Three short articles on the Longhorn Hoopers for next season

[BudreauReye]

Here is a discussion of Texas' forecourt for the upcoming season by BleacherReport.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2122281-predicting-the-winners-of-college-basketballs-top-position-battles-for-2014-15/page/6

Predicting the Winners of College Basketball's Top Position Battles for 2014-15: Texas

By Kerry Miller , College Basketball National Columnist Jul 8, 2014

"The Candidates: Jonathan Holmes, Prince Ibeh, Connor Lammert, Cameron Ridley, Myles Turner

All five of these players would be capable of starting at power forward for a major program like Texas, but that's simply mathematically impossible.

The most obvious starter of the bunch is Ridley. He scored in double figures, was one of the best rebounders and shot-blockers in the country and drew fouls like moths to a flame.

Whether he technically starts at power forward or center depends on what Rick Barnes plans to do with Turner.

Turner is one of the top-rated centers in the country, but that hardly means he's automatically going to come in and supplant an established starter in the lineup.

Joel Embiid was the top center last year, but it was a month into the season before he replaced Tarik Black in the starting five. Dakari Johnson was the next-best center, and he didn't crack into the starting rotation until February.

If Turner does start, that means Holmes is either moving from power forward to small forward or dropping out of the starting five altogether—which seems unlikely, as he's the only noteworthy senior on the roster and was the most offensively efficient player on the team.

Of course, No. 2 on the team in O-rating was Lammert, and heaven only knows where he and Ibeh are going to fit into this beautiful mess. Lammert has been tragically underrated over the past two seasons because he doesn't do a whole lot of scoring, but he is efficient with his shots and is an above-average rebounder."

Here is another article on the best sixth men for next season.  Boy,  I disagree with this one,  In my opinion, Cam starts at the five and Turner and Homes start  as combo inside/outside forwards.  Sometimes I think that BleacherReport just says, "Hey kids!  Let's write some articles!", and it matters not one whit whether they have any base in reality ... but it is the off season, and beggars can't be choosers.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2130201-predicting-the-best-6th-men-in-college-basketball-in-2014-15-season/page/10

Predicting the Best 6th Men in College Basketball in 2014-15 Season: No. 2 Cameron Ridley, Texas By Thad Novak , Featured Columnist  Jul 15, 2014

"It’s not easy to find a reason to bench an experienced 6’9â€, 285-pound center who can score, rebound and play defense. Myles Turner is such a reason.


The freshman 7-footer is a one-and-done prospect even more secure than last year’s Big 12 revelation in the pivot, Joel Embiid of Kansas.

Turner’s arrival in Austin leaves Cameron Ridley—the best of many potent rising juniors on the Longhorns’ roster—without a spot in the starting lineup, but he’ll get his minutes.

With the power and skill he showed as Texas’ leading rebounder a year ago (and the clutch acumen it took to beat the buzzer in a March thriller against Arizona State), Ridley will be a terrifying second-unit weapon for Rick Barnes."

And here is another that they posted while I was posting the first two.

The Biggest Question for Top College Basketball Teams in the 2014-15 Season: Texas Longhorns

By Kerry Miller , College Basketball National Columnist July 15, 2014



 

 

Burning Question: Is There Enough Playing Time Available to Keep Everyone Satisfied?

"Even before Rick Barnes landed Myles Turner, this was going to be an issue to consider.

Kendal Yancy and Martez Walker deserve added playing time after excelling in their limited roles as freshmen. Isaiah Taylor already led the Longhorns in minutes as a freshman and was one of the team's top scorers.

Connor Lammert, Prince Ibeh, Cameron Ridley, Javan Felix and Demarcus Holland all improved as sophomores and could reasonably expect more minutes as juniors under normal circumstances.

Jonathan Holmes led the team in scoring at 12.8 PPG despite playing just 24.3 minutes on average. One would think the senior deserves the lion's share of the minutes at one of the forward positions.

But it's mathematically impossible for all of that to happen. In fact, with no departing players and the addition of one of the top incoming freshmen in the country—as well as another small forward (Jordan Barnett) ranked in the ESPN 100—it stands to reason that everyone will actually get less playing time than they deserve.

A 10-man rotation with everyone averaging around 20 minutes per game could be one heck of a lethal combination, provided egos don't get in the way of a good thing."

 

[Juan]

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011


— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011


— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

 

[BudreauReye]

I also read yesterday from bierce on 247 Horns that Texas had offered Thon Maker.  He is supposed to be the top player in 2016, but may re-classify to 2015, where he would also be the top player.  He is a skinny kid from Sudan by way of Australia.  He is 7'-1" and has guard and floor running skills. Who knows if he will be interested in Texas, but he does train with John Lucas and works out with Myles Turner there, and apparently they have become friends.  He also has a younger brother with the same skill set.

Juan, for the tweeter ignorant amongst us, could you identify who some of these guys are?  As always, I really appreciate the content that you provide.

 

[Juan]

 

[BudreauReye]

Juan, the video posts are much appreciated, but what I meant was that when you make posts involving tweeter comments made by prospects or whoever, maybe you could identify them something like this ... A comment follows made by Enthusmo Jones, 9'-0"  180 lb jumping jack from Olympus Mons, Mars.  It is said that Enthusmo may need some work in the weight room and some practice breathing oxygen before he can hit the court without a splat for the Longhorns.  Doesn't even need that much identifying information, Maybe, just name, high school, year, and position.  Also, if the person making the comment is someone other than the recruit, maybe who they are.  It is just that, Eff FlÂ¥ I @m F@$h¡ON, doesn't do much for those of us who do not know the language.

Sorry, Juan, I am not trying to be cranky, it is just that plain English sometimes enables effective communication. 

 

[texasdobbs]

[tweet'491051107846598659']

Just saw this.... interesting

 

[JimR]

fond but faint hope: these so called "journalists" on the Internet would STFU, stop trying to create controversy and watch how the season plays out.

 

[BudreauReye]

Hey, JimR!  Don't know if you are referring specifically, or not, to the BleacherReport folks.  I gotta tell you that their commentary certainly borders on fluff.  During the doldrums of the off season, I guess that there stuff sometimes is all that is around.  I had hoped it would engender more discussion than it has, since there is a dearth of any other commentary out there.  I am not so sure that they are trying to create controversy ... rather, I think that they are trying to generate discussion of their own.  The problem is that they generate very little content, and a goodly proportion of what they do generate is rather specious.  Some of us here who are more inclined toward basketball try to provide whatever contend we come across on the interwebz, with mixed results, of course.  It is just my opinion, but I would not be surprised to see more basketball content provided by HornSports between now and throughout the upcoming season.  I think that we are in for a real entertaining next couple of years, and I would like to see as much discussion here about basketball as possible.