Frank, please read:

[Fuktard]

http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2010/11/16/inside-texas-basketball/

[CNS]

"So Barnes and his staff spent six weeks in Utah learning the Jazz system over the summer and decided to make that the base of our new offensive identity with a simultaneous commitment to pushing the ball in transition. All rebounders who can handle have carte blanche to initiate the break and any big man who can’t or won’t run or slows down the break will not play. The offense is simple enough for college, but it also can be sold to elite recruits as a NBA system that makes them ready for the league. They are committed, the team is drilling the offense every day and though they are still extremely primitive in their understanding, they are getting break throughs and when the big one occurs, it will transform Texas basketball. "

This is somewhat what we were last year.

Really like the sound of this.

[michigancat]

what's funny is Texas's offense is basically the same as it was last year, but their defense has jumped from 24th best to 1st in the country.

http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Texas

http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Texas&y=2010

[kso_FAN]

"So Barnes and his staff spent six weeks in Utah learning the Jazz system over the summer and decided to make that the base of our new offensive identity with a simultaneous commitment to pushing the ball in transition. All rebounders who can handle have carte blanche to initiate the break and any big man who can’t or won’t run or slows down the break will not play. The offense is simple enough for college, but it also can be sold to elite recruits as a NBA system that makes them ready for the league. They are committed, the team is drilling the offense every day and though they are still extremely primitive in their understanding, they are getting break throughs and when the big one occurs, it will transform Texas basketball. "

This is somewhat what we were last year.

Really like the sound of this.

Nice idea, but IMO not a lot of people are going to be able to recruit bigs with that kind of skill. That said, its not completely out of the question, but then you have to have a PG that has great speed like Clemente. We aren't going to be a complete transition team, but we will push pace and we have to find a way to get those "easy" points in transition like we got the last two years. Its a big part of the reason we've struggled with offensive efficiency this year b/c getting those types of points takes some of the pressure from the offense to score every time down the floor in what we all know is not the most fluid half court offense.

[Rage Against the McKee]

"So Barnes and his staff spent six weeks in Utah learning the Jazz system over the summer and decided to make that the base of our new offensive identity with a simultaneous commitment to pushing the ball in transition. All rebounders who can handle have carte blanche to initiate the break and any big man who can’t or won’t run or slows down the break will not play. The offense is simple enough for college, but it also can be sold to elite recruits as a NBA system that makes them ready for the league. They are committed, the team is drilling the offense every day and though they are still extremely primitive in their understanding, they are getting break throughs and when the big one occurs, it will transform Texas basketball. "

This is somewhat what we were last year.

Really like the sound of this.

Nice idea, but IMO not a lot of people are going to be able to recruit bigs with that kind of skill. That said, its not completely out of the question, but then you have to have a PG that has great speed like Clemente. We aren't going to be a complete transition team, but we will push pace and we have to find a way to get those "easy" points in transition like we got the last two years. Its a big part of the reason we've struggled with offensive efficiency this year b/c getting those types of points takes some of the pressure from the offense to score every time down the floor in what we all know is not the most fluid half court offense.

Having fast guards helps, no doubt, but plenty of teams are great in transition, and most of them don't have guards that are nearly as fast as Clemente. I think that improving our defensive rebounding is the first step to getting this team into transition more often.

[kso_FAN]

Having fast guards helps, no doubt, but plenty of teams are great in transition, and most of them don't have guards that are nearly as fast as Clemente. I think that improving our defensive rebounding is the first step to getting this team into transition more often.

Our defensive rebounding isn't terrible. I think a bigger issue is that our bigs aren't really skilled. Now, I don't think they are horrible, but they aren't going to clear a rebound on the dribble and initiate the break while they get it to the guard, nor would I want any of them to do that. And really, there aren't many teams that are going to do that; you don't have to quite have Beasley, but you have to have someone close, otherwise its going to be on your guards to push and be good passers. I think this is where we could benefit from Southwell b/c I hear a lot of talk about how good he is at passing, now we need to see it translate to the floor.

And Rusty is right, Texas went from an middle of the pack Big 12 team to the best b/c their very talented players decided to play defense at a very high level.

[nicname]

Having fast guards helps, no doubt, but plenty of teams are great in transition, and most of them don't have guards that are nearly as fast as Clemente. I think that improving our defensive rebounding is the first step to getting this team into transition more often.

Our defensive rebounding isn't terrible. I think a bigger issue is that our bigs aren't really skilled. Now, I don't think they are horrible, but they aren't going to clear a rebound on the dribble and initiate the break while they get it to the guard, nor would I want any of them to do that. And really, there aren't many teams that are going to do that; you don't have to quite have Beasley, but you have to have someone close, otherwise its going to be on your guards to push and be good passers. I think this is where we could benefit from Southwell b/c I hear a lot of talk about how good he is at passing, now we need to see it translate to the floor.

And Rusty is right, Texas went from an middle of the pack Big 12 team to the best b/c their very talented players decided to play defense at a very high level.

You just have to have bigs that are good enough to rebound and schooled enough to quickly hit the outlet man for transition.  Transition basketball isn't rocket science. 

I also liked the emphasis on not over-dribbling which I find to be one of our most annoying tendencies.  I find it humorous that Barnes went to Knight while Frank (for all we know) refused the service.

[sonofdaxjones]

The real KITN situation here is that Frank would rather have bamboo shoved between his finger nails than have to slow it down and run his Iba/Hartman/Orr halfcourt offense . . . he'd rather push the ball, hit the glass, attack the basket and finish at the rim.

Yet, on the recruiting trail he's done an absolutely CAC job of finding guys who can do that.

If you want to do that, you better have a Denny Clemente lined up in every recruiting class, and have Dom Sutton bodies (that can actually put the ball in the hole) across the board.

Like cRusty says, playing JYC style ball actually requires really good basketball players.

[doom]

"So Barnes and his staff spent six weeks in Utah learning the Jazz system over the summer and decided to make that the base of our new offensive identity with a simultaneous commitment to pushing the ball in transition. All rebounders who can handle have carte blanche to initiate the break and any big man who can’t or won’t run or slows down the break will not play. The offense is simple enough for college, but it also can be sold to elite recruits as a NBA system that makes them ready for the league. They are committed, the team is drilling the offense every day and though they are still extremely primitive in their understanding, they are getting break throughs and when the big one occurs, it will transform Texas basketball. "

This is somewhat what we were last year.

Really like the sound of this.

Nice idea, but IMO not a lot of people are going to be able to recruit bigs with that kind of skill. That said, its not completely out of the question, but then you have to have a PG that has great speed like Clemente. We aren't going to be a complete transition team, but we will push pace and we have to find a way to get those "easy" points in transition like we got the last two years. Its a big part of the reason we've struggled with offensive efficiency this year b/c getting those types of points takes some of the pressure from the offense to score every time down the floor in what we all know is not the most fluid half court offense.

This, Balbay is the Turkish version of clemente (without a shot to speak of.)

[nicname]

The real KITN situation here is that Frank would rather have bamboo shoved between his finger nails than have to slow it down and run his Iba/Hartman/Orr halfcourt offense . . . he'd rather push the ball, hit the glass, attack the basket and finish at the rim.

Yet, on the recruiting trail he's done an absolutely CAC job of finding guys who can do that.

If you want to do that, you better have a Denny Clemente lined up in every recruiting class, and have Dom Sutton bodies (that can actually put the ball in the hole) across the board.

Like cRusty says, playing JYC style ball actually requires really good basketball players.

Isn't this pretty much what McGruder, Russell, Williams and Southwell are?  They might not be the thoroughbreds that Dom was but they are all lithe athletic 3 types that can handle the ball (not PG handles) in transition.  Plus, they are the types to get a lot of rebounds from the guard/sf positions that have the ability to start a break by either hitting the outlet or filling the lanes themselves.

edit: throw Jamar in that mix as well.

[michigancat]

Jamar, Judge, and to a lesser extent Kelly are all pretty good at running the floor, too.

[CNS]

For next year:

Guys, 95 is pretty rough ridin' fast.  As is Myles.

[nicname]

Jamar, Judge, and to a lesser extent Kelly are all pretty good at running the floor, too.

That is what I'm saying, passes are faster than even the fastest guard dribbling.  Fast guards are great for dribble drives and guys like Clemente are great to have as a luxury but far from a necessity.

[sonofdaxjones]

Well apparently it's just a "want to" issue then . . . oh well, back to the drawing board.

[kso_FAN]

So I never clicked the link, and only read the quote. The quote is nice, but coming from barking carnival, it is more of a cute fan talking point than reality. If you look at the Big 12 numbers, Texas is actually playing at one of the slowest paces in the league (64.4), but as Rusty said, they are playing ridiculous defense. As a result they are dominating the league at an incredible pace, with a difference of nearly .3 points per possession nearly half way through Big 12 play. .83 PPP is ridiculously good defense.

http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1437

Probably the more accurate quote from the article is this:

In half-court, heavy use of motion, ball screening, intermediate jump shots, and a focus on minimizing over-dribbling. Good shots are everything. The focus is on getting shots in the lane off of motion and screening, getting guards down low, entering the post only off of motion to establish position, and outworking people inside with activity, hustle, and energy on missed shot short rebounds. We’ve been settling for way too many three pointers and driving the lane with no plan for too long. That leads to easy transition baskets the other way. The first 45 minutes of practice was dedicated to screening and defending screens and hitting mid-range shots off of the screen or finishing around the basket. The pace was frenetic, intense, and Barnes was unrelenting in making them do it correctly.

[kso_FAN]

Its complete Frankite, but it sounds to me Barnes started running practice more like Frank and less like say, Scott Drew. The main point is making the guys work really hard on things they didn't work very hard on before. This just seems like smart coaching to me.

[Dugout DickStone]

Its complete Frankite, but it sounds to me Barnes started running practice more like Frank and less like say, Scott Drew. The main point is making the guys work really hard on things they didn't work very hard on before. This just seems like smart coaching to me.

Why is it going tragically wrong for us then?

[wetwillie]

Its complete Frankite, but it sounds to me Barnes started running practice more like Frank and less like say, Scott Drew. The main point is making the guys work really hard on things they didn't work very hard on before. This just seems like smart coaching to me.

Why is it going tragically wrong for us then?

Maybe I am over simplifying things but I am going to go with the talent level he has compared to ours.

[nicname]

Its complete Frankite, but it sounds to me Barnes started running practice more like Frank and less like say, Scott Drew. The main point is making the guys work really hard on things they didn't work very hard on before. This just seems like smart coaching to me.

Why is it going tragically wrong for us then?

Maybe I am over simplifying things but I am going to go with the talent level he has compared to ours.

Texas was arguably more talented last year than they are now.

[kso_FAN]

Its complete Frankite, but it sounds to me Barnes started running practice more like Frank and less like say, Scott Drew. The main point is making the guys work really hard on things they didn't work very hard on before. This just seems like smart coaching to me.

Why is it going tragically wrong for us then?

Maybe I am over simplifying things but I am going to go with the talent level he has compared to ours.

This is a big part.

But also 4 players have started all 22 games they've played. Another has started 20 of the 22 games, so clearly they haven't dealt with the off court stuff we have.

[gatoveintisiete]

I'm proud of Texas for taking this leaque over after we dropped the ball, especially cute that they are using our roadmap. 

[CatsFan_58]

For next year:

Guys, 95 is pretty rough ridin' fast.  As is Myles.

I am down with starting 5 guards. I hate our bigs.