MarkInAustin

I have been watching NBA live and on TV since 1957, when I was in HS. It is actually easier to recall fantastic performances then streaks. Gerry certainly is correct about the firepower of the Twins, KD, Draymond team in the three point era. Personally, I never saw that team have a single game like Jordan and the Bulls had against Stockton and Malone, or the clincher the Spurs had in 2014, or the game I watched live in Houston as Magic led the Lakers by making 46 absolutely correct decisions with the ball with no TOs. I only watched Magic in that game and kept count. But the greatest single performance by a team in a game for me was in the western conference championship of 1972 which I watched on TV. The Lakers led the league in rebounding, assists, and scoring. The assists were the golden key to how smooth the team was on offense. The rebounding and blocked shots were the keys on defense. Against Kareem and Oscar, Wilt blocked Kareem 17 times in the series. He was 35, but perhaps the greatest athlete who ever lived, with measured 48" hops in the NBA and a track and field background at Kansas. He unselfishly gave up scoring to West and Goodrich and McMillan and West led the league in assists with about 10 per game while being among the scoring leaders and a great defender and athlete in his own right. In one of those games, Wilt blocked Kareem's skyhook from near the foul line toward the baseline, Kareem got the deflected shot and put up another skyhook which Wilt then blocked to a teammate. You have to understand how often Kareem was blocked in his entire career. Once by Olajuwon, and the announcers went crazy over it. I think he was not blocked on his skyhook as many times in the next 15 years as he was in that series. Wilt got about 20 rebounds each game in that series and all season, actually. This may be part of that 2 block sequence:

I am too old for this conversation. Several iterations of the 60s Celtics, the 72 Lakers, the 80s Lakers and Celtics, Jordan's Bulls, the 2014 Spurs...all were great teams. They all had great stretches and great teamwork. Not dissing the the 2001 Lakers at all. Just suggesting it is not really possible to pick one.

Is there any news on the weight loss candidates? Or, have you or CJV personally seen anything from Blackshire or Red that is encouraging? You have reported on Sydir, of course, and I am not asking about him.

...Choice is going to be slept - and shouldn't be. You meant something else, I am certain. What?

We saw both Hunters last night. Six or more lazy passes, and then some [too] late heroics. I think Terry and the staff coached well this season. We saw some very exciting games. RT needs two more years to build a core roster not dependent on one and done portal players [or one and done freshmen, but that era is rapidly coming to its end]. The NCAA tournament did not showcase it but the team played fast most of the season - it was seldom like watching paint dry. He is not a perfect coach, but there are FEW WRIGHT Ks to go around. I think he was too patient with players on several occasions, including with Hunter last night. I think he missed an open opportunity not playing Chris Johnson extended minutes in the pre-conference, so that he would have become a factor as a tall PG for the team rather than an end of the bench guy. Gerry, am I missing something about CJ? Did he not have the skills I thought he had and that I thought he flashed a few times in limited minutes early? Was he a bad teammate? And, Chendall Weaver! I am most sorry to see the season end because there will be no more Weaver moments for eight months. In the rear view mirror? I was unhappy with Beard's hiring for two reasons. I didn't like his preferred style of ball or his penchant for running guys in and out of programs. Then I had to swallow an "Arterio Morris." Well, Morris transferred to Kansas but Self kicked him off the team before fall practice because he was charged with a rape soon after he got to Lawrence. If we can keep RT, Haith, Chris, and that staff largely in tact for a couple more years I think Texas hoops will thrive. I think they will both recruit and game plan well. Of course, if Mark Few really wants a warmer climate to finish out his career...

Thanks to NIL, two down roster upperclassmen may either stay to graduate as PWOs, or transfer out. They are Merrill and Juan. There are some other guys on the squad who may prefer NIL fueled PWO status to outbound transfer, as well. Recall that the Pancake Factory is worth more than a scholarship. The point is that there is another way to relieve the pressure of the scholarship limit, for guys who are weighing immediate playing time at Podunk Directional State against possible or probable later playing time and a degree from Texas.

Re: Chris Johnson. In hindsight, I think RT's only true misstep this season was not using CJ aggressively in the pre-conference. Chris, by now, could have become a suitable sub for Hunter during Hunter's zero offensive games. Without a suitable sub for Hunter, Max becomes both the scorer and the primary distributor in too many games. That is, unless I have completely overestimated Johnson's potential, and RT gave up on his development accordingly.

I rec'd your comment, Wabi Sabi, for the form it took, but not necessarily the suggestions. I do think the question for the team is "whose breakouts would have the biggest positive impact?" I would have to go all in on the defensive unit. I believe the offensive unit is two deep in high level talent and is in no particular need of a "breakout." On the defensive unit, the breakout need is greatest for two interior DTs and an inside LB. So I would go with Bledsoe and Bryant as DTs, although a surprise from the less experienced Sydir or January would be welcomed. Then I would pick Gbenda as the high breakout potential inside LB, but all the others you named plus a role for Trey Moore at ILB [the other position he played at UTSA] would be quite welcome. And I would not discount the possibility of Blackwell as a breakout ILB, either. I don't think the team needs a breakout star DB or Nickel, so I would choose my last two breakout stars from my honorably mentioned ones, above. Say, January and Gullette. YMMV!

GH wrote: If Texas were to beat K-State and Iowa State, sit Disu vs. Baylor. That underlines how important DD is to any competitive game and how worried all of us are, including Agentmule to whom you responded, regarding DD's health. Perhaps another Big 12 Tournament strategy would be to limit DD's minutes in each game, on the assumption that Shedrick has about 15 minutes worth of stamina per outing. However, that option may actually be limited by Brock's right hand and thumb. He has no shooting ability now. He should not be on the floor with Shedrick. I think it is a dilemma. Sitting Timmy Allen last season was not as disabling to that squad as sitting DD would be now. One more question, for Gerry: What would be the NCAA seeding upside from three consecutive wins in the Big 12 Tournament?

Moore played LB snaps at UTSA as well as Edge, and I have read, but not seen for myself, that he was effective in coverage. If Trey can play Will as readily as the seldom used Sam the flexibility of the defense without changing personnel on the field increases. I am suggesting the possibility of replicating Anthony Hill with Moore, which would be a Good Thing.

Texas ran 12 sets last season without giving away offensive strategy. So I was surprised that CJV suggested 12 sets might provide too much a tipped hand in 2024. On reflection I could take this to mean that if the new group of WRs were not willing blockers the 12 set would become primary and 11 sets could provide a tipped hand. Or did you have some other distinction from 2023 in mind?

How short is Sark? If Red is 5'10" Sark is 5'8" and has shrunken 5" since his listed height as BYU's QB.😀

Internet rumor has it that Red weighs 204# and that "240" is a transposition typography error.

My son and I were at the game Saturday. The most impressive few minutes for Texas were defensive - RT called TO when OU tied the game late in the first half, and after that "conversation" Texas played the tightest in your face defense for the remainder of the half that I have seen from this team this season. They have that in them. Hunter's variability from a norm is so wide that Saturday's Hunter and low range Hunter are easily a ten point swing for the team. It sometimes seems as if average or normal Hunter does not exist, rather, we see a two phased creature who is either powered on or powered off.

Running the 12 set probably gives up very little to running the 11 set for the passing game with Niblack. As much as 00 and 10 sets appeal to the imagination of many fans, they are open love letters to the defensive coordinators. With Blue, and/or Bolden, I agree the 21 sets give up nothing in the run game and virtually nothing in the passing game as and against the base 11 set. This off-season QE [and Arch] must reach a mutual comfort zone with three different sets and multiple skill players. The whole should be at least as good as the sum of the parts by the end of August, and greater than the sum of the parts as the season progresses.

Totally off topic because I was just watching y'all on Coffee and Football discussing realignment. The colleges which might choose not to compete at the Biggest Boy level would likely include Vandy, Duke, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Virginia, California, and Stanford, among others. But take those teams, add Rice and the Service Academies, and you have a Poison Ivy League of academic powerhouses that could play each other football on a par in the spring, with enough alumni to support a Spring League. Whadayya think, Gerry?