Inside Texas 2015 October

INSIDETEXAS.COM

OCTOBER 2015

FINALLY!

TEXAS UPSETS OU IN THE BIGGEST WIN OF THE CHARLIE STRONG ERA.

2015 HOOPS PREVIEW 1

Shaka Smart’s First Texas Squad Looks to Make a Statement

2

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in this issue

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Rock Bottom | by Justin Wells The Longhorns get steamrolled in Fort Worth.

Red River Revival | by Justin Wells

12

What a difference a week makes.

Texas Fights Back | by Pat Culpepper Pat Culpepper loved what he saw at the Cotton Bowl.

Hoops Preview | by Tim Preston Shaka Smart

22

The Schedule

26

The Team

28

Win in a Deluge | by Justin Wells

Texas builds some momentum with a good win over Kansas State

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22

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Publishers -- Michael Pearle, Clendon Ross | Managing Editor--Clendon Ross | Editor-- Mike Blackwell InsideTexas.com Editor -- Justin Wells | Lead Writer -- Bill Frisbie | Contributor -- Ian Boyd Designer/Photographer -- Will Gallagher | Recruiting Analyst -- Eric Nahlin To Subscribe/Customer Service -- Phone: 512-659-8167 | Email: help@insidetexas.com insidetexas.com

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BOTTOM

FORT WORTH - Before the game, TCU coach Gary Patterson said he’s beaten better teams with less talking about his upcoming matchup with Texas.

Boy was he right.

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- TEXAS VS TCU -

T

CU signal-caller and Heisman candidate Trevone Boykin threw four

1st half touchdowns – three to KaVontae Turpin, Josh Doctson added two scores, and the Texas team helped the rest of the way as No. 4 TCU dismantled the Longhorns, 50-7, at Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday.

The first quarter was pure hell for Texas.

Three consecutive weeks of promising play was obliterated in one period of football.

Texas coach Charlie Strong was about as dejected as I’ve seen after the game.

“Just totally disappointed,” said Strong.

“Frustrated after how we’ve gone out and battled and competed. Today, we just didn’t play hard. Getting to a big game like this, we have to play better.”

Strong mentioned this was the worst day

After Texas (1-4) long snapper Kyle

for 48 yards, adding 51 yards rushing, but

in his coaching career. He wants to see a

Ashby sailed a snap over punter Michael

after sacks, only a net of 23. Not what we

more competitive team.

Dickson’s head and out the back of the end

watched from the redshirt freshman in the

zone, TCU added the safety for a 9-0 lead,

previous three weeks.

“When things go wrong, they just continue

with over 12:00 minutes remaining in the

to go,” Strong added. “We don’t plug the

opening quarter.

Sophomore RB D’Onta Foreman was Mr. Do It All. He finished with 114 yards,

leak. I told the team we’re not going to give up and we’re not going to give in. We have

Boykin found Doctson for a perfectly

at 6.2 per carry, and added 32 yards on

to learn how to compete. We don’t know

thrown fade to the back of the end zone

two catches. At times, he was the only

how yet. There’s something about pride

again on their next series, and a 16-0 ad-

one capable of moving the chains. A late

– pride in yourself. It’s a very competitive

vantage. Again, still in the first quarter.

touchdown toss from Tyrone Swoopes to Lorenzo Joe kept this from being the first

sport – this is a game of life. You have to know when things aren’t going right, that

When kicker Nick Rose missed a 38-yard

shutout of Texas since Kansas State last

someone has to step up. That’s just not

field goal after UT’s 11-play drive, the

season.

what we’re getting right now.”

Horned Frogs responded when Boykin hit Turpin, again, this time for a 49-yard pitch

Going back to Thanksgiving Day 2014,

TCU (4-0) opened the scoring when WR

and catch TD. 23-0, TCU….still in the first

TCU has outscored Texas 95-17. It’s also

Daje Johnson fumbled on the first offensive

quarter. Rose would miss two field goals

the first time TCU has defeated Texas in

series for UT. Johnson suffered a head

on the day, as the kicking portion of special

consecutive seasons since 1958-59. Since

injury and did not return. Boykin hit Ka-

teams continues to dwell in the toilet.

TCU entered the Big 12, they’re 3-1 versus the Horns.

Vontae Turpin for a 13-yard score and the route was on.

Boykin, who broke Andy Dalton’s all-time

Not to be undone, Shaun Nixon hit Doctson in stride for a 29-yard TD and a 30-0

Finding the cracks in this team isn’t dif-

lead….still in the first quarter.

ficult. Strong wants the players taking ownership, but also wants the coaches

TD passes record at TCU today, tallied

coaching better.

16-of-25, 288 yards, five touchdowns. He

When Boykin hit Turpin for the fourth time,

was as advertised, at times looking like he

early in the 3rd quarter, TCU extended its

was playing 7-on-7 against an outmanned

lead to 44-0. Jared Oberkrom added two

“We’re looking for more leadership,” Strong

Texas defense. Turpin, freshman, finished

late field goals to the TCU effort.

said. “We have to do a better job of coaching. We have to continue to coach hard.

with 133 yards on five catches, to go along with four touchdowns. Doctson added 129

For Texas, Jerrod Heard had his worst

We’re going to get this thing turned around.

yards on seven grabs, two scores.

outing as a Longhorn. 8-of-20 passing,

We have to.”

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- TEXAS VS TCU -

NORVELL AND HEARD SPEAK

by Mike Blackwell AUSTIN — Sifting through the carnage of Saturday’s 50-7 meltdown at TCU, Texas offensive play-caller Jay Norvell was surprisingly positive at his Tuesday media availability.

“We have to play better at wide receiver,” said Norvell, adding, “and Jerrod (Heard) has to see things better. And our protection has to improve…we’re nicked up there, but we’re fighting through it.”

Of course, he doesn’t really have a choice.

After all, if UT has any chance of competing Saturday against Oklahoma, Norvell knows his team must repair its tattered psyche after last week’s train wreck in Fort Worth.

Speaking of nicked up, Norvell said Daje Johnson was “day to day,” adding that Johnson was “not totally back” but that the Longhorns were “hopeful” he would play on Saturday, which didn’t sound too hopeful, frankly.

Hence, positivity.

Norvell said he thought Foreman showed that he deserved touches, but didn’t commit to naming a starter at running back against the Sooners. He also said he had talked to his players about, umm, social media.

“We just have to play with more confidence, it’s that simple,” Norvell said.

“We haven’t played with confidence in our last three quarters.”

Perhaps Norvell was positive Tuesday because he knows what to expect after coaching at Oklahoma for seven years. Maybe he’s counting on his offense leaning on D’Onta Foreman more after his performance against the Frogs.

Or, maybe, he’s been coaching long enough to realize that a football team is never as bad, or as good, as it appears.

“I am the parent of a 15 year-old boy,” Norvell said.

“If you’re a parent, you’ve probably had that conversation a lot. And as coaches, we’ve got a lot of kids.”

Heard also spoke to the media, and touched on a handful of topics:

Mostly, he’s seen enough UT-OU battles to realize that the favorite – in 2015, that would be Oklahoma – does not always leave the Texas State Fairgrounds with a win.

* On his ‘I’m sorry’ tweet – “I just felt like I needed to say it.”

“I’ve been a coach for over 28 years, I’ve coached for the national championship and in the Super Bowl, and this is by far my favorite game,” Norvell said. “It’s just unique. It’s one of the reasons why I’m at Texas. Fortunately, I got an opportunity to coach in this game again.”

* On how he found out that his teammates were trading barbs on Twitter – “Somebody told me something, and I thought, ‘Oh Lord, what did they say?’ I told them I was going to get their phones and delete their Twitter. They love it too much, but I’m going to get them off, though.”

The inevitable questions was asked of Norvell Tuesday: does he know why he was let go in Norman?

* On whether or not there is a rift between upper and lower classmen: “There’s no conflict or beef. Everybody’s getting along.”

“You’re asking the wrong guy,” Norvell said. “I was the football coach at Oklahoma for seven years. Any other questions, you’d have to ask coach (Stoops).”

* On being a big underdog: “I feel like it makes us come with an edge. We know we can win the game, but we know a lot of people think OU is going to win. That makes us very dangerous.”

Norvell said his offense has to improve, basically, in three areas.

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- TEXAS VS TCU -

WHAT THEY SAID...

CHARLIE STRONG

JERROD HEARD

“Totally disappointed, frustrated after the past two weeks how we came out and battled and competed. We came out today and just didn’t play hard. Just simple, fundamental techniques...

You get into a big game like this, and you have the offense, and we have to play better. We’re looking for more leadership, do a better job of coaching, and we’ve got to get this turned around. We have no choice.”

“I feel that we have a lot of things to get done, as far as offense. I think we got out executed... That lack of execution hurt everyone. Another part of that is having heart, we can’t get down. We have a big game next week, and we’re not a team that can’t battle. We’ve shown it before, but today was one of those games that...it took the best of us and we lost.”

“But we have to get better. We have to improve.

We are just a better football team than we showed and I just keep saying, that we just got to keep believing in it because we can’t just go out there and not execute and not complete a game.”

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A RED RIVE DALLAS — Texas and Charlie Strong needed a big win in the worst way.

Mission accomplished.

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ER REVIVAL

BY JUSTIN WELLS

D’Onta Foreman busts loose for 81 yards insidetexas.com

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- TEXAS OU -

B

ehind the legs of Jerrod Heard and D’Onta Foreman, and

practiced it more this week (rushing plays and the Swoopes pack-

backed by a defense that was determined to bend and not

ages). We actually added extra periods for those packages. So that

break, the Texas Longhorns upset No. 10 Oklahoma, 24-17, in the

everything really clicked and for everyone to know their assign-

annual Red River Shootout at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Satur-

ments and roles, that was a big win for us. The short yardage was

day.

big. We needed those extra yards.”

Texas (2-4, 1-2) was focused all week on running the football down

Texas play-caller Jay Norvell found the perfect running balance

OU’s throats and proving all the critics wrong. And it worked.

today. And it showed.

The Horns out-rushed their neighbors to the north, 313-67, as

“We wanted to get our quarterback on the perimeter,” said

Foreman went back-to-back with 100-yard rushing games for the

Norvell. “We had several perimeter runs for Jerrod, and the sprint

first time since Malcolm Brown in 2013. Foreman and Heard com-

draw was a perfect compliment for that. We could get the defense

bined for 245 yards, none bigger than Foreman’s 81-yard scamper

running with the threat of Heard on the sprint. Then hand it off (to

on a sprint draw right before the end of the 3rd quarter.

Foreman). Offensive football is about complimenting. We did a good job of that today.”

“I talked to the Governor before the game,” Strong said,” and told him that we were going to play well and that he would be proud of

After last week’s horrific 1st quarter in Fort Worth – down 30-0 to

us. This today was the University of Texas. I told the team that they

TCU – the Longhorns flipped the script and jumped on OU early.

did it and now this is what we expect.”

Heard found Marcus Johnson on a toss, who then took it 24 yards to pay dirt and gave Texas the 7-0 advantage, midway through the

Heard says all it took was getting mad.

first.

“We were pissed off for greatness,” said Heard. “Being such an

“This was huge,” said Johnson. “This should be the standard of

angry team really got us focused. We had no choice. We knew

how we play offense and defense. I feel like we can go back and

we had to win. Now, we just want to keep that momentum. We

watch film, we can learn from this and understand this is how we

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- TEXAS OU -

should play, week in and week out. I was in the training room

fans had wanted for years. After Heard carried it down to the 2,

during coach Strong’s press conference on Monday.

Swoopes hit TE Caleb Bluiett for the TD toss, Bluiett’s first career score. Not bad for a guy playing DE less than a month ago.

Somebody asked Strong, ‘will you get a third year’. When I heard that, it hurt me. I don’t know how many teammates saw that,

Then the burnt orange section of Fair Park exploded. UT took

but it really made me want to go out there and practice harder.

the 24-10 lead, with 13:52 left in the final stanza.

(Strong) works so hard for us. The whole staff works so hard, so we can’t let those guys down. We really went out and played with

Then OU answered again.

heart today. And it showed.”

Samaje Perine plunged in from 1-yard out, and got OU back On the ensuing kickoff, freshman DeShon Elliott forced an Alex

within a TD, 24-17, at the 8:00 minute mark. Plucky Sooners

Ross fumble, which was recovered by fellow frosh, Kirk John-

signal-caller Mayfield converted three 1st downs on the drive

son. Six plays later, Tyrone Swoopes belldozed his way into the

with 3rd down scrambles.

end zone for a 14-0 margin at the 5:37 mark. Swoopes actually fumbled on the play, but it was picked up by freshman WR Lo-

But when Texas needed to drain the clock, they went back to its

renzo Joe. Either way, Texas had the lead and all the momentum

bread and butter; running the dang ball.

in the 1st half.

Texas played without starters Kent Perkins and Daje Johnson.

OU answered with a 12-play, 67-yard drive culminated by an

They also lost Hassan Ridgeway early in the 4th. But behind Paul

Austin Seibert 21-yard field goal. It put the Sooners on the board,

Boyette, Poona Ford, and Chris Nelson, the defensive front stood

but even better was the goal line stand by the UT defense after

up to the challenge. Strong was high-fiving Texas beat writers as

Oklahoma had a 1st-and-goal from the 3. Holding the Sooners to

he walked into the press conference. I can’t remember seeing

a field goal was a small victory.

Strong so happy.

The Texas defense was the story of the opening half. They netted

“You’ve just got to pound ‘em, pound ‘em,” said Strong. “Believe

four tackles for loss and four sacks, harassing Mayfield at every

in yourself. Believe in yourself. You’re good enough. And they

turn. Strong and Vance Bedford dialed up blitz after blitz to an

have to hear that. And eventually, if they hear it enough, it’ll start

undermanned Sooners offensive line. The Horns outrushed OU,

to get to them. Today was one of those days.”

138-40 in the 1st half.

Texas took the opening kick of the 2nd half and drove 75 yards on 15 plays, culminating in a Nick Rose 27-yard field goal. It gave UT the 17-3 lead midway through the third and every ounce of energy and momentum.

Then OU answered.

Mayfield led a 11-play drive, then hit Dimitri Flowers on a 3rd-and-goal from the 3 for the Sooners first touchdown of the day. It brought OU back within a possession, 17-10.

Then D’Onta happened.

On a 2nd down from their own 7, sophomore running back D’Onta Foreman took a sprint draw 81 yards down to the OU 10. It ended the 3rd period and ushered in a 4th quarter that Longhorn

Caleb Bluiett (42) and Charlie Strong

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- TEXAS OU -

WHAT THEY SAID...

CHARLIE STRONG “ The win, it’s really big, but like I said, we needed that win. And we have just been so close before last week, before we were blown out. But just to see that win and just get a jump-start, and now we have six more to go play...but putting on the hat, it was special because you know you won the game and it was just really special to go up and shake the governor’s hand. And even before the game started, I said, listen, we’re going to play today. I said, you’re going to be very proud of us at the end of this game.”

PAUL BOYETTE JR.

JERROD HEARD “Being such an angry team that just wanted to be great, we had no choice. We knew one of these games was going to give in and favor us. So when something like this happens, we’re just going to keep that momentum and feed it into next week.”

“We didn’t get down on ourselves this whole week; we just moved forward and took practice to a whole other level. Everybody was focused, everybody was on time for everything and that’s just a steppingstone moving forward.”

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Peter Jinkens

Culpepper’s Commentary

by Pat Culpepper

UT Fights Back in Big Win Over Sooners

I

’ve been there before.

touchdown.

Standing in that tunnel that leads to the Cotton Bowl

​Instead of the uninspired Texas efforts of one week ago

field before the Texas-Oklahoma game. Minutes before

in Fort Worth, this Texas team was burning on straight

it was tackle Scott Appleton throwing up in the dress-

hot gasoline fire.

ing room bathroom in anticipation of what was going to ensue.

​For one thing, Heard being a drop back passer was gone.

This cat was back at Denton Guyer executing the give

​In 1960 we were leading when the Sooners tried a half-

to dive back Johnathan Gray or D’Onta Foreman for a

back pass deep in our territory and Longhorn defensive

keep. No blitzes would stop this action from the outside

tackle Eddie Padgett slammed into OU’s Jimmy Carpen-

like Oklahoma State had done. The word for the Texas

ter and the ball floated toward our right side. I picked it

offense was physical.

off and ran 78 yards to cap off a 24-0 Texas win. ​Those young linemen were coming off the football and ​My seat was looking down at that spot where the inter-

I watched Patrick Vahe from Euless Trinity doing what

ception occurred so many years ago and I was praying

he did so well, which was attacking Sooners – not sitting

that this Texas team coming off an embarrassing loss to

back pushing in pass protection. It’s in his DNA!

TCU had the same feeling we had in the 60’s and could generate enough team intensity to make this a ball game

​Whether Strong brought on this change of attack or

against an Oklahoma team that was undefeated and

Norvell makes no difference, it set a tone, which was at

ranked top 10 nationally.

the heart of this Texas victory.

Well done, Horns.

​Of course all the Texas fans marched into the stadium with trepidation. Don’t kid yourself, at best we hoped to

​Last week I wrote in InsideTexas that the Longhorns

be competitive. There were lots of empty seats early in

only chance was to get physical and slow down the game

the Texas Longhorn North end zone – they don’t bring

– they didn’t have the experience to go fast break and it

out a man to be hanged early. By game time whether

was killing their defensive efforts. Did they ever!

by outside spirits or just for old time “heck with Oklahoma” attitude, the Longhorn fans and the Texas band

​With Daje Johnson sidelined with concussion symptoms

got really loud. All of a sudden I was back in 1962 and

after a non-called target hit at TCU, Texas OC Jay Nor-

it was 4th-and-2 from the Texas 18 yard line with us

vell put wide receiver Marcus Johnson in Daje’s role of

leading 9-6 and we had to stop the Sooner charge – we

a quick motion man to stretch the Sooner defense before

did just that, standing up Joe Don Looney and killing

the snap and at 7:52 at the first quarter, Johnson made

OU’s chances of winning. In that North Endzone with the

a brilliant TD run of 24 yards after a short pass from

Texas Band at it’s loudest and all of the Burnt Orange

Jerrod Heard into the left flat. Johnson tight-roped right

fans yelling (let’s do that in Austin), a different Texas

in front of where I was sitting 30 rows up for a stunning

team emerged.

19

- Culpepper’s Commentary First and most importantly this was a different Texas

draw – did I say Texas played physical – to Foreman and

defense. On one of the first series of the game, I caught

for a brief second the Texas front cracked open a hole

CB Duke Thomas blitzing off the boundary. Before this

and the 6-0, 241-pound cannon ball from Texas City

game, in five games, the Longhorns had only seven

bolted for an 81-yard run that set up the 7-point margin

sacks – on this day in the glorious Dallas sunlight they

of victory.

put Sooner QB Baker Mayfield down six times. ​I loved it when Strong was waiving at Tyrone Swoopes who couldn’t get it into the end zone from the Longhorns power stacked formation in the second quarter. They were inside the 3-yard line on third down after being stopped and Swoopes was ready to come to the bench – but Strong was not in the mood to back off and he waved Swoopes back on the field.

The big man scored. In fact the last Longhorn touchdown in the fourth quarter which was set up by Foreman’s steamrolling run was a lob pass from Swoopes to Caleb Bluiett in the back of the end zone where Johnson had scored in the first quarter. It floated through the air and I was scared we would drop it. Caleb gathered it in and set off another wild celebration by all of us in section 12 and around the North end zone.

Naashon Hughes (40) and Poona Ford (95)

​So what happened last Saturday to give Charlie Strong the biggest win so far in

​The defensive staff did an excellent job of subbing line-

his career as the Texas Longhorns head coach?

man in and out of the game to keep the pressure on.

Oklahoma had a total of 87 rushing yards – the Long-

​Sooner coach Bob Stoops said it well afterward, “All in

horns 313. There were four OU three-and-outs and seven

all, they kicked us. There is not much else to say about

Sooner punts. Hassan Ridgeway and Poona Ford both

it.”

had to leave the game with collisions but came back with a vengeance and combined for 2.5 sacks.

​Has this team finally started to grow up together? Has Texas found a method of football on offense that can

​At the last with Mayfield trying to find an open receiver

turn QB Heard into a dangerous weapon – he rushed for

because of a tighter Texas coverage, it was Naashon

115 yards and most importantly crucial first downs. He

Hughes and Ford who brought Mayfield down for a 17-

only threw 11 times – two of them attempted bombs that

yard loss. It was the last time Oklahoma had the ball

kept the Sooner secondary back.

after its fourth down punt. ​These players LOVE Strong and that was apparent at ​The offensive play of the game for Texas was a sprint

20

games end and the celebrations that followed on the

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- Culpepper’s Commentary field. Players like Hughes at 6-foot-4, 232, a sophomore

​Where does it go from here? Your guess is as good as mine.

who is coming into his best football playing days is a good

This week a well-coached, tough Kansas State team comes

example. Running backs at Oklahoma like Samaje Perine

to Austin. As impossible as it seems, Strong has a chance to

and Joe Mixon went down hard from his outside to inside

make a difference in the Big 12. They already did to Stoops

jarring tackles. Freshman Malik Jefferson stayed on the

and the Oklahoma Sooners.

outside and made a crucial sack on Mayfeild.

Caleb Bluiett

​We, the Texas faithful, stayed in those end zone stands

​Since nobody in College Football has played a tougher,

until the last Texas players got to that tunnel, at the North

more demanding schedule than Texas; Notre Dame, Cali-

End of the Cotton Bowl. 35 minutes by my watch, Taylor

fornia, Oklahoma State, TCU, and Oklahoma. The Long-

Doyle came down and told the Texas Cowboys to fire the

horns have paid their dues as well as their coaching staff.

cannon one more time!

Now it is time for the hard rocky road to pay off.

​What about all those recruits at the game? Wouldn’t any-

​Kansas State almost upset TCU and the only difference was

one of them love to play in such a game? Nobody else in

Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson of the Horned Frogs.

the Big 12 has such a chance with the stadium divided and your parents able to drive to the majority of your games.

I hope you can’t wait to salute and cheer for the Longhorns

Most have to go to Starkville, Mississippi, like our Aggie

who came from nowhere to save their coach and redeem

buddies who ran from the Big 12.

their pride as football players.

​There was Peter Jinkens the Texas linebacker on his knees

Hook’Em,

facedown in the Texas end zone being hugged by freshman

Pat

warrior Patrick Vahe as the celebrations died down.

Pat Culpepper played for The University of Texas from 1960-62 and graduated from UT with a B.A. degree with honors in history. He coached college football for 12 years as an assistant at Texas, Colorado, Tulane, Baylor, and Memphis State and was head coach at Northern Illinois from 1976-79. He also spent 16 years as a high school coach in Texas at Midland, Lufkin, Galveston Ball, Westfield and his hometown of Cleburne. He was selected to the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1991. His commentary appears regularly in the Inside Texas magazine and at InsideTexas.com.

insidetexas.com

21

T

here probably isn’t a whole lot about Shaka Smart’s story you don’t know, by now, if you’ve been interested in finding out.

The son of a single mother in Wisconsin, Shaka’s lack of a true father figure in his life has fostered his motivation to provide just that type of emotional support for his players through interaction, accountability and character development.

It’s a special story. One you’ll hear a dozen times this season whilst watching Texas Basketball games on television (perhaps a few dozen times if the Longhorns end up being any good). And we can all feel good about the young, new coach at the University of Texas here to turn things around after Rick Barnes’ tenure came to an unceremonious end last spring.

Everybody smile…and…*snap*…good, now that the team picture’s been taken, let’s get down to business.

Some Tangible (and some not so tangible) Things If there’s excitement in getting to know somebody new in your life (even if that relationship is, uh, one-sided), it often initially revolves around the palpable things that person can do.

Shaka, as a person and coach, has plenty of those things. Still, any person critiquing Coach Smart would be totally remiss if they didn’t allude to the intangible things he brings to the position.

Hopefully, you know all about the accolades he established at VCU - if not, please read here. These will be about things that can work for the future, both immediate and long term.

Good/Known He has already worked extensively at adjusting his “Havoc” system to fit the existing parts Texas had in place. That flexibility and non-rigidity aren’t exactly common amongst major D1 head coaches.

Shaka has also established emotional buy-in from his players by sticking true to his promise of wanting to build relationships with them through time and direct interaction (in the dorms, during meal times, times outside of practice).

Early recruiting efforts have been promising Smart has shown a willingness to throw his hat in the ring on the bluest of chips, because you never know. He also has a terrific eye for talent as it pertains to players who have great potential or are seeing their development take off.

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SHAKA SM

MART GETS ROLLING

by Tim Preston

Photo courtesy of UT Athletics

23

- Shaka Smart Shaka is tenacious in going after recruits

made solid inroads with former players,

targeted as main pieces and he has a very

fans, and donors in attempts to smooth

good personality for the extracurricular

over some of the apathy towards UT

Tevin Mack is a great get and it can’t be

portion of the job (re: LHN) as well as an

Basketball.

overstated how important it was to the pro-

ability to very positively create an environ-

that’s to be expected.

gram to not lose either of Roach or Davis,

ment that will play well for the cameras

Some of these things are similar to where

but, as of now, Texas has (likely) missed

when exclusive look-ins are happening.

Rick Barnes was. Many of them are stark

out on Terrance Ferguson, Marcus Bolden,

contrasts.

Kameron McGusty and (sigh) De’Aaron

Building Bridges

Fox. Jacob Young is a gifted scorer, but he Regardless, all of these are things that go

stands as all there is right now.

Smart wasted no time identifying the lead-

beyond X’s and O’s to give some more

Shaka’s staff, while blessed with bas-

ers of this team, working towards uplifting

insight as to how Shaka Smart is doing on

ketball IQ, is largely unfamiliar with both

players who felt alienated by Coach

the job, thus far.

Texas and the Big 12.

Bad/Unknown

Smart will need to figure out how to best

Barnes and his staff and making sure the team dynamic won’t be interrupted by a new staff.

Like many successful coaches, he has

incorporate three big men (Ridley, Cleare, There are decidedly less of these, though

Ibeh) who all essentially fill the same type of offensive role in a system built to incorporate only one player of that type.

The honeymoon period is great…but what if Texas loses to Washington right out of the gates in Shanghai? Or, worse yet, falls in the opening round game to A&M? Buy-in is awesome, until you don’t have it any more. How will the players respond to Shaka’s ever present style then?

The Endgame I happen to believe Shaka Smart is the right guy for this job (with the caveat that there were probably 8-10 others who could have been “right” for it as well). Still, he’s a college coach through and through who plays an exciting style and has a charisma to match. Tough to argue with that combination at a place as starved for positive energy as is Texas Basketball.

The recruiting will match the results, so I’m not so worried there. The results will match the preparation, so I’m not so worried there. Now, I just hope my optimism is based on tangible things (or, at least intangible things which have a chance of playing themselves out).

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2015 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE The team belongs to Shaka Smart, but the schedule has a distinct Rick Barnes flavor to it. Meaning?

Well, the non-conference slate is loaded with tough games (most away from home) and there’s only a game or two worth watching at the Erwin Center.

THE CUPCAKES Samford

Appalachian State

UT San Antonio

Texas A&M Corpus Crhisti

UT-Arlington

THE DANGEROUS Perhaps dangerous from

Life without Ryan Boatright

The Cardinal won a nail biter last

name recognition alone,

will be an adjustment for the

season in Austin and the Long-

Texas’ regular season

Huskies and third year coach

horns will look to return the favor

opener (played in Shanghai…thanks,

Kevin Ollie, but the additions

this year in Palo Alto. Helping the

Steve…) matches the Longhorns up

of Jalen Adams and Steven

Longhorns’ cause is the absence of Chas-

against the Huskies from the Pac-12.

Enoch (to go along with Daniel Hamilton and

son Randle and Anthony Brown from last

Lorenzo Romar’s team took a big hit

Rodney Purvis) will give Connecticut plenty

season. Still, the residual effect of winning

when Nigel Williams-Goss elected to

of firepower when they travel to Austin right

the NIT last year should have a positive

transfer to Gonzaga during the offsea-

before Conference play begins. This should

impact for the Cardinal as they rebuild

son and Robert Upshaw declared for

be an interesting matchup of teams expected

their backcourt.

the NBA draft. Still, Romar’s teams are

to be right beneath the top spots in their

always competitive and Texas will be

respective conferences and both teams will

traveling halfway across the world for

likely view the game as significant towards

their first real game under Smart.

their chances at an NCAA Tournament bid.

THE HEAVYWEIGHTS The Longhorns will play

The rest of the Battle for Atlantis

Perhaps the Tar Heels should

the Aggies for the first time

field – This will obviously depend on

be in a group by themselves.

since A&M left for the SEC

the outcome of Texas’ game against

North Carolina boasts four

when they meet in the first round of the

the Aggies but, should they win, the

returning players projected to be first

Battle for Atlantis over the Thanksgiv-

Longhorns will have little time to lick

round draft picks next year (Marcus Paige,

ing break. A&M mixes returning scorers

their wounds in the one-one-one format

Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks and Justin

Danuel House and Jalen Jones to a ter-

of the tournament. Other teams in the

Jackson). Under Rick Barnes, Texas had

rific incoming freshman class consisting

field include top 10 Gonzaga (Texas’

the Tar Heels’ number on more occasions

of Elijah Thomas, DJ Hogg, Admon

likely opponent should they win their

than not. However, this is one of the more

Gilder and Tyler Davis. Texas can

first round matchup) who will again be

talented UNC groups Williams has had in

match A&M, talent wise, but it will make

one of the best teams in the country;

Chapel Hill (which is saying a lot). The Er-

a difference that it will be game three

Syracuse (down, but still very good);

win Center should be rocking when North

for the Longhorns and game six for the

UConn (look above) and Michigan

Carolina comes to town in December.

Aggies. Big game in the Bahamas.

(looking to rebound from a disappointing season last year).

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2015 BIG XII SCHEDULE The narrative is understandable. Screw the Big 12. Screw the podunk conference with small schools from small states.

Screw the powers that be who have dictated the Longhorns’ connection to institutions such as Baylor, Iowa State, West Virginia and TCU. What do those schools share in common with a flagship university like Texas?

The narrative is understandable. However, that day is likely years (decades?) off.

And, as such, we are left to deal with the Big 12 in its current place and current state.

And that’s really not so bad at all.

PREDICTION While the NCAA Tournament results haven’t been particularly impressive -- last year only WVU and OU made it to the Sweet Sixteen, KU again dropped a second round matchup to a lower seed and Baylor and ISU both were unceremoniously dropped in the first round to 14 seeds as a 3 seed -there is no doubt that the conference, as a collective, is as strong as any other in the country.

And this year? I have it handicapped as...

KANSAS – The Jayhawks should once again be the class of the league as they return their top three leading scorers (Ellis, Mason and Selden), have a player many around the country assume is ready to explode (Mykhailiuk) and arguably the nation’s most dynamic freshman (Diallo, should he be cleared, which is a concern). Plus Self is in a class all his own in the conference, coaching wise. KU will once again be very good (with great being a distinct possibility should Diallo get his clearance)…sigh.

OKLAHOMA – All signs point to Oklahoma having a chance to make the ascension into the elite echelon of college basketball this year. Returning are all their dynamic senior class (Hield, Cousins and Spangler) to go along with a solid point guard in Woodard and emerging big man in Lattin. Their depth will take a hit with the loss of Thomas, but Kruger has recruited very well and he’s got the upper tier talent to be excellent yet again.

IOWA STATE – My heart wants to put the Cyclones higher. It really does. ISU may well have the two best players in the conference in Morris and Niang. They return McKay, Nader, Long and Thomas. They bring in Cooke, Babb and Ernst. It’s a team with some real talent and pieces in multiple spots. But Hoiberg was Iowa State, right?

Yes, they had the players, but Hoiberg was the program. How does Prohm continue that momentum? For now, I’m putting them at

three with the chance for significant upward (or downward) movement.

BAYLOR – Another year, another season where I’m not all that enamored with Scott Drew’s Baylor Bears. Yes, Gathers and Prince are big pieces to build around. And, yes, McClure, Medford and Motley can all play. But where does the playmaking come from to replace Chery? And how do they replace the secondary playmaking of O’Neale?

Those two made Baylor go given the nature of their offense. I think the learning curve will be pretty significant.

WEST VIRGINIA – Life without Juwan Staten begins this fall for the Mountaineers.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that Huggins has a couple of good building blocks to lean on with Williams and Carter providing young leadership for a team coming off the high of qualifying through to the Sweet Sixteen last year. Still, the question of where their scoring and playmaking comes from will be key for a WVU team in transition.

OKLAHOMA STATE – The addition of Evans will give Ford a capable backcourt mate, but the loss of Nash will be a big one for Oklahoma State (as will the loss of Cobbins). OSU will be heavily dependent upon their back court duo but will struggle to provide them the scoring relief they have in previous seasons without a player like Nash who was so good at creating offense

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for himself.

TCU – If the Horned Frogs can replace some of what Kyan Anderson brought them, their increased depth and experience along the front line should make for an improving team this season. Back are Shepard, Williams and Washburn to add to newcomers Shreiner and Trent in the backcourt. TCU’s continued trend towards respectability might take a small hit, but they are working.

KANSAS STATE – What the hell to make of the Wildcats? Gone are Williams, Gipson and Foster. Iwundwu returns, which is good.

Still, the only reason K State isn’t last is because…

TEXAS TECH – Williams and Gotcher are legitimate D1 players. The rest of the team… I’m a big Tubby Smith fan, but how many roster restarts will they put up with in Lubbock?

1. Kansas (14-4) 2. Oklahoma (13-5) 3. Iowa State (13-5) 4. Texas (11-7) 5. Baylor (9-9) 6. West Virginia (8-10) 7. Oklahoma State (7-11) 8. TCU (7-11) 9. Kansas State (5-13) 10. Texas Tech (3-15)

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2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

ISAIAH TAYLOR | POINT GUARD #1 J 6-foot-1, 170-lb J The Village School (Houston, TX) via Hayward, CA J Recruited by Rob Lanier J Ranked as a 3* recruit, nationally J Averaged 13.1 pts, 3.2 rbs, 4.6 asts, 2.6 tos and 0.9 stls per game on 40/28/84% shooting

T

o call last year a sophomore slump

to be a pest when

for Isaiah Taylor is unfair. His point

his body positioning

per game numbers went up (13.1 from

is ready early and

12.7). His assists per game numbers went

before the catch in

up (4.6 from 4.0). His shooting numbers,

recovery spots.

across the board, went up (40/28/84 from

Taylor has the

39/26/75).

physical tools to be

Taylor was a better player last year than he was as a freshman.

Still, you could forgive Texas fans for hoping for (expecting?) the transcendent.

Again, unfair, but such was the hype surrounding Taylor and his ability level given the team he had surrounding him.

STRENGTHS The game plan for Taylor is quite simple: you build in situations where he can beat his defender to the free throw line (preferably where Taylor can be square to the basket with his hips) off the bounce.

Taylor can be electric with the ball in his hands when he’s able to generate space against containment.

an above average defender.

WEAKNESSES Another in a long line of Texas point guards (Ford, Ivey, Balbay, Mason, Holland) who have been reluctant shooters from range, Taylor has struggled incorporating deep shooting into his comfort level as an offensive player. Last season, Taylor averaged one 3-point shot every 19 minutes of court time. That’s not enough.

Taylor will need to get more comfortable going all the way to the rim or become more adept at creating spacing for interior

There are few players in the country who

dump offs or kick outs.

can match his ball handling ability/speed

Defensively, Isaiah’s issues have often

combination when he’s able to find space to operate. Taylor has also proven to be an excellent free throw shooter.

A fine passer, Taylor is most successful creating for others after drawing help in the

arisen because of a lack of spatial awareness on close outs or reversals.

When he’s cognizant of his defensive spacing, he’s just fine.

half court.

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME

On defense, Taylor is a solid on-ball de-

It’s exciting, frankly.

fender, uses his length well as a defender in the half court and has the quickness

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Shaka’s offensive system is predicated on

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quick ball movement and a focus towards attacking early in the shot clock. That’s ideal for someone like Isaiah who is best when he’s able to take the action to the defense before the defender is set and ready in their half prep.

Perhaps the biggest question mark will be shot selection by Taylor because in this offense he will be able to get shots up pretty much any time he wants, so managing his duties as a distributor will be key for him.

Defensively, he can use his quickness and agility to look for steals or slow down break down/transition opportunities. In the half court, he’ll need to be careful as he should create a number of steals, but needs to not give up easy looks, especially to spot shooters and in dribble penetration because he needs to be on the floor and not in foul trouble.

2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

DEMARCUS HOLLAND | COMBO GUARD #2 J 6-foot-2, 190-lb J Naaman Forest HS (Garland, TX) J Recruited by Chris Ogden J Ranked as a 3* recruit, nationally J Averaged 7.1 pts, 3.2 rbs, 2.4 asts and 0.4 stls per game on 49/46/69% shooting

D

emarcus experienced one of the best jumps in shooting percentage a

player has had at Texas by upping each of his shooting numbers (including a dramatic 17% increase on three pointers).

The rest of his game was its normal solid self (though his rebounding and steals numbers were down a decent amount).

WEAKNESSES Holland has never been a great ball handler. Those same long arms that help him, defensively, give him fits while dribbling

Still, Holland’s work ethic and energy level

in traffic. He struggles

have already made him a staff favorite and

to keep the ball under

it’s likely he’ll play a significant role moving

his hips and defend-

forward into this season.

ers will make him pay when he gets too

STRENGTHS Holland biggest strength on offense is in

loose with the ball, horizontally.

transition. Blessed with top-level quickness

He also isn’t the most natural mover into

and body control, Holland is a solid finisher

space with or without the ball. He’s more

at the rim when on the break.

likely to set up shop (or even back up

In the half court setting, Holland is capable in straight line drives and off of curls from down screens with the ball. He also does

against man), which takes away some of his effectiveness as a straight line driver or spot shooter.

a good job of finding the simple pass and

Demarcus’s issues have generally been

protecting the basketball.

because he’s facing a special offensive

And, of course, his perimeter shooting was terrific last year, particularly in catch and shoot situations.

Holland is one of the best on-ball defenders over the last twenty years. He’s got the quickness to deal with point guards and the long arms and explosiveness to deal with longer wings. He could stand to be a little bit taller, but aside from that, there are

talent (Andrew Wiggins as an example).

Beyond that, his energy, focus and fundamentals have made him as consistent as he is capable.

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME While Holland isn’t near the natural offensive player Taylor is, Shaka’s system fits him accordingly.

few things Holland can’t do as a perimeter

A true switch towards an uptempo scheme

defender, regardless of system.

should accentuate Demarcus’s ability in

of his limitations in longer, drawn out possessions.

It should also help to bring in the skill/ playmaking of Eric Davis, Kerwin Roach and Tevin Mack as they all are the kind of lengthy scorers that will take some of the scoring burden off of Holland, especially in the half court. In lineups with those guys (and Taylor), Holland will get the third perimeter defender from the opposing team.

If Shaka was looking to put together a prototype for an edge of the diamond defender, Demarcus would be about perfect.

Quick feet? Check. Flexible hips and shoulders? Check. Long arms and quick hands? Check. Body control? Check.

Boundless energy? Check. Instincts?

Check.

As long as his healthy stays up (no reason to believe it wouldn’t), Demarcus should flourish in this defensive system.

the open court while also minimizing some

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2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

JEVAN FELIX | POINT GUARD #3 J 5-foot-11, 185-lb J St. Augustine HS (New Orleans, LA) J Recruited by Russell Springman J Ranked as #74 prospect, nationally J Averaged 8.7 pts, 2.2 rbs, 2.0 asts, 1.6 tos and 0.3 stls per game on 42/39/75% shooting

F

or really the first time under Rick

or height, he makes

Barnes, Javan Felix was utilized in a

up for in strength and

role (and within a minutes per game) that

arm length. The guy’s

fit his skill set.

a bull and tough to

So, in a way, it was a year where he was simultaneously asked to do the least but also allowed to stay inside of his comfort zone (and, largely, away from his weaknesses) and produce to the best of his ability.

What that meant, tangibly, is that his minutes were down (along with his assists, rebounds and, most importantly, his turnovers) and his points were up.

Now we see how Javan fits into Shaka’s frenetic, athletic style.

STRENGTHS Felix’s skill set generally revolves around his ability to shoot the basketball and

get around because he can stay flat with his hips defending the ball but ball handlers just bounce off him when trying to turn the corner. It makes him deceptively good when guarding the ball.

WEAKNESSES He’s not a point guard because he doesn’t have the quickness or suddenness. When

his only move is a pull up jumper as he doesn’t have the explosiveness to attack

pass. However, he rarely creates offense for his teammates by passing them open or making the difficult pass in traffic. It’s not in his comfort zone and, so, he almost

three point shooter

completely stays away from it.

*Baseline short corner on pull ups

To be clear, I don’t blame Javan for this as

*In transition as a catch and shoot player

every perimeter player on the team func-

*Against a rotating defense where he can attack space off the dribble while going right

tioned under the same principles, but when in zone, Felix was as destructive as a perimeter defender could be. His positioning when weak side was awful. He was almost

When Javan can be asked to fit a specific

always shading on the far side of the free

role as a scorer, he can help this team.

throw line from his assignment.

On defense, what Javan lacks in quickness

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weakness.

Javan doesn’t have the quickness or

he will shoot a low percentage because

Javan excels at making the solid, simple

*The low wing along the perimeter as a

over again. His spatial defending is a huge

himself against a set/established half court,

does both well, especially when he can

comfortable as a scorer

and kick outs. Over and over and over and

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME

handle the ball against man pressure. He

areas into spacing where he feels most

tible to three point shooting off of reversals

he’s tasked with creating offense for

the rim against help defense.

attack in spacing and when he’s got open

Most importantly, he left himself suscep-

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speed with the ball to function as a primary ball handler in Shaka’s offense. The good part about that is that, with the arrival of Davis and Roach, he shouldn’t have to.

Javan can be an asset to this team as a shooter and ball mover. Beyond that, he doesn’t have the physical skill set to be a focal point in this offense for more than 8-10 minutes per game.

Defensively, Javan has the physical strength and long arms to be capable on the edge of a diamond. It would be tough to put him at half court because of his lack of quickness and the nature of his movement in the open floor.

In half court, Javan should be fine when on ball, but will need to be careful when playing passing lanes and off the ball.

2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

ERIC DAVIS | COMBO GUARD #10 J 6-foot-3, 180-lb J Arthur Hill HS (Saginaw, MI) J Recruited by Chris Ogden J Ranked as #45 prospect, nationally J Averaged 21.5 pts, 9.9 rbs, 6.7 asts and 4 stls per game as a HS Senior

D

avis comes to Texas as one of the

him out. He also will

more gifted scorers and shooters

struggle some to fin-

in the 2015 class. A Jordan Brand All-

ish at the rim against

American, Davis’ offer list included Kansas,

D1 help defenders.

Michigan, Michigan State and Florida (among many others).

STRENGTHS

All stuff he will iron out in time, but he’ll have some issues adjusting to the game

Davis has a tremendous skill set with the

as it pertains to his

ball and as a shooter. He has good hip

aggressiveness as a

and shoulder preparation both in catch and

ball handler/creator/

shoot situations as well as on pull ups. He

facilitator.

understands how to keep the ball under his hips as a ball handler, and is sneaky good at navigating through traffic as a penetrator. He even sees the floor well as a passer and does a good job of setting up spacing for dump offs or kick outs with his ability to change pace with the basketball.

Davis’ intuitive nature as a player does

Photo courtesy of UT Athletics

Davis is a fine athlete, but he’s not especially long, nor especially explosive. He can make up for some of that with his competitive nature and the way he understands the flow of the game.

But he’s going to have issues with his relative lack of athleticism, at least on occasion, given the nature of what Smart runs.

leak over to the defensive side as well. He sees the floor well. He moves well in space and he has a knack for rebounding, even at his size, in space.

WEAKNESSES

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME Davis is probably a better fit for Shaka than Shaka is for him, if that makes sense.

Davis has the ability with the basketball to take pressure off of Taylor as a creator/facilitator in the half court. He’s also a terrific

as a creator and shooter. He is a guy who

release valve for the offense because of

exudes confidence and is fearless when he

his ability to shoot the basketball.

particularly for him as a player who isn’t the natural athlete that a guy like Demarcus Holland or Kerwin Roach are.

There are times when he can over penetrate if he get out of control or impatient and even his skill set with the ball can’t bail

left has Texas had a player with that type of confidence/skill set combination.

Hard to understate how important that is for Shaka and this team considering the only real alpha dog, offensively, on this team is Taylor, who struggles to shoot.

In the diamond, it will depend, some, on

Eric has his issues with forcing the action

attacks, but that can come with its caveats,

tude as a scorer. Not since J’Covan Brown

As for the faster tempo and pace, it shouldn’t hinder Davis, but it’s not as if it fits his skill set precisely as it would a player like Taylor, Holland or Roach.

Intangibly, what Davis brings with him that’s huge for this team is his fearless atti-

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whose on the court with him. If he’s with a combination of Roach, Holland and Taylor, Davis will likely be on one of the sides of the diamond in the role to better utilize the quickness of the other three. If he’s on the floor with Javan or Yancy, it’s more likely to see him on the bottom of the diamond in that high interceptor role where he can use his instincts in the open floor.

In the halfcourt, he’ll be tested some as a mover in traffic, laterally, but he should be fine away from the ball. It will also help that with Holland, Roach and Taylor around, Davis will rarely draw the opponent’s best perimeter player for an assignment.

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2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

KENDAL YANCY | COMBO GUARD #5 J 6-foot-3, 200-lb J Berkner HS (Richardson, TX) J Recruited by Rob Lanier J Ranked as #85 prospect, nationally J Averaged 6.3 pts, 2.8 rbs, 1.7 asts per game on 40/33/78% shooting

T

wo-thirds of the way through last

And, he’s got the

season, there were questions about

strength and length to

Kendal’s happiness.

He was the fourth guard in Texas’ rotation behind Taylor, Holland and Felix. He had

be one of the better perimeter defenders in the Big 12.

scored 10 or more points only twice over

Kendal does a great

the first 23 games of the season. He had

job of keeping his

taken more than 10 shots only twice as

hips square to the ball

well.

and playing extended,

Was this who he was? A role/bit player who could shoot, pass, defend and dribble but only for a few minutes per game?

Then the last 11 games of the season happened. Over that final section of the year, Yancy averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Including his 27 point outburst against Iowa State where he singlehandedly kept the Longhorns in it until the end.

STRENGTHS Kendal’s biggest strength is the diversity with which he can function on offense.

using his long arms and lateral quickness to maintain contact and keep his man from turning the corner in penetration. He also has good timing and understands the trap well.

WEAKNESSES For a guy who almost averaged a triple double his senior year in high school, Yancy’s biggest issues as an offensive player have largely been mental ones.

I’ve had people around the program talk consistently to me about how difficult it’s been to get Kendal to be more assertive as

He’s an above average three point shooter.

a scorer/creator.

He’s got the height, length and athleticism

Tough to criticize a kid for his personality

to challenge the defense in space and at the rim. He’s a solid enough ball handler and passer that defenses have to account for him as a playmaker, even if only in spots.

If not for Holland being on the team, people would probably make a bigger deal about Yancy’s defense. Kendal isn’t just deceptively athletic. He’s an excellent athlete.

32

(when it’s not a destructive one, at least), but a good portion of what’s kept Kendal from breaking out has been because of his own bearing.

In opposition to his offensive struggles, Kendal’s issues on the defensive end have been because of his aggressive nature and physicality.

It’s obvious how much pride Kendal takes from his defensive assignments, but that’s

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also gotten him into some trouble. In those same 11 games at the end of the year, Kendal’s forceful nature as a defender got him into foul trouble (four games with four fouls in that span and two other with three).

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME Yancy’s athleticism and explosiveness fit well with Shaka’s penchant to get the ball in to the open floor.

Yancy’s ability to finish at the rim fit well with Shaka’s insistence that Texas takes the action to the defense in the lane.

Yancy’s creativity with the ball, in space, make him a dangerous ball handler/creator, especially in the open floor.

In the diamond, Kendal can capably function in either the side interceptor or high interceptor role.

In half court looks, Yancy should flourish in the spatial freedom away from the ball where he can use his athleticism and instincts to ball hawk. When on the ball, Yancy’s strength and quickness should help him when forcing the ball/action to the sideline where we can look to set up traps.

2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

JORDAN BARNETT | FORWARD #33 J 6-foot-6, 205-lb J Christian Brothers HS (St. Louis, MO) J Recruited by Russell Springman J Ranked as #86 prospect, nationally J Averaged 1.9 pts, 1.3 rbs, 0.5 asts per game on 33/33/100% shooting

B

arnett didn’t exactly set the world on

good awareness in

fire in his first year on the 40 Acres.

man and was pass-

He was the last man off the bench during

able on the low wing

the nonconference season and he was,

in zone. He was one

essentially, an afterthought in Big 12 and

of the better players

postseason play.

on the team in his

While none of that’s all that surprising for any freshman, it was interesting to see Barnett struggle for minutes given the nature of the roster Barnes had last season

ability to regain contact in his close outs.

WEAKNESSES

(Jordan was the only natural small forward

When Barnett was

available).

becoming a top high school recruit in the

So what, if anything, will change this season?

STRENGTHS Coming to Austin as a player who was considered diverse in his skill set, Jordan’s role, last year, was generally relegated to the perimeter.

Part of that was by design and part of that was because all of Texas’ perimeter players found it difficult to find space on the interior with Ridley/Ibeh/Turner/Holmes down low.

For his part, Barnett proved himself to be an adequate outside shooter. He also showed some skill as a ball mover and facilitator, including having the lowest turnover per minute ratio on the team (only one over every 20 minutes played).

Barnett has ideal size/athleticism/strength

country, it was his varied skill set that set him apart as a wing.

Unfortunately, we saw almost none of that last year.

cludes body control on catches in traffic, a solid three point stroke, the ability to finish at the rim, solid vision in space and the capacity to create extra possessions with how he can rebound in open areas.

The biggest question mark will be whether

Jordan floated around the perimeter, rarely attacking the basket or getting into the lane to exploit his athleticism and length (46% of Jordan’s field goals were from three, putting him behind only Lammert and Felix).

As it can be for any lengthy wing player coming from high school to a school like Texas, Barnett struggled adjusting to guarding perimeter players with an athleticism/skill combination.

His quickness and body control were solid, but he often over-pursued and got into trouble when by showing big too late after his assignment’s catch, leaving him susceptible to dribble penetration.

as a wing/combo forward defender.

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME

He wasn’t perfect, but Jordan showed

Barnett possesses a skill set which in-

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he can provide rebounding/screening at a level where Shaka feels comfortable putting him at the four for extended minutes.

If that’s possible, we could see Jordan’s minutes jump up into the 20+ range.

Defensively, Jordan can make the biggest impact as he grows accustomed to Shaka’s system. Jordan is Texas’ most athletic, true wing player who can combine lateral quickness with the height/length to play anywhere in the diamond.

He can function as a side interceptor and should be able to stay with smaller ball handlers as he builds an understanding of early positioning in the system.

Barnett has the lateral quickness to play cover at mid court. In the half court, the big question will be whether or not Barnett can effectively check opposing power forwards.

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2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

CONNOR LAMMERT | FORWARD #21 J 6-foot-9, 240-lb J Churchill HS (San Antonio, TX) J Recruited by Chris Ogden J Ranked as 3* recruit, nationally J Averaged 5.1 pts, 5.4 rbs, 1.3 asts, 0.5 blks per game on 40/30/64% shooting

W

hat to make of Connor Lammert?

He’s arguably the best/most natural passer on the entire team, let alone for just Texas’ big men.

Yet, he had the second lowest true shooting percentage on the team last year (40 percentage points lower than Javan Felix, if you can believe that).

He’s the lone, true power forward on the entire team and can rebound and screen at a high level. Yet, he had more three point attempts (60) than free throw attempts (44).

It wasn’t a bad year for Connor last year, yet much of the promise he’s shown over the years has been just that…promise, as opposed to true production.

STRENGTHS Lammert has been an underappreciated

WEAKNESSES Connor has a nice stroke as a shooter.

His hip and shoulder preparation is good.

His footwork is good.

All good things.

So, why did he shoot 29% from deep and under 40%, overall, last season? Regardless of the holistic

Connor, even at the beginning of a posses-

positivity that is the rest of his game, those

sion, is a regular part of our half court look

numbers aren’t good enough, and they loom as a negative cloud over his game.

In a classic tweener way, Connor has had his issues as a defender. He’s a fine defender, but he does have some physical limitations when asked to guard All-Conference combo forwards, power forwards or posts.

some of his shooting issues.

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME Connor’s ability to stretch the defense

Lammert is the most natural passer on the

(even just with his willingness to shoot) is

team, arguably. He sees the floor well, and

a key component of Shaka’s offense which

utilizes great fundamentals with his hips

looks to maximize spacing through open

and shoulders. He’s also very valuable in

shooting along the perimeter. When he’s

the screen game.

on, Connor should be more than capable

On defense, what Connor lacks in pure

of that

athleticism, he makes up for in length and

As a passer, Connor’s ability to create

energy. Plus, he’s able to play with better

offense through his court vision fits well in

pace and quickness than his body type

Shaka’s impetus in attacking the basket

might suggest..

early in the shot clock. Don’t be surprised if finding spacing at the top of the key for

34

is solid, and should be a strength if he can play with solid awareness .

On defense, considering the nature of the other big men in Texas’ lineup (Ridley, Ibeh and Cleare), it’s unlikely that Lammert will fill any other role than that of “mad man”the forward responsible for covering the

player, offensively, since he’s been at Texas. That’s generally been because of

Connor’s ability to finish in the open floor

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inbounds pass under the basket.

It’s a role that suits Lammert as he has the quickness to be a nuisance and the height/ length/weight to disrupt the initial pass and subsequent traps.

In the half court, Lammert’s role will stay, essentially, the same as it has as the “big” forward defender. Should Texas turn to a halfcourt trap, it’s likely that Lammert would, again, play a significant role given his length/size and Texas’ need for a quality help defender in the post.

2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

PRINCE IBEH | FORWARD #44 J 6-foot-10, 260-lb J Naaman Forest HS (Garland, TX) J Recruited by Chris Ogden J Ranked as #44 prospect, nationally J Averaged 2.1 pts, 2.5 rbs, 0.2 asts and 1.4 blks per game on 60/38% shooting

I

n many ways, Ibeh was the odd man out

game on the defen-

last season. The introduction/emergence

sive end of the floor.

of Myles Turner further limited Ibeh’s minutes as a junior (10.6 down from 13.6 as a sophomore) and, in other ways, limited how effective Prince could be for this Texas team.

By little (if any) fault of his own, there wasn’t a whole lot that Prince could bring to the team last year that Turner and Ridley couldn’t.

I’ll go ahead and say it…that Prince was allowed (for two seasons in a row) to waste a season instead of redshirting all for 10.6 minutes per game was an injustice to him.

STRENGTHS Prince’s role on offense can be broken down into three items…

A floor runner: Prince’s long stride and explosiveness can make him a terror on the open floor as a finisher/offensive rebounder A weakside rebounder/dump off player: Prince brings terrific value as a second chance creator with his rebounding as well as a safety valve/outlet for penetration as an alley-oop finisher.

A screener: Prince has the ability to pres-

ent himself with solid size and fundamentals in an effort for our ball handlers to turn the corner.

There were a few games (the OT win against Baylor coming immediately to mind) where Prince literally took over a

The guy’s special as a defensive player, even with some other shortcomings.

WEAKNESSES His offensive repertoire is limited to put backs, dunks and alley oops.

Prince won’t generate points on post feeds/entries. He will struggle with his free throws. He won’t attempt shots from five feet or out (hell, maybe two feet or out).

Sometimes a players’ biggest strengths can function, simultaneously, as his weakness -- Ibeh believes he can/should be able to block any shot he wants.

However, it also can make him predictable for an offensive player as Prince is susceptible to pump fakes near the basket.

Those issues can lead to some open shots or, worse, foul trouble.

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME With the clear understanding that Prince’s limitations on offense make him a player who isn’t, really, a great fit for any offense, the things that Prince brings to the table make Shaka’s system ideal for Ibeh.

He can move in transition. He’s got great second (even third) jumping ability. He’s a

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monster around the basket as a supplement to penetration. He even has the defensive ability to create offense and fast break opportunities with his help defense.

Shaka wants to run pressure. Shaka wants to create a frenetic pace where the offense has to make quick decisions and get out of their comfort zone. Shaka wants to put pressure on teams with length and quickness early.

And, best yet, Shaka has the horses to do it.

Lammert fits as the mad man (so does Barnett) and all of Holland, Yancy, Roach, Davis, Taylor and Mack bring tangibles that should make the press work.

But, then, when you add Ibeh to the back?

Shaka’s never had a defensive sweeper like this.

What a luxury for a pressure system.

Prince’s ability to not only be a help defender, but to even be able to do it as a mover, laterally, is custom made for the diamond defense.

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2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

CAMERON RIDLEY | CENTER #55 J 6-foot-9, 285-lb J Fort Bend Bush HS (Richmond, TX) J Recruited by Rob Lanier J Ranked as #21 prospect, nationally J Averaged 8.0 pts, 5.3 rbs, 0.4 asts, 1.8 blks, 0.3 stls per game on 55/61% shooting

A

fter a breakout season his sopho-

end with Ridley in

more year, Cameron Ridley came

instead of Prince,

back to earth last year.

Everything was down. Minutes. Points.

Rebounds. Blocks. Free throw percentage. And, while minutes being down would

which is saying a lot for Ridley’s instincts.

WEAKNESSES

explain the other drops, the percentages

Cam is multi-faceted

don’t add up (16% drop in minutes as op-

except where he’s

posed to 30% drop in points and 37% drop

not, if that’s not too

in rebounds, i.e.).

back-handed of a

This begs the same question for Cameron

compliment.

as it does for others in the program…was

In three years at

this a resorting back to the mean after a

Texas he has attempted zero shots beyond

Regardless of size/girth, Ridley fills the

great 2013-14 season, or just a program-

six feet. Literally. In fact, the deepest

secondary lane with great awareness and

matic blip on the radar of progress?

shot I was able to find charted was his

spacing. He hustles and has the length/ex-

game winner against Arizona State in the

plosiveness to be a finisher in tempo.

STRENGTHS Cameron is comfortable creating offense over either shoulder when he gets physi-

first round of the NCAA Tournament his sophomore year (nice time to bring out that range, huh?).

cally established in the post. He also has

It’s not every game, but when Ridley racks

good fundamentals on establishing his feet

up fouls in games, they often come in

and hips in the post.

bunches. Ten times last year, Ridley had

He eats (sorry) space as an offensive

four or more fouls.

As a screener, Ridley brings value because of his size and patience.

Really the only spot for Ridley, in the diamond, is as a sweeper. This is good because it should limit the amount of times he’s forced to be a quick reaction/recovery defender, but if the tempo moves a lot,

rebounder and looks to attack the basket

How will that propensity fit in Shaka’s pres-

much will be asked of him, laterally and as

well for a player of his size and touch

sure system?

a sprinter in space.

around the basket.

Also, while his effort level is high, he

No matter how good of shape he’s in,

Ridley is valuable as a defender. He has

doesn’t have the lateral quickness (even

that’s a lot to ask of a player his size.

top-level timing as a rim protector/shot

with his length) to stay with wings/guards

Does that mean four minute increments?

blocker.

in spots off of breakdowns or switches.

Six minutes? Eight minutes?

He plays with good length and extension as a hedger and rebounds well, spatially,

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME

Ridley should be more than capable as a rim protector in space and in the half

and in traffic. He gives tremendous effort

Don’t be fooled, if the staff can manage

court, something that should greatly

even when out of position or asked to

his minutes correctly, Cameron stands to

benefit Shaka’s system and allow his short

guard on switches

benefit from this offensive shift as much as

court-mates to attack with their speed and

Shaka won’t lose much on the defensive

anybody.

quickness.

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2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

SHAQUILLE CLEARE | CENTER #32 J 6-foot-8, 280-lb J The Village School (Houston, TX) J Transfer from Maryland J Ranked as #30 prospect, nationally J Averaged 3.0 pts, 2.5 rbs, 0.3 stls and 0.4 blks per game on 57/59% shooting

C

leare’s arrival at Texas was with con-

kind of finisher Ridley

siderably less fanfare than when he

or Ibeh are and, while

initially went to College Park, MD to play

he has above average

for Coach Turgeon and the Terrapins.

hands, he struggled

That year, he was a top 30 player in his senior class and considered an impact player.

Now, in Austin, Shaq’s impact is as just as likely to be felt as a team/role player whose attitude and work ethic will further deepen the positive atmosphere surrounding the team.

with finding comfort in the paint as a consistent offensive threat.

In his defense, percentage wise, Shaq’s numbers were solid as a scorer and free throw shooter.

Photo courtesy of UT Athletics

Effort will never be STRENGTHS Skills wise, he’s not dissimilar to Ridley in that he’s comfortable with his back to the

a problem. Lateral quickness and explosiveness, likely, will be.

basket, but also wants to attack with length

How does he function, in space, as a

and explosiveness after the close range

sweeper when asked to defend smaller

face up.

players on the ball? Even if it’s just as a

Shaq won’t hesitate to look for his jumper in the 7-10 foot range when he’s got space and it’s a shot he can knock down. For his part, he showed competence as a ball mover, though he doesn’t have the court vision of Ridley A physical presence, Cleare will be looked

fouler, he can be of use, but much will be asked of him in this defense and some physical limitations might come back to haunt him.

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME Tough to say.

to for help in creating a toughness and raw

Will he be able to move cleanly enough on

presence on defense for Texas. Like Cam,

the secondary break to be a threat down

Shaq’s bodily figure undersells his ability

the pipe? If the answer is yes, he’ll find

as a mover. Especially in the half court,

minutes. If not…

he’s nimble and comfortable in traffic or space.

WEAKNESSES

Will he be able to generate offense as a face up player from the 6-10 foot range?

If the answer is yes, he’ll find minutes. If not…

He’s not a player without skills on offense, but the reality is that he’s not the offensive player Ridley is (or, at least, he’s not proven it) and he’s not the defensive player that Ibeh is.

So, unless Shaq can be effective as a power forward, it’s not clear where he fits unless neither Cam nor Prince are on the floor.

The fit on the defensive side of the ball is more natural. Cleare has the motor and size/length to be a capable sweeper in Shaka’s defensive scheme. What he lacks in lateral quickness, he can make up for in effort and…well…lack of playing time, most likely.

At this point, it should generally be expected that Cleare’s minutes will come as a guy who has five fouls to give.

If he ends up being more than that, either on offense or defense, awesome. But I doubt it.

Shaq lacks the explosiveness to be the

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37

2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

TEVIN MACK | FORWARD #0 J 6-foot-6, 210-lb J Dreyer HS (Columbia, SC) J Recruited by Mike Morrell J Ranked as #48 prospect, nationally

M

ack was an Under Armour All Ameri-

He has a

can last season as a high school

tendency to get

senior.

Tevin’s a unique recruit these days in that he’s equally comfortable shooting from deep, finding room and spacing off of screens into hard bounce jumpers or when taking the action into the paint. He can score in a variety of ways because of his size/length/skill combination.

STRENGTHS Mack’s biggest strength come as a shooter/scorer. While I was unable to find his exact stats, I know that his scoring

loose with his dribble out away from his hips. As a big wing, how comfortable will he be with his dribble against smaller, quicker guards who are

Photo courtesy of UT Athletics

looking to attack a ball handler?

Passing is solid, but will need to be quicker, less telegraphed than it’s been.

numbers were around the 30 point per

Same question as it is for all bigger wings

game mark for his senior year.

in college…how does he defend, shorter,

As time goes on, Mack has the court vision and awareness to be a creator/facilitator from the small forward position, but Texas

quicker players on the ball? The amount of players he covers who can match his length and size will be, relatively, few.

score. He can dribble. He’s comfortable breaking down a player, one-on-one. He can pass well enough to keep a defense honest.

The questions will come with his ability to be an attacking player, in traffic. That should be helped by the tempo Shaka wants to put up shots with, but it will bear attention as the season progresses. If

will be happy with his ability to generate

But he’s not an explosive athlete at this

Mack can attack the paint off the bounce,

offense out of multiple looks as a scorer.

point. He’s smart and has plus athleti-

he’ll be difficult to keep off the court.

Has the height and length, when coupled with his awareness, to be a capable perimeter defender and the weight to be passable down low in spots.

Has good body control and fundamentals with his hips and feet to make up for some of his lateral quickness issues.

WEAKNESSES Physically, he’s more solid than explosive.

He’s reliant on perimeter shooting and touch around the basket more so than an ability to attack the rim, especially in traffic.

38

cism, but how well will he stay in front of penetration on rotations and recoveries?

His spatial awareness is going to have to be very good.

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME Shaka wants shooters on the floor and Mack comes to Texas as one of the better ones in the country out of the high school ranks. For that reason alone, he’s a shot in the arm for a team that has desperately needed perimeter scoring.

Schematically, Tevin is a good fit because of how complete he is, offensively. He can

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On defense, Tevin will slot in the side interceptor role nicely. His feel for ball movement has been praised by the staff already, and his size and length are a plus.

It’s worth considering how he could fit as the mad man, but I think it’s more likely that Smart would opt to not press when Lammert’s off the floor than he would put Mack (or Barnett) in that role, for sure early in the season, at least.

In the half court, Mack’s length and anticipation skills should prove suitable. The question being whether or not he can stay

2015 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

KERWIN ROACH, JR | GUARD J 6-foot-4, 170-lb J North Shore HS (Houston, TX) J Recruited by Rob Lamier J Ranked as #47 prospect, nationally J Averaged 20.7 pts, 3.9 rbs, 3.0 stls per game on 56/37/74% shooting

R

#12

oach was a first team all-state selec-

such, his ceiling will

tion last year as a senior.

be dependent upon

STRENGTHS

his floor.

He needs to figure

It would be easy to assume Roach’s of-

out how to value

fensive strengths were simply due to his

the basketball while

immense athleticism and, from speaking

simultaneously being

with people around the AAU circuit, that’s

a threat as a creator.

one of the reasons people were so late to

Not the simplest of

get in on Kerwin.

mental tasks.

But that’s selling him way short.

He’ll have to under-

· Roach is skilled with the ball both in traffic

stand the mental

and, especially, in the open floor · Does a good job of keeping his head up with the dribble · Good body control on jump stops and in traffic · Solid perimeter shooter off the bounce and progressing in catch and shoot · Progressing passer as a facilitator, but good at making the right pass when it’s there · Really, really, really fast and jumpy When he gets comfortable with defensive awareness and positioning, his athleticism and length suggest he could be a top-tier perimeter defender at the college level.

He has everything you could ask for, physically, to play defense.

WEAKNESSES Kerwin’s issues will be about establishing consistency as a playmaker. He fancies himself as a point guard (Coach Smart agrees with him, for what that’s worth). As

Photo courtesy of UT Athletics

makeup of how to be a consistent defender at this level.

He’ll also need to be careful not to over contest because his athleticism can get him in trouble if he’s not under control on close outs or recoveries.

HOW HE FITS SHAKA’S SCHEME If Roach is not quite ready to shoulder lead guard responsibilities, we’ll see much of him as a weakside player with an impetus on finding him space in the open floor, attacking angles on skips/reversals and opportunities for him to be aggressive when he sees openings.

Similarly, he might get a handful of reps at point, but will often be paired with either Taylor or Holland so that lead guard duties can be shared.

If Kerwin can function as a legitimate, playmaking point guard for 10-15 minutes per game, Texas is going to be difficult to

stop on offense.

This would allow Taylor to play off the ball for two or three minute stretches, as well as giving him more rest in general.

It would also create much easier opportunities for a consistent rotation with Davis, Holland, Yancy, Mack and Barnett sharing the minutes at the two and three with Roach getting time at the point.

Defensively he’ll be a side interceptor for now, but high interceptor’s not out of the equation given the right scenario.

In the half court, his explosiveness and speed make him a threat in passing lanes from the tip and he should be good for one or two baskets per game from a defenseto-offense standpoint.

His athleticism/lentgh makes him a fit for pretty much any defense a coach could hope to run.

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Kraken_Texas_mechanical.indd 1

5/19/11 2:17:09 PM

TEXAS WINS IN

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N A MONSOON

by Justin Wells

AUSTIN - Mother Nature remains undefeated, but that didn’t stop Texas as they ran by, over, and through Kansas State for a 23-9 win on a wet day at DKR. Here are five takeaways from the game. insidetexas.com

43

- TEXAS vs KANSAS STATE -

1

Texas with heavy doses of the run mixed with rain. The Longhorns decided to run the dang ball. They started the game with 15- and 13-play drives with the strategy of forcing the football down Kansas State’s throat. The weather made this call an easy one. Eric told us the major focus on offense would be the run and

was it ever.

didn’t take too much convincing.

Senior tailback Johnathan Gray slightly resembled his HS tape to the tune of 103 yards rushing, his best game of 2015. Daje Johnson’s first two touches were for 1st downs. Chris Warren, freshman, made an appearance in the 3rd quarter and quickly produced a 1st down, moving the chains.

I wonder if the UW

This team has com-

recruiting reporter

mitted to the smash-

needs quotes from

mouth style Strong

Chris’ mom after

craves so dearly. It’s

this performance.

become their identity.

It was almost as if

Texas quarterback

Strong was jamming

Jerrod Heard told

Phil Collins before

Strong early in the

the game. Gray (103

game that he was

yards), Heard (61

having problems

yards), Foreman (43

gripping a ball that,

yards), and Swoopes

“felt like five pounds and was hard to throw.”

(three rushing TDs) led the attack that produced 188 yards in the first half.

Running the dang ball was the mission. And this mission was accom-

Strong didn’t need to hear much more. “We decided to go with the 18-wheeler (Tyrone Swoopes) down the stretch,” said Strong. I imagine it

2

The 18-Wheeler delivers 6s. It’s such a great story for Texas backup QB Tyrone Swoopes to find his niche in the UT program. He uses every bit of his 6-foot-5 frame to punish would-be tacklers. His 600+ pound squats are stuff of legend.

Afraid of contact? He’s put that narrative to bed. His hat trick led the Texas offensive attack, to go with 50 yards rushing. He’s a load in the open field.

plished.

3

Texas was up 16-0 with the ball and all the momentum after a short kickoff was pounced on by Kevin Vaccaro… then a poor series of play-calls and no gain on 4th down yielded no points, and gave Snyder’s Wildcats life. KSU

would score the next nine points and threaten being within one score for the majority of the 4th quarter. It’s something that all young teams must

Seriously. When he builds up steam going downhill, watch out. Not bad for the junior from tiny Whitewright, Texas.

face: learning how to put teams away. It’s what separates the good from the great. Hammering that nail in the coffin. UT had that chance and missed it. Texas is slowly building this killer mentality. They’ve got the personalities in the locker room to pull it off. It’s all about growing up.

They took another step in that direction today.

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- TEXAS vs KANSAS STATE -

4

The Texas offensive line, for better or worse, is growing up.

The offensive interior for the Horns continues to show progress in 2015. They have impressed with firing off the ball, knowing the calls, especially on gap blocking. The sweep, sprint draw,

and counter helped these Texas ball-carriers because the o-line obviously came to work. Another big run was nullified by a bogus holding call on Connor Williams. It was the key component to UT’s 221 total yards in the 1st half.

For as good as the line played in the 1st half, you could argue they struggled in the 2nd half. The run-game seemed to stay consistent, but the pass protection has lapses. Kent Perkins coming off a knee ailment looked sluggish as the game wore on. To their credit, UT completed five passes beyond the line of scrimmage today, five others were sweeps to Daje. Heard finished 10-of-15 for 99 yards. Going through the air just wasn’t in the plans on this sloppy Saturday.

But when they needed them most, the Texas hogmollies showed up. Powered by an 18-wheeler from Whitewright, they were the gas to the finely-tuned running machine. The Horns finished with 373 total yards, but most importantly converted on 7-of-15 3rd downs. Texas needed to play nasty to win today. It seems like a recipe that fits the ingredients Strong and his staff are bringing to Austin. It starts up front, and for most the day, Texas won the battle in the trenches.

5

The Texas defense continues to show improvement. Aside from the last drive of the 1st half, Texas played great defense and were equally solid on 3rd downs, a thorn in the side

all season. Davante Davis replaced Bonney in the 3rd and instantly made an impact. Two of the brightest spots were the Skyline HS (Dallas) duo of Peter Jinkens and Anthony Wheeler. One absolutely loves cereal and the other’s nickname is ‘prison’. But both made critical plays down the stretch to anchor the Texas defense. Hassan Ridgeway has a gear not many can handle. He split a double team, while getting his facemask held, and still got pressure on Huebner and helped force an errant throw. He’s played at an AllAmerican, ‘we’ll see you at the NFL Draft next April’ level

Shiro Davis

since Oklahoma State.

However, they couldn’t figure out Charles Jones. His 122 yards on 18 carries were frustrating. At one point, his spin move in the 4th quarter looked like something off of PlayStation. But on the final two KSU drives, they made a statement. The brought heat from alternating sides, with huge pressures from Ridgeway, Derick Roberson, and Bryce Cottrell.

Dylan Haines’ interception late sealed it for UT, a much-needed boost after his coverage difficulties earlier in the contest. John Bonney had a big 3rd down sack, and Jason Hall brought hat for most of the day. Getting small contributions from each player is essential in this defense’s growth. And so is the mental side of it.

Strong reminded the team after the OU win this week that they are still 2-4, to keep their edge, not let up, and keep working and fighting. This was an example of the team responding to call. Now at 3-4, UT travels to ISU next weekend for a Halloween date with Iowa State. It’s never easy going to Ames. If this team continues its trend of smash-mouth football mixed with physical, timely defense, a bowl game is looking more and more likely in 2015.

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- TEXAS vs KANSAS STATE -

WHAT THEY SAID...

JOHNATHAN GRAY “That’s what we want to do. We want to

PETER JINKENS

go out and smash mouth. When we get the run game going, we don’t have to show everything. We’ve got good backs, good quarterbacks and a great offensive line and some good wide receivers, so we’ve got the job to do anything we want to do with this offense. Guys just have to stay focus and stay mentally sound and keep loving the game of football. The sky is limit for us, and we’re going to go out and win games.”

JERROD HEARD

“I feel like if we are the most physical and “I didn’t know what kind of game it was going to be. I thought it wasn’t going to be bad because it wasn’t really raining that hard. But when we came out there it just started pouring. It ended up good, though.

We utilized the running game really well and we did get some passes off. But there was a moment in the

tough team on the field, then it is going to be pretty hard to beat us.”

“This is exactly what we wanted to be. At the beginning of the season, things weren’t clicking like they were supposed to, but as the season has gone on, we are where want to be now.”

second quarter where the ball really did feel like five pounds.”

23 - 9 20 274 99 7-15 0 30:40 46

FIRST DOWNS RUSHING YARDS PASSING YARDS THIRD DOWNS TURNOVERS TIME OF POSSESSION

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15 135 107 4-14 1 29:20

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