The Cardinal won their first 10 games in 2008-2009, but they finished 6-12 in Pac-10 play and were forced to participate in the CBI.

2008 UCLA: This was the culmination of a number of years of early entry for the ruins. From 2006-2008, Ben Howland had himself a powerhouse in Westwood, making three straight Final Fours in that time. But after the 2008 season, freshman Kevin Love, sophomore Russell Westbrook, and junior Luc Richard Mbah a Moute all went pro. UCLA still made the tournament in 2009, as a six seed, but with Josh Shipp and Darren Collison graduating and Jrue Holiday leaving as a freshman, the Bruins were out of the postseason in 2010.

2007 Florida: This may be the most ironic inclusion on this list. Florida came from virtually no where to win the 2006 national title, and instead of going pro, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Taureen Green all decided to return for another season. They ended up winning back-to-back national titles, and after that group decided to enter the NBA Draft in 2007, the Gators ended up going to back-to-back NIT's in 2008 and 2009.

2007 Ohio State: Thad Matta has had as many one-and-done players as any coach in the country, and never was that more evident than in 2007. Riding one of the best recruiting classes in the country, the Buckeyes made the 2007 national title game. But after the season, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook all went pro after just one season in Columbus. The Buckeyes were in the NIT in 2008.

2006 UConn: UConn had as much talent on their roster in 2006 as any team in the past five seasons, but Jim Calhoun was never quite able to get this team to put it all together. They struggled through the 2006 NCAA Tournament before succumbing to one of the greatest upsets of all-time, when George Mason beat them for the right to go to the Final Four. After the season, Josh Boone, Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, and Hilton Armstrong all left for the NBA. Combine that with Rashad Anderson and Denham Brown graduating, and the Huskies were left with an empty cupboard in 2007.
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Tristan Thompson is going pro

After Texas lost in disappointing fashion to Arizona and Derrick Williams' broken pinky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament back in March, Tristan Thompson told reporters that he would be returning to school.

He wasn't asked the question, either. He offered up the information unsolicited. That's why so many folks actually believed Thompson.

Today, however, it appears as if Thompson has changed his mind. From the Austin American-Statesmen:

Tristan Thompson ... will not return to Texas for his sophomore season and instead will make himself eligible for the NBA Draft, a source close to his family said.

The source said he spoke to Thompson this week.

An NBA scout familiar with Thompson’s situation also said the player would leave school.

This is probably a good decision by Thompson. With the number of high picks that have decided to return to school, Thompson has a real chance of being picked in the top ten. As well as he played down the stretch of the season, Thompson is a prospect with some flaws. He's got terrific athleticism, a frame that can hold more muscle, and the wingspan to make up for the fact that he is a shorter than ideal for an NBA power forward, but he's still a very raw prospect. His skill set -- back-to-the-basket game, face-up jumper, etc. -- has not yet caught up with his physical tools.

Seeing as he is also already 20 years old, its likely that Thompson won't have to opportunity to go this high in the draft again.

It also appears likely that Jordan Hamilton will be entering the draft. He has yet to make an official announcement, but there have been reports that he is in Las Vegas working out already.

If Hamilton does return, Texas may be the favorite in what appears to be a weakened Big XII. The Longhorns will have a terrific back court, as freshman Myck Kabongo joins Cory Joseph and J'Covan Brown. The front court, however, will be a bigger problem. The lone returnee is Alexis Wangmene, who averaged just 9.6 mpg this past season. Jonathon Holmes and Kevin Thomas will have to make an immediate impact for Rick Barnes.

If both players are gone, Baylor appears to be the most talented team in the conference, although they failed to live up to that their talent level this year. Kansas loses a lot -- the Morrii, Josh Selby, Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar -- but Bill Self has stockpiled top 50 recruits and does bring back Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson. Texas A&M and Missouri will also factor into the race.
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Texas is more impressive than the final score indicates

No. 4 seed Texas knocked off No. 13 seed Oakland 85-81 on Friday afternoon in their opening round game in Tulsa, but the final score doesn't quite give you a sense of how well the Longhorns played.

Oakland is a very good basketball team, especially on the offensive end of the floor. They have an NBA caliber center in Keith Benson and a high-scoring, dynamic point guard in Reggie Hamilton. There is a reason they ranked 15th in the country in offensive efficiency coming into this game.

And for the majority of this game, Texas was in pretty firm control. They opened up a 46-38 lead at the half, and pushed that lead to 17 points midway through the second half. Tristan Thompson held Benson to 15 points on 6-15 shooting and while Hamilton scored 25 points, 11 of those came in the final six minutes when the Grizzlies made a desperate rally to get the final to four points.

In fact, Thompson outplayed Benson in all aspects of the game. The freshman finished with 17 points, 10 boards, and seven blocks.

Perhaps more importantly, Jordan Hamilton and J'Covan Brown both found a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. Hamilton finished with 19 points (on 8-17 shooting) and 11 boards while Brown had a team-high 21 points. When those two provide efficient scoring on the perimeter is when the Longhorns are the most dangerous.

This was not the best performance we've seen from Texas this season.

But it also wasn't as poor as the final might indicate.

Oakland is a very good basketball team, and this game wasn't really in doubt during the second half.

That's a good sign for the Longhorns.
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Previewing the Madness: The Big 12

The Big 12 was wild this season.

It was considered by many to be the best conference in the country in the preseason, but with the way that teams like Kansas State, Baylor, Missouri, and Texas played early in the season, that notion went out the window pretty quickly.

We may have been too quick to judge, however. Kansas has been the favorite just about the entire season, with the exception of the start of Big 12 play, when the Longhorns made their surge. Bolstered by a punishing defense, the Longhorns at one point held a two game lead on the Jayhawks late in February before a stretch of three losses in four games.

Kansas State was the next team to surge, rebounding from a 4-6 start in the league to win their last six games and finish the season tied for third in the conference. Will Baylor or Missouri be the team to make their run this week?

Another interesting storyline of this tournament is the bubble. Both Baylor and Colorado are sitting squarely where you don't want to be -- the cut line. Both will probably want to win two games to feel comfortable, but their first round matchups -- Colorado against Iowa State and Baylor against Oklahoma -- come against teams that knocked them off this season.

Where: Kansas City, MO

When: March 9th-12th

Final: March 12th, ESPN, 5:00 pm


Favorite: Kansas Jayhawks

The Jayhawks have to be considered the favorite to win this tournament, as they, along with Ohio State, are the two favorites to win the national title. Kansas is as efficient and balanced as anyone in the country. It starts with the Morris twins inside, who are both versatile scorers. They also rebound the ball and defend, combining with Thomas Robinson off the bench to provide one of the best front lines in the country. The Jayhawk back court is deep and talented, as well. Tyshawn Taylor is their best point guard, but they also have Josh Selby, who is capable of going for 20 on a given night despite his struggles down the stretch, and Elijah Johnson, who proved he is a starting point guard in the Big 12 when Taylor was suspended late in the season. Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar are the leaders and the knock down jumper shooters that keep the floor spread.

• Other Contenders: There are two that fit into this category. Texas has slipped up the past couple of week, but the Longhorns are terrific defensively. Tristan Thompson has become a force on the block and arguably the best low-post player in the conference. The question mark is going to be Jordan Hamilton, and to a lesser extent J'Covan Brown. Will those two rediscover the selectiveness that made them dangerous scorers this season, and if they don't, will they continue to struggle defensively?
  
  Kansas State is the other contender. Their resurgence has been sparked by Jacob Pullen (more on him in a bit), but the Wildcats have also started to play like the team we expected them to be early in the season. They are playing aggressive, physical, and intense basketball once again, as their front court is overwhelming opponents while their back court are ball hawking defensively.
  

Sleeper: Missouri Tigers

The Tigers, for my money, have the best chance at stealing this title. For starters, they will be playing in an arena that is actually in Missouri, a place they have played twice already this season. They also play the most unique system, one that is difficult to plan for on short notice. They are deep and they press for 40 minutes. When tired legs start to become a factor, the Tigers may be the best equipped to not only deal with it, but to take advantage of it in their opponents.

• Deeper Sleepers: Baylor is arguably the most talented team in the conference, with an all-american caliber scorer in LaceDarius Dunn and a long and athletic front line. Texas A&M is a team I am not sold on, but they defend and they rebound consistently, and Mark Turgeon always fields teams that don't make mistakes. Colorado is another option, as the Buffaloes have proven to be a tough out and can claim two of the best scorers in the league in Cory Higgins and Alec Burks.
  

Players to Watch:

• Jacob Pullen, Kansas State: He's been awesome during Big 12 play and taken his game to another level down the stretch. He's hitting his jumpers now, he's getting to the basket and to the foul line, and he's executing when he has the ball in his hands at the end of a clock. There is a legitimate argument to be made that he was the Big 12 player of the year -- he averaged 21.4 ppg, he led all guards in field goal percentage, and he was top ten in steals and assists.
• Marcus Denmon, Missouri: The Tigers high scoring guard has really come on as a junior. He's perfect for Missouri's system -- he is a lights out shooter, a quality defender, and capable of making plays in the open floor.
• Alec Burks, Colorado: Burks is a terrific slasher that doesn't get the publicity he deserves because he plays for Colorado. Its not a mistake that he averaged 19.5 ppg and 6.4 rpg.
  

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Kansas State deserves all the credit they are going to be getting

Two weeks ago, if you would have predicted that, as the calender turns to March, Kansas State would be a lock to make the tournament and Texas would have played their way into second place in the Big 12, a lot of people would have called you nuts.

But after the Wildcats knocked off the Longhorns 75-70 on Monday night, that is precisely where we stand.

Kansas State's five game winning streak has been as impressive as it is surprising. They've beaten Kansas and Missouri at home and now Texas on the road. They've moved all the way into sole possession of fourth place in the Big 12. And now, not only are they a lock for the NCAA Tournament, they have a chance to play their way into a pretty good seed, like Notre Dame did last season.


Pullen was the catalyst, going for a career-high 38 points against Kansas and averaging a robust 29.0 ppg, hitting 15-23 from three, and getting to the free throw line 47 times in the four games coming in. And while he finished with 20 points tonight, Pullen did not dominate.

Curtis Kelly was terrific early in the game, keeping the Wildcats close despite 18 first half points from Tristan Thompson, while Rodney McGruder scored a team-high 22 points while playing excellent defense. Pullen was the closer, scoring 16 of his 20 in the second half -- including a couple of dagger-esque jumpers down the stretch -- despite falling on his right hand and wrist late in the half.

Its been a remarkable turnaround for the Wildcats.

They've been through a lot this season, with the suspensions and the defections, but the talent in that locker room has never been the issue. Frank Martin's kids are finally playing focused, passionate basketball, and he deserves all the credit in the world for getting that locker room concerned about what happens on the court.

Now can you see why this team was a trendy pick to make a Final Four in the preseason?

For Texas, the issues seem to run deep.

After not allowing an opponent to score more than 63 points throughout their first 11 games of conference play and going 11-0 in that stretch, Texas have given up 70 points in three of their last four, losing each of those three games. That includes Saturday, when they blew a 22 point lead to Colorado in a 91-89 loss.

There's more. Against Kansas State, Jordan Hamilton, J'Covan Brown, and Cory Joseph combined to go 9-40 from the floor and 4-17 from three while Tristan Thompson was spending his 37 minutes on the court dominating the Kansas State front line.

Hamilton has been cold for a while. He's just 15-58 from the floor in those three losses and, at times, appears to have reverted back to the old Jordan Hamilton. Its a catch-22 for Rick Barnes, as he needs Hamilton to be an aggressive scorer for the Longhorns to succeed. But there is a big difference between aggressive and wild, and Hamilton has been more wild than aggressive of late.

Its time to start asking the question -- are we going to be seeing another late season collapse from a Rick Barnes coached team.
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Monday's Pregame Beat: Can Kansas State remain hot?

9:00 pm: Kansas State @ No. 8 Texas: These are two teams currently headed in opposite directions. That vaunted Texas defense we were all talking about? Yeah, that went out the window in the past two weekends as the Longhorns were beaten by Nebraska and then torched while blowing a 22 point lead at Colorado.

Kansas State is currently on a four game winning streak that has, for all intents and purposes, gotten them into the NCAA Tournament field. Jacob Pullen is averaging 29.0 ppg during that stretch, but its been the passionate and inspired play by the other four players on the floor that has really made the difference for Kansas State.

Tonight will be interesting, as well as a gauge for where both teams currently stand. Kansas State has struggled on the road this season, and Texas is always tough at home. The key to this game may end up being none other than Dogus Balbay. The Texas point guard is arguably the best on-ball defender in the country. Can he slow down the red-hot Pullen?

7:00 pm: No. 19 Villanova @ No. 7 Notre Dame: Villanova is essentially in a free fall right now. The Wildcats have lost at home to Syracuse and St. John's in the past week, and looked far from impressive in both games. There is plenty of talent on the Villanova roster, but they just don't seem to be able to figure out how to get all of the pieces to fit together. Notre Dame, on the other hand, is terrific when playing at home. They are experienced and play very well together.

7:00 pm: Morgan State @ North Carolina A&T
8:30 pm: Coppin State @ Norfolk State
9:00 pm: Jackson State @ Arkansas-Pine Bluff
9:00 pm: Cal St. Bakersfield @ Gonzaga
9:05 pm: Northern Colorado @ Idaho State

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The Case for No. 1

The top four teams in the country all lost this week. All four of them received votes for No. 1 in last week's polls. The three teams behind them all have an argument to move up. There could very well be seven teams that draw first place votes in this week's poll. Here's how I would rank them, and why they have an argument to be No. 1.


1. Ohio State Buckeyes: Ohio State was the consensus No. 1 team in the country before last Saturday's loss to Jordan Taylor and Wisconsin. It wasn't just because they were the last undefeated team in the country, its because they were, in fact, the best team in the country. Just because they lost at Wisconsin and at Purdue doesn't change that fact. The Badgers and the Boilermakers are a combined 30-0 at home this season. No one wins at Mackey Arena or the Kohl Center, not even the best team in the country.


2. Kansas Jayhawks: There may not be a more talented team in the country that the Jayhawks. They are deep, they are balanced, and they have one of the most efficient star tandems in the country in The Morrii. Like OSU, Kansas has just two losses on the season -- to Texas on the day after the death of Thomas Robinson's mother, and at Kansas State on Monday in a game that the Wildcats just dominated the Jayhawks. The problem? This team keeps showing flashes of maturity issues (technical fouls, intentional elbows) and they have actually only beaten three teams that are NCAA Tournament locks -- Missouri, Arizona, and UCLA.

3. Pitt Panthers: I don't think people give the Panthers enough credit for what they proved without Ashton Gibbs two weeks ago, beating both West Virginia and Villanova on the road. How important is Gibbs? He had 26 of their 59 points in the loss at St. John's. Don't confuse that with a bad loss, either. The Johnnies have now dispensed of five top 15 teams at home, and three of the other four (Notre Dame, UConn, and Duke) were blowouts. Pitt lost on a ridiculous reverse layup by Dwight Hardy.

4. Texas Longhorns: Defensively, the Longhorns are scary. They've completely shut down some very good opponents for ridiculously long stretches this season. The issue I have with Texas is on the offensive end of the floor. Rick Barnes has always had the reputation of being a guy who rolled the ball out and let his kids play. That works when you have Kevin Durant and DJ Augustin. But, like against Nebraska, what happens when Texas runs into an opponent that makes it difficult for them to score?

5. Duke Blue Devils: I know the theory is supposed to be win and you drop, but I'm still not ready to say that Duke is a better team than Texas. Why? Because of the body of work. Duke has, for better or worse, one quality win this season -- unless you consider disappointments like Butler, Michigan State, and Kansas State quality wins -- in UNC. Texas can also claim a victory over UNC, and has many more impressive wins, including one at Kansas. Duke may go farther in the NCAA Tournament, but they cannot be ranked ahead of the 'Horns right now.

6. San Diego State Aztecs: The Aztecs have just one loss on the season which came to BYU at the Marriott Center when The Jimmer went for 43 points. Just like Ohio State losses at Purdue and Wisconsin, no one was beating BYU on that night. The problem is that the Aztecs just don't have enough depth on their resume. They've beaten all the good teams out west -- Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Long Beach State, Wichita State, Cal -- but none of those teams are a lock to go to the NCAA Tournament. That's what makes this Saturday's matchup with BYU so important.

7. BYU Cougars: BYU actually has a fairly solid resume. They beat teams like Arizona, Utah State, St. Mary's, and, of course, SDSU. The issue with BYU? Those pesky road losses to New Mexico and UCLA and the thought that this team is too reliant on Jimmer.
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The Case for No. 1

Thanks to Jordan Taylor's incredible performance on Saturday, leading Wisconsin from 15 down in the second half to knock off Ohio State in Madison, Bob Knight's 1976 Indiana team will remain the last undefeated team in college hoops for another year.

It also means that the debate over who should be the No. 1 team in the country will be a lively one. There should be a consensus to who the top four teams in the country are -- Pitt, Texas, Kansas, and the Buckeyes.

Who is the best? What order should they be ranked? We break it all down for you:


The case for Kansas:

• Rankings: No. 2/No. 2
  
• Kenpom/RPI/SOS: No. 2/No. 1/No. 12
• Record: 24-1, 9-1
  

The Jayhawks hit a rough patch in their season about three weeks ago.

Thomas Robinson's mother passed away on the heels of both of her parents dying in the span of a month, leaving a teammate without a family. It was devastating to hear and read about. I can't imagine what it was like to live through or to see a teammate deal with. Robinson's mom died the night before Texas came to visit, and most of the team spent the night sitting up with the young man.

Not exactly the ideal way to prepare for what is the biggest game of the regular season.

The Jayhawks came out torrid on that Saturday, jumping out to an 18-3 lead and holding onto that lead for much of the first 25-30 minutes. But, eventually, the adrenaline wore off and the effects of a sleepless night took over. Texas made a phenomenal comeback, and Kansas was handed their only loss of the season.

Robinson missed the road trip to Colorado, but since he has rejoined the team, the Jayhawks have been nothing short of a buzzsaw. They've won five straight, all by at least 17 points, while scoring an average of 91.2 ppg. Two of those wins were against Missouri and Kansas State at home. Two were at Nebraska and Texas Tech. One was a 23 point win over an Iowa State team that made 14 three pointers.

No one in the country is playing better basketball than the Jayhawks are right now. And if it weren't for tragic circumstances, this team could very well be undefeated today.


The case for Ohio State:

• Rankings: No. 1/No. 1
  
• Kenpom/RPI/SOS: No. 1/No. 3/No. 31
  
• Record: 24-1, 11-1

Maybe I'm old school, but I find it tough to fault the Buckeyes for losing to a top 15 team at one of the most difficult places in the country to win.

No one beats Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. Well, I take that back. 11 teams have beaten Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in 161 games under head coach Bo Ryan. And no one in the country was beating the Badgers on Saturday. Hell, the Minnesota Timberwolves might have left with a loss the way Jordan Taylor was playing.

My point is that this loss shouldn't effect the way you look at Ohio State. If you thought they were the No. 1 team in the country heading into Saturday -- as all 96 people that voted in either the AP or the Coaches Poll did -- you should still consider them the best team in the country after Saturday.

But that isn't how the rankings work. If you lose, even if the loss is just as "good" as the Kansas loss to Texas at home, you drop. Fair or not.


The case for Pitt:

• Rankings: No. 4/No. 4
  
• Kenpom/RPI/SOS: No. 5/No. 6/No. 17
• Record: 23-2, 11-1

Of the four teams that we look at in this post, Pitt is probably the least likely to earn the top spot in the polls.

They've lost twice, their computers numbers aren't as pretty, and they lack the kind of star power and NBA potential that litters the rosters of Kansas, Texas, and Ohio State.

But that is exactly what Pitt wants you to think of them.

There is not a tough, more physical team in the country than Pitt. They don't win because they have the most talented players. They win because they are the best team, in every sense of the word. Think about this -- the Panthers played without Ashton Gibbs this week, their leading scorer and a candidate for Big East player of the year. It didn't matter. The Panthers still went into West Virginia and into Villanova in prime time games (on Big Monday and on Gameday on Saturday) and came away with wins.

Could Texas win at Kansas and Texas A&M without Jordan Hamilton? Could Kansas win in Austin or at Missouri with Marcus Morris? Ohio State couldn't win at Wisconsin with Jared Sullinger.

The counter-argument is that Pitt at full strength couldn't beat any of those three teams at full strength, and if you believe that, its fine. I'm not sure I'd argue with you.

And neither would Pitt. Its exactly what they want you to think.


The case for Texas:

• Rankings: No. 3/No. 3
  
• Kenpom/RPI/SOS: No. 3/No. 7/No. 18
• Record: 22-3, 10-0
  

Texas has the worst record of these four candidates with three losses. They also have easily the worst loss, a 17 point whooping they took at the hands of USC back in December.

That said, they are the only one of the four that is still undefeated in conference play. They haven't been squeaking by their opponents, either. On Saturday, LaceDarius Dunn led a second half comeback that fell short, as Baylor lost to the Longhorns 69-60. It was the closest conference game Texas has played yet this season. Before that, they had beaten Kansas by 11 at the Phog and knocked off Missouri by 13 in a game in which they shot 12-26 from the free throw line.

Texas isn't just beating people right now.

They are choking the lifeblood out of them. The Longhorns don't just have a great defense, they don't just have the best defense in the country, through ten Big 12 games, they are playing defense at a historic level.

If you look at the entire resume of each of these four teams, the Longhorns clearly have the worst. But since early January there hasn't been a better team than Texas.
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POSTERIZED: Cory Joseph goes hard in the paint

Texas is a scary team right now. Tristan Thompson is a beast, Jordan Hamilton is having a spectacular sophomore season and Cory Joseph is doing stuff like this:



I wouldn't mess with Texas if I were you.

But was it as good as one of these?:

POSTERIZED - Will Sheehey, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Tom Pritchard, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - John Holland, Boston
POSTERIZED - Keith Gabriel, VMI
POSTERIZED - Travis McKie, Wake Forest
POSTERIZED - Jefferson Mason, Minnesota State (D-II)
POSTERIZED - Tyler Johnson, Fresno State
POSTERIZED - Justin Williams, UNC-Ashville
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Hollis Thompson, Georgetown
POSTERIZED - Darnell Wilks, Cincinnati
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette
POSTERIZED - Darrius Garrett, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Travis Cohn, Jacksonville
POSTERIZED - Ramon Galloway, South Carolina
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Ashville
POSTERIZED - Kevin Smith, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Mitchell Watt, Buffalo
POSTERIZED - Chandler Parsons, Florida
POSTERIZED - Kenny Gabriel, Auburn
POSTERIZED - Paris Horne, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Laurence Bowers, Missouri
POSTERIZED - Drew Gordon, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Tony Mitchell, Alabama
POSTERIZED - Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
POSTERIZED - LaMarcus Reed, UT-Arlington
POSTERIZED - Marcus Morris, Kansas
POSTERIZED - Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
POSTERIZED - Langston Morris-Walker
POSTERIZED - Chris Wright and Juwan Staten, Dayton
POSTERIZED - D.J Stephens, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Reeves Nelson, UCLA
POSTERIZED - Kendall Marshall and John Henson, UNC
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Joe Jackson, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion
POSTERIZED - CJ Fair, Syracuse
POSTERIZED - LeBryan Nash
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas
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A photographic breakdown of the Texas defense

The past three weeks, there has not been a team hotter than the Texas Longhorns.

Since they were Kemba'd back on January 8th, the Longhorns have gone 7-0. Texas has been the best offensive team in the Big XII during that stretch, averaging 1.12 points per possession (Kansas is second at 1.11 PPP), but that is not where they are making their mark. The Longhorns have done it with defense.

That is not a secret. All you have to do is look at the box scores to figure it out. They are holding opponents to just 36.0% shooting in conference play and lead the country in effective field goal defense on the season. Texas is allowing a league low 53.4 ppg during the last seven games, 11 points less than Texas A&M. That gap gets even more impressive when you look at the tempo-free numbers. The Longhorns are allowing just 0.83 PPP, which is more than a tenth of a point better than Missouri, who allows 0.98 PPP.

But, like I said, that is not a secret. Every writer in the country that wrote about last night's win over Texas A&M would have been fired if they had not mentioned the Longhorn's defense.

How does Texas do it?

What is their trick?

Why are they a defensive juggernaut?

This afternoon I went back through the tape (err, the TiVo) of last night's game against the Aggies and focused strictly on the Longhorn's defensively. The results were, well, not really all that surprising.

Texas doesn't do anything tricky on the defensive end of the floor. There aren't any gimmicks or junk defenses. They don't run a zone or a press. It is simple, fundamental, man-to-man defense executed to perfection.

It starts with the point guard, who is generally guarded by either Dogus Balbay, Cory Joseph, or Jai Lucas. The Longhorns pick up at half court -- if not in the back court -- and force their opponents to start their offense much higher than is ideal. Both Balbay and Lucas are terrific on the ball defenders, and Joseph is getting better with each game.

While one guard is pressuring the point guard, the rest of the team is making it very difficult to catch the ball in a good spot on the floor. Next time you watch the Longhorns play, keep an eye on how good the guards are at getting around off-the-ball screens (down screens) and how difficult the bigs make it to catch the ball on the block.

Texas exclusively wants to trail players coming off of down screens, and to a man they do a great job of avoiding the screen. The big men also understand how to hedge and prevent a curl while still being able to recover and make an entry pass into the post difficult. As good as the Aggie big men are, they were unable to get post touches within 12 feet of the rim, let alone on the block.

The next thing Texas does is play terrific help side defense. Their guards are excellent at showing and recovering when an opponent tries to penetrate. They are excellent at doubling the post -- against Texas A&M the game plan appeared to be to double when the ball was put on the floor -- and rotate well enough that there weren't many opportunities for cutters. And lastly, they have a number of shotblockers around the rim that can clean up any mess.

Here is an example of a possession that stuck out to me (Ed. Note: If you click on the picture, if should blow up full screen):

As you can see, the possession starts with, in this instance, Cory Joseph picking up Dash Harris at half court. Dogus Balbay is matched up with Khris Middleton, A&M's leading scorer, at the far block, while Jordan Hamilton, Tristan Thompson, and Alexis Wangmene are also on the floor:


The Aggies run Middleton off of a double screen. Wangmene is off his man to defend against the curl while Balbay is able to follow Middleton off of the screen:


Instead of catching the ball in a position where he can take advantage of his size, Middleton is forced out on the baseline 15 feet from the rim by Balbay. Notice the rest of the Longhorn team. All four players have at least one foot in the paint in perfect helpside position (it helps that A&M doesn't spread the floor well and doesn't have many shooters, but you get the point):


Balbay's pressure on the ball forces Middleton to get rid of it. The ball is swung to Harris at the top of the key, and Middleton once again runs off of a double screen. Once again, notice Balbay trailing the screen and Thompson hedging to prevent against the curl:


Middleton is eventually forced to catch the ball about 35 feet from the basket. The Aggies ran a pick and roll with Walkup (who faded to the far corner), and Middleton was able to momentarily get a step on Balbay. Look at Joseph's help, cutting off Middleton's penetration:


Middleton was forced to take a tough, contested 17 footer with the shot clock winding down.

This possession was textbook, man-to-man defense. Not only are the Longhorns all very good defenders individually, they play fantastic team defense.

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Tuesday's Shootaround: Anyone else scared of Texas?

No. 14 Georgetown 62, No. 13 Louisville 59: See here and here.

One more thing to note from this game -- what makes Georgetown so dangerous this season is not only that they have two or three option of guys that can carry the team, but that those guys are not concerned about the number of points that they score. For example, against Villanova, Austin Freeman was sizzling from the field and Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson were both knocking down their jump shots as well. Chris Wright was 0-3 from the floor in that game and didn't score a point, but the Hoyas still won. Fast forward to Monday, and Georgetown got a season-high 24 points from Wright while Clark and Thompson combined for just eight points* and Freeman had an off-night, finishing with 13.

(*To be fair, Clark was scoreless until he hit two free throws in the final minute that put Georgetown up three. Thompson scored half of his six points with a three at the two minute mark that turned out to be the game-winner, putting the Hoyas up 58-55.)

No. 3 Texas 69, No. 16 Texas A&M 49: Well, then.

For the second time in just 12 days, the Longhorns embarrassed the Aggies. This game was over midway through the first half, when Texas went up 32-12. It was, in a word, impressive, just like everything else the Longhorns have done the past month.

There is no doubt about it anymore. Texas is a certified national title favorite. As talented a team as they are offensively -- Jordan Hamilton is one of the best pure scorers in the country, Tristan Thompson and Gary Johnson provide plenty of toughness and rebounding around the rim, and Cory Joseph and J'Covan Brown have both proven capable of being more-than-capable scorers -- this team hangs its hat on the defensive side of the ball. They have shot up Kenpom's rankings and now sit as the No. 1 team in the country in defensive efficiency.

Just ask the Aggies. Last night, they shot 30.1% from the field and 1-12 from three point range. Khris Middleton was held scoreless, missing all nine of his shots from the field, by Hamilton, a guy whose weakness was defensively coming into the season. The haven't given up more than 63 points to a Big XII opponents yet, and the 63 was against Kansas, who had 18 points in the first five minutes of the game.

The Longhorns don't do anything special. They don't run a full court press or a half court trap. They aren't playing gimmicky defenses or playing a zone. Its simple, physical, half court man to man. They force you to take tough shots and clean up the glass when you miss.

And if they continue to play this way defensively, it will only be a matter of time before people start asking if this team is actually better than undefeated Ohio State.

Norfolk State 110, Coppin State 108 2OT: Kyle O'Quinn had 37 points, 19 boards, and six blocks, including the game-winning free throws with 4.5 seconds left, in the double overtime win.

Other Notable Scores:

• Northern Arizona 65, Northern Colorado 54
  
• Hampton 78, UMES 66
• East Tennessee State 82, Mercer 75
• Vermont 63, New Hampshire 49
• Fairfield 70, Canisius 55
• Jackson State 86, Arkansas-Pine Bluf 64
• Texas Southern 73, Alcorn State 59
  

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Bettin' Is A Habit - 1/31

We here at B.I.A.H don't fancy ourselves gamblers, but we do know a lot of people with crippling addictions to gambling. So why not help enable them, right? Semi-regularly, we will provide you a couple of picks and one lead-pipe-lock that you can take to the bank. But if you take our advice and don't win any money, you aren't allowed to come bash are knee-caps in.

Its a light night for college hoops, but there are a couple of lines that I like.

8:30 pm: Northern Colorado (11-8, 7-1) @ Northern Arizona (11-8, 3-4)

Northern Colorado has been the best team in the Big Sky since conference season kicked off. In fact, if it wasn't for a 40 footer at the buzzer over the weekend at Weber State, the Bears would be undefeated in the league at the midway point of the season. Northern Arizona has struggled to close out some close games this season, including a 68-67 loss to Weber State at home two weeks ago. The Lumberjacks do have a star in Cameron Jones, but UNC has done a pretty good job this season against big time back court players -- Demetri McCamey had just 11 points against the Bears while Santa Clara's Kevin Foster finished below his season average with 19 points. Oh, and UNC is getting 3.5 points. I like it.

The Pick: Northern Colorado +3.5


9:00 pm: No. 3 Texas @ No. 16 Texas A&M

The line in this game is Texas -1.5. I don't love it, and my gut tells me to stay away from it. That said, it looks great on paper. Texas A&M is a tough team at home, I'll admit that, but the Longhorns have been awesome of late, especially on the road. They came back from 15 down to beat Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse and then beat Oklahoma State by 15 in Gallagher-Iba Arena on the same night that the Cowboys were celebrating the ten year anniversary of the plane crash that killed ten members of their program. Throw that in with the beatdowns they handed Missouri this same Texas A&M team in the past 12 days, and there may not be a team playing better basketball than Texas right now, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

The Pick: Texas -1.5

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