In retrospect, there were a lot of positives as well as some persistent negatives in the 2013-2014 Texas basketball season. Now that the dust has settled and the emotional edge of another first weekend loss in March Madness has faded, let’s review some of the keys of the past season as they relate to goals for the 2014-2015 season:
1. Keep departures down to a minimum
In recent years, the Longhorns have been the “victim” of early NBA Draft enrollees and transfers. Unsurprisingly, teams that make it to the second weekend of the tournament are those with veteran players.
If Rick Barnes and his staff can keep everyone in Austin, the Longhorns will have one senior and four juniors on next year’s squad. Departures are all to common in college basketball, so the Longhorns must limit defections to two players at most.
2. Get Myles Turner
Every program wants Myles Turner’s commitment – he is the highest ranked player by Rivals.com that has yet to make a college choice. Some recruiting services have Turner rated as high as the 2nd best prospect in the 2014 class.
Depending on what team website you read for information, Turner is a “lock” to Duke, Kansas, SMU, or Texas. Although he is very tight lipped on his recruitment, 3. Isaiah Taylor must develop a jump shot
Isaiah Taylor is a magician at handling the basketball and turned out to be one of the most pleasant surprises of last season. However, now that there is plenty of game tape available, the floaters, driving lanes, and layups that surprised opponents last year are going to disappear.
http://binaryapi.ap.org/30bb1682f8f94bc89594514b4de56d93/940x.jpg
photo credit: ap.org
Next season, teams playing Texas will sag on defense and make Taylor hit jump shots rather than penetrate and score (or find an open teammate). Taylor will need to hit those shots for the Texas offense to be at it’s best. No one is expecting the point guard to hit every jump shot from anywhere on the floor (he’s not Kevin Durant) but, Taylor needs to develop three areas on the floor where he would feel confident that he could make shots consistently. If he adds that aspect to his game, Taylor can make the Texas offense more dynamic, resulting in better team that wins more games.
4. Choose between Martez Walker and DeMarcus Holland
Being a standout defender earned DeMarcus Holland more starts at shooting guard than anyone else for Texas.. However, his offensive output was sporadic at best.
Martez Walker quickly progressed throughout the season from being a guard who only contributed five minutes per game to one seen as a crucial asset in the Horns’ offensive gameplan. His defense wasn’t as good as DeMarcus Holland but he added value on offensive side of the floor so he got plenty of playing time.
There are more than seven months of time to prepare for the next basketball season – if DeMarcus Holland wants to solidify his starting role, he must become a consistent offensive threat. If Isaiah Taylor and Walker/Holland produce from outside the paint, that gives Cameron Ridley more 1-on-1 opportunities, making Texas a better team and much more difficult to defend.
