Handing out the Grades: Georgia Tech

With the end of each college football season, there comes the hiring and firings as schools evaluate their program and whether they meet their expectations. Hiring a new coach is a dicey process and making the right or wrong hire will determine the success of the program over the next 10 years. Let’s look at this winter’s changes and hand out the grades.

Georgia Tech (7-5)
- Chan Gailey was fired from Georgia Tech after six straight winning seasons, mostly for not winning enough. Georgia Tech had become a consistently mediocre bowl eligible team, and that wasn’t enough when it came to looking across at rival Georgia’s broadening success. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Georgia Tech or their fans as Chan Gailey has been a model of consistent mediocrity everywhere he has been a head coach. He is one of those guys that should go be a top NFL offensive coordinator and leave it at that.

The move opened the door for Navy’s Paul Johnson to make the next step in his so far successful career. He comes to Georgia Tech after six successful years at the Naval Academy and five successful years and two national championships at Georgia Southern. Everywhere Paul Johnson has gone, he has won without great talent. Unfortunately, he is now about to enter new territory and begin to play major college football, in a major conference, the ACC.

But the ACC is a conference where a move to the upper echelon is possible. There is no dominant team in the ACC. Virginia Tech, Boston College, Clemson are currently on top, but it wouldn’t take much from any of the second tier (Maryland, Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Virginia) to unseat them. It is a conference where perhaps only Virginia Tech can be considered a National contender. This is where Georgia Tech is hoping Paul Johnson can take them.

But recruiting at an academy is different than recruiting anywhere else. He will face stiffer competition to recruit the kind of players that he will need to be successful in the ACC. He will be playing a schedule that will have 8 quality opponents as oppose to one with 3 quality opponents. But most of all I question how his triple option spread attack will fare against quality competition. It is a gimmick offense that will cause teams problems, but if gimmick offenses were a way to win championships, you would see many more gimmick offenses. I question how successful his offense will be in recruiting players that want to play in the NFL and how it will fare against the quality defenses that Georgia Tech will face in the ACC.

Paul Johnson has gotten the most out of his talent everywhere he has gone. He rejuvenated a Navy program and had one of the most successful runs in recent academy history. He won championships at a lower level with Georgia Southern and has had statistical success everywhere he has gone. But I don’t know if you can win BCS Championships with a gimmick offense. He will also have a difficult time getting the top recruits running an offense that won’t prepare players for the NFL. It is a hire that could be hit or miss for a Georgia Tech program hoping to make it to the top of the ACC.

Grade: C+

Handing out the Grades: Duke

With the end of each college football season, there comes the hiring and firings as schools evaluate their program and whether they meet their expectations. Hiring a new coach is a dicey process and making the right or wrong hire will determine the success of the program over the next 10 years. Let’s look at this winter’s changes and hand out the grades.

Duke (1-11)
- The Blue Devils, the laughing stock of the ACC, since probably the Spurrier days, will once again try and turn things around as they fired head coach Ted Roof. Roof was a whopping 6-45 during his tenure, and the move pretty much was the first time I knew that Duke’s head coach was Ted Roof.

The Blue Devils will turn the reins of the program over to David Cutcliffe, who comes over from Tennessee after spending the last two years molding quarterback Erik Ainge, as the offensive coordinator. Cutcliffe has previous head coaching experience, as he was chosen to turn around the struggling Mississippi program. He actually turned the Mississippi program around, making a few bowl games, but was fired after the first signs of trouble. Duke shouldn’t have as short of a leash as a program that has been that bad for that long.

Will David Cutcliffe be able to turn around the Blue Devils? Could anyone turn around this program? If anything, Cutcliffe will find the ACC an easier conference to compete in and it should be slightly easier to recruit than in the deep south. That being said, Duke has a lot further to go to reach mediocrity than Mississippi ever did. But Cutcliffe is an offensive coach, and Duke hasn’t had an offense for years.

Grade: B

Handing out the Grades: Baylor

With the end of each college football season, there comes the hiring and firings as schools evaluate their program and whether they meet their expectations. Hiring a new coach is a dicey process and making the right or wrong hire will determine the success of the program over the next 10 years. Let’s look at this winter’s changes and hand out the grades.

Baylor (3-9)
- Guy Morriss is the perfect example of a school making the wrong hire and the program sinking further into depression. After some short, moderate success at Kentucky, the Bears brought in Morriss to resurrect their struggling program. 18 wins and 40 losses later, it is obvious that that is not the case. It leaves the Bears exactly where they started, in the bottom of the Big XII, needing to rebuild.

The Bears turned there attention to their most famous alum, Mike Singletary. Singletary, however, was smart enough to avoid a career land mine. Left without option #1, the Bears made a savvy hire in Houston head coach Art Briles. Briles boasts over a decade of coaching Texas High School football, and also the last five years turning around a Houston program that had come on some tough times. Briles is known for his high octane offense, as well as mentoring Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Kevin Kolb.

The task ahead of Briles is daunting, but Texas is a state full of talent, and Briles has over 20 years of experience in the state of Texas. He is a hire that will allow Baylor to beat out Rice, TCU, SMU, and Houston for recruits, something they hadn’t done in previous years. He should also be able to improve the Baylor offense that couldn’t seem to come together in Morriss’ spread attack. Briles may not be able to turn around this Baylor program, but he certainly is one of the best candidates that Baylor could come up with, with a job that is currently so undesirable.

Grade: B

Handing out the Grades: Arkansas

With the end of each college football season, there comes the hiring and firings as schools evaluate their program and whether they meet their expectations. Hiring a new coach is a dicey process and making the right or wrong hire will determine the success of the program over the next 10 years. Let’s look at this winter’s changes and hand out the grades.

Arkansas (8-4)
- Despite going 8-4 this season, following at 10-4 campaign in 2006, Arkansas felt it was time for Houston Nutt to move on after 10 seasons with the Razorbacks. The Arkansas faithful feel that they are the program where dreams come true, and obviously Houston Nutt wasn’t bring home the back, to back, to back AAU National Championships that Tom Emanski had promised them. So after a coaching search that turned up rejection from the likes of Butch Davis, Tommy Bowden, Tommy Tubberville, and Jim Grobe, the program that enjoys drama more than any other, settled on their own controversial candidate, Bobby Petrino.

Petrino is a great hire for the Razorbacks, who will be able to recruit in the competitive SEC, and will be able to bring some balance to the spread running attack that Arkansas used this season. Well, Petrino will be a great hire for the three years he will spend at Arkansas before moving on to greener pastures. The program should be more stable under Petrino’s guiding hand, and if the Razorbacks start the search for a replacement while Petrino is still their coach, it should work out perfectly.

Grade: B+

The Holiday Season

The Holiday season means some much needed time off from work or a break after a long semester. In the sports world, it means a slow down of epic proportion, as meaningless bowl games begin, the NBA has yet to start mattering, college basketball teams schedule as many cupcakes as possible before conference play starts, and you sit around waiting for Sunday's NFL docket of games.

On first glance the Longhorns appeared to have followed suit. The football team awaits for their titanic struggle, that I can't seem to get myself excited for, against Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl and the basketball team looked to be in cruise control after wins against North Texas, Rice, and Texas State, the most recent in the least impressive fashion. But that is where the #5 Longhorns holiday ends, as the rest of their holiday schedule is a treat for fans.

A rundown of the Longhorns holiday docket reveals 4 strong opponents out of 5 in the remaining games before conference play.

12/18 vs. Oral Roberts (6-3)
- Yes, a team of dentists is coming to town. However, these aren't your everyday dentists. A 23-win team in 2006 that made the NCAA tournament as a #14 seed that returned all five starters for 2007. And in today's Cinderella world, a #14 seed means you can play some ball. Their three losses this season come on the road against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (06 tournament team) by 5, #15 Texas A&M by 14, and Arkansas by 11. While it should be a game that the Horns should win, you have to look at the things that make this difficult. This is a good team, it's hard to get yourself excited for Oral Roberts, since I'm going with zero Longhorn players and a few fans that know that Oral Roberts is in Oklahoma (I had to look it up to make sure), and last, this Longhorns team might be looking ahead to a road tilt against #10 Michigan State a mere 4 days later.

Oral Roberts has a balanced attack led by junior SG Robert Jarvis, creator of the artificial heart, (and you thought they were just dentists) who is averaging 16.8 ppg. They also have some size inside with junior PF Marcus Lewis (6-8/245) averaging 11.2 ppg/4.2 rpg and senior C Shawn King (6-10/220) averaging 10.4 ppg/6.7 rpg. The Longhorns will have to play much better than they did against Texas State if they hope to prevail. You know, actually try. But this has all the makings of an upset.

12/22 at #10 Michigan State (9-1)
- This is not the team that lost to Grand Valley State in their exhibition. This is a team that plays some of the most physical basketball in the country boasting wins at Missouri by 3, at Bradley by 5, and at #22 BYU by 7. Their only loss comes on a neutral court against #1 UCLA by 5. This will be another hard road test for the Longhorns, and Michigan State may be a tougher place to play than UCLA. Michigan State's grinding, physical style of play will be a real test for a Longhorn team that isn't strong inside and isn't deep at all.

The Spartans boast arguably the best point guard in the country in Drew Neitzel. Since the Longhorns boast the other candidate in DJ Augustin, this will be a matchup to watch. Neitzel has become a true leader, floor general, and lights out shooter in his senior season, averaging 14.6 ppg and 4.7 apg. However, he might not be the most important player to his team. Sophomore swing man Raymar Morgan (6'7) averages 16.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg and is the most athletic player for Michigan State. He will be a defensive test and will be guarded by Damion James and Justin Mason. The other defensive test will be Goran Suton (8.8 ppg/8.7 rpg) who will pound Connor Atchley and the bench forwards inside all game long. Michigan State will go at the Longhorns and attack them inside and try to get them in foul trouble. This game will be a slugfest and should be a preview of how several teams will attack the Longhorns in conference play this season.

12/29 - vs. Wisconsin (8-2)
- The Longhorns continue their Big Ten Conference Challenge a week later at home against the Wisconsin Badgers, another team that will test the Longhorns physically. Led by 6'11 senior Brian Butch (13.3 ppg/7.9 rpg) and sophomore point guard Trevon Hughes out of Queens, NY (15.2 ppg/4.3 rpg/ 3.0 apg). The rest of their team is made of experienced talent in senior guard Michael Flowers (9.1 ppg/4.0 rpg) and junior forwards 6'7, 230 Marcus Landry (9.7 ppg/4.9 rpg) and 6'7 Joe Krabbenhoft (7.3 ppg/5.8 rpg). With Wisconsin teams, you know you're getting physical, disciplined teams that play skilled basketball. They will play slow and make you grind it out.

They have impressive wins against Georgia (by 19) and Colorado (by 26) with a tough loss against #15 Marquette (by 5). They also fell apart at #7 Duke by 24 earlier this season. But Wisconsin is an experienced team that is going to test our depth and try to dominate on the glass. They will struggle with Texas' athleticism, but they will try and dictate the pace of the game to counter act that. Foul trouble could also be a factor in this game.

1/2 vs. TCU (5-3)
- TCU is the easiest opponent of this stretch, but hey, you've at least heard of them. With their losses coming against Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and SMU, they're not terrible, but certainly not of the same caliber of the previous three opponents. They pretty much have three players who are of threat in junior shooting guard Henry Salter (13.9 ppg/5.6 rpg), senior guard Brent Hackett (12.6 ppg), and junior forward Kevin Langford (12.4 ppg/5.6 rpg). TCU shouldn't be too tough a game, but if Texas comes out flat and looks past TCU, this could be a game all the way down to the end.

1/5 vs. #24 St. Mary's (7-1)
- A team that went 17-15 a year ago has turned it around with youth. The emergence of sophomore center, 6'11 Omar Samhan (13.1 ppg/7.6 rpg) and freshman sensation Australian National point guard Patrick Mills (15.5 ppg/4.4 apg) have led St. Mary's to a #24 ranking and a favorite in the West Coast Conference. They have wins against #11 Oregon (by 12) and Seton Hall (by 15) this season, and their only loss comes on the road against Southern Illinois (by 15).

The Gaels have been sparked this season by the play of Mills who is a scoring threat from three point range and a threat to get to the basket. Inside the Gaels are led by the play of Samhan and junior forward Diamon Simpson (12.6 ppg/8.9 rpg). The Gaels are a team that is physical inside and carries the gritty nature of their point guard. They will try to outwork the Longhorns and will be confident coming into this game. But the longer the are able to play with the Horns, the more they will believe they can pull off the upset, and the more dangerous they will become. It is another trap game for the Horns against a team that is extremely capable.

#5 Texas Longhorns (10-0)
- The Horns, only 10 games into the season have figured out their rotation, and offensively, look as good as any team in the country. Led by DJ Augustin (19.5 ppg/6.8 apg) and AJ Abrams (19.2 ppg) the Horns will score. Damion James (11.8 ppg/10.0 rpg) and Connor Atchley (12.6 ppg/5.7 rpg) are relied upon to give this team their inside presence offensively and defensively. Justin Mason (10.2 ppg/3.6 rpg/3.4 apg) has emerged as the defensive stopper and glue guy for this lineup. Depth is the one question mark for this team as the Horns only use three bench players, all in the front court. Freshman forwards Alexis Wangmene (14 mpg) and Clint Chapman (10 mpg), and sophomore Dexter Pittman (7 mpg) are the only ones that are seeing any time off the bench, and it is limited. They have proved capable while in the game.

It will be interesting to see if highly touted freshman forward Gary Johnson (13 pts, 6 reb, 2 blks in 19 min in exhibition game) will make any kind of impact on the rotation when he returns, which is rumored to be soon, and could be during the 5 game holiday stretch. I think the impact he could have on the Longhorns would be huge for the rest of the season, giving the Longhorns a dynamic offensive post threat. But it took Mike Williams a long time to recover from missing the non-conference season his freshman year, and it hampered his development throughout his Longhorn career. Hopefully, Johnson will not run into the same problems if, and when he returns.

This five game stretch will test the Longhorns depth and interior and will determine if the Longhorns have an Achilles heel that teams will be trying to exploit the rest of the season. I don't think the Longhorns will come out of this test 5-0, as Michigan State appears to be the most obvious pitfall, but 2 or 3 losses in the next five is not out of the question, but going 4-1, I would deem a success.

Royal Getting Respect in Milwaukee

It's always great to see a former Longhorn succeeding in life after the 40 Acres. But it's especially nice to see guys that have worked as hard as Royal Ivey to have that work finally pay off in the NBA. After very sparing playing time with the Atlanta Hawks, Ivey has seen some meaningful minutes with his new team and is contributing on a nightly basis. Congrats to Royal, though I am sure his most proud accomplishment is being the inspiration behind my blog handle (Royal With Cheese).

Royal Ivey

Transition Not Easy for Durant

Here's a nice article on former Longhorn, Kevin Durant, and his NBA rookie year experiences. It's nice to see that KD still has a lot of contact with the program in Austin, and that he loves the University of Texas.

Durant in Transition

Bobby Petrino... Pig Sooey!!!!!!

Well, that has to have been one of the fastest NFL coaching careers of all time. Bobby Petrino officially made it 13 games into his professional coaching career before deciding to head back to the college ranks. Not that I can blame him. Is this really what he signed up for? The Falcons are 3-10, their star QB is in jail for 2 years for dog fighting, he was embarrassed on Monday Night Football by the New Orleans Saints, etc...

So good bye Atlanta Falcons, hello Arkansas Razorbacks! I mean, the situation in Atlanta was bad, but you just voluntarily agreed to spend all you time in Arkansas with a bunch of hog lovers. Did you not see how fast it took for Houston Nutt to get the hell out of Fayetville? I think it was literally 47 minutes after the Razorbacks last game.

Here is a video representation of Bobby's life for quite a while.... [shudder]

Former Longhorn Terrence Rencher Graduates

For those you that have followed Texas basketball for a while know the name Terrence Rencher. He was a star guard for the "Runnin' Horns" from 1992-1995, averaging almost 19 points a game for his career. Drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1995, Rencher spent a few years in the NBA before packing it up for European Basketball. That is where Rencher has spent the last 10 years of his life before deciding to move back to the US. Take a look at this great article about Rencher's journey back to the US, UT and getting his degree. Congrats Terrence!

Rencher's Journey

TJ Ford Injued, But Feeling Better

Watching the replay of TJ Ford's injury last night literally made my stomach turn. Not only because of the violent nature of the Al Horford foul, but because of TJ's history with neck injuries. Ford was taken off on a stretcher and was visibly hurting from the flagrant foul. Was it a dirty play? It sure looks to me like it is, but judge for yourself:



But good news from today, TJ has been released from the hospital and has actually been cleared to play. Amazing considering how bad the injury looked. TJ literally put Texas basketball on the map with his commitment to the Longhorns. He also became the first Longhorn basketball player to win the National Player of the Year Award.

Updates on TJ's condition:
ESPN
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Volleyball: The California Sport

The Lady Longhorns road towards a National Title came to an end this weekend in a way familiar to many NCAA teams, at the hands of a California school. The Lady Longhorns fell 3-0 to #2 seed and #5 Nationally ranked USC in the Elite Eight of the tournament.

After defeating #10 Florida 3-1 on Friday, Texas ran into the buzz saw that is California Volleyball. The Lady Trojans will be joining Stanford and California in the Final Four. Stanford beat UCLA to get there. Sensing a theme? Me too. California defeated #2 Nebraska 3-0. So #1 Penn State will be the rest of the country's lone hope to derail the California volleyball train. We will all be rooting for you Lions.

This season was a breakthrough for the Longhorns. After losing early in the season to Penn State twice and Nebraska, the Longhorns didnt lose again for 23 straight matches, winning a share of a Big XII Title in the process.

While the Longhorns lose senior middle blocker Brandy Magee and setter Michelle Moriarty, they return the stars of their team in Julianne Faucette (FR), Ashley Engle (SO), Destinee Hooker (SO), and Lauren Paolini (JR). Throw in what will surely be another top recruiting class, and the Longhorns will be in the mix again in 2008.

Texas Soccer Celebrates its Sweet 16... Again.

A terrific season filled with important accomplishments ended predictably for Texas Women's Soccer on November 23rd. With a 16-4-5 record and an impressive 9-0-2 home record, Longhorn fans should be happy to know that officially, this year was a success. Not seen as a soccer powerhouse in the pre-Petrucelli era, Texas can now claim national semi-elite, if not elite, status. By advancing to the third round of the NCAA tournament in 3 of the past 4 years and garnering two consecutive Big XII crowns, Texas soccer is in a position to competitively recruit nationally recognized players (and hopefully turn that success into W's on the field).

Texas Soccer is on the right track, it's just not there yet. For some reason, the Longhorns suffer from Sweet 16 anxiety much like parents do when buying their daughters that first car. We tense up and play awful soccer. The teams are going to be better at that level, the competition fiercer, but we seem to always come out flat in the Sweet 16 (pun intended). Very flat. Take nothing away from Florida St. who out shot the Longhorns 29-5 in the game on the way to an easy 4-0 win in Tallahassee. In the words of Texas star defender Kasey Moore, "they were amazing." We, on the other hand, were not.

I guess the curse of being from the University of Texas is that we all expect more. We expect perfection from our student athletes and are disappointed when those expectations are not met. In all honesty, Chris Petrucelli has built an outstanding program that is able to compete with the likes of UCLA (W 2-1), LSU (T 2-2 2OT), and Texas A&M (2 huge late-season and tournament wins in back-to-back weeks, including UT Soccer's first win against them at Aggie Soccer Complex in College Station). It is encouraging to hear Coach Petrucelli say that "the goal of the program is to win the whole thing," and Texas fans have every reason to be optimistic.

What to look for in the off season:

• A top tier recruiting class (potentially top 5)
• Several players playing with the Junior National Team (Kasey Moore, Stephanie Logterman and potentially others)
• A light Spring season that will give the young Longhorns a chance to prove their worth
  

Longhorns Top Mean Green

Texas used a vicious full court press to pull away from North Texas early in the first half, pushing their record to 8-0. The pressure kept the Mean Green off balance and the Longhorns jumped out to a 17-3 lead and never looked back. North Texas pulled within 10 points in the 2nd half, but never really threatened to make it a game.

BOX SCORE

DJ Augustin scored a career high 29 points, while dishing out 10 assists. AJ Abrams got back on track as he hit three 3s and notched 23 points. Damion James put up another double-double as he dropped 12 points and pulled down 10 boards. Texas looked to be in Final Four form as their full court press baffled the Mean Green and forced them into 8 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game. While N. Texas freshman, Josh White, tried to steal the show by scoring 28 points, the Green were just over matched by a Texas team clicking on all cylinders.

Up next for the Horns are the Rice Owls, this Saturday, in Houston.

The view from inside Pauley...

Where do I begin.... Remember that time when we beat #1 (or some people say #2) UCLA at Pauley Pavilion? Well I sure do. Probably unlike most of you, I was there. In person. I may have been sitting in the top corner as far from the court as I could be... but I was there nonetheless. By the way, the court at Pauley? Off-center. It's closer to east end of the stadium than the west. Me? Sitting in the west... However, I could still see the game. What a game it was.

Walking around Westwood before the game with our orange on was quite fun, as it is most times when you're wandering around enemy territory. We got many "Tough day to be a Texas fan!" shouts yelled our way and, of course, a few times we were told that we suck. I didn't do much in way of response as they were probably just trying to redeem themselves after their loss to USC the day before.

First observation when getting to the game - the student section gets to sit along the side of the court! Another school, another student section that gets good treatment - but, of course, they were deserving (unlike the Ozone or Stampede or whatever the hell it's called these days at UT). The three sections on the floor and the 3 in the rafters were filled by the time we got there, around 30 min before tip off, and they started making their presence known as soon as their players hit the court. Everytime the jumbotron showed a UCLA player on screen, the students would chant their name until the player recognized the students. First up was Kevin Love and I swear he must be the most egotistical freshman of all time because he let them chant his name for about 5 minutes before giving them their due. You can only imagine how annoying this became over the rest of warmups....

The beginning of the game was intense. The crowd was in it, and pretty loud, although not as loud as I've heard at places like Kansas & Oklahoma St. When Texas started making small runs, the crowd stayed in it and tried to keep the Bruins in it... but after we scored about 8 in a row, the crowd's energy completely died. For the next 10 minutes, all you could hear were the Texas fans spread throughout the arena. It was great.... But of course, as UCLA stormed back, so did the crowd and they stayed pretty energized for the rest of the game.

Honestly the last play of the game is a blur to me. I remember we were tied and had the ball with a chance to win. I remember DJ driving, just throwing the ball at the rim, and I don't know where the hell he came from, but Damion James somehow finished it with a dunk. Then the screaming ensued. I went nuts. Absolutely nuts. Then, for the split second when UCLA's last shot was in the air, I stopped screaming, only to start again the moment I knew it missed. Pretty much by the time I was done screaming Pauley had pretty much cleared out, minus the other Texas fans who had been busy screaming as well.

Walking out of Pauley, having just beaten the #1 ranked team in country, it felt good. And really, the guy was right about it being a tough day to be a Texas fan, my throat was really hurting for the rest of the night. But, being a winner really helped me to get over that.

Dallas Griffin Wins (Academic) Heisman

Sweet! Some positive PR for Mack and the Longhorn football team. It's been a season, of disappointments on and off the field, but it is nice to see there is at least one bright spot. Dallas Griffin is taking home the Draddy Award, which is commonly referred to as the Academic Heisman.

Draddy Award

The Draddy awards its winner for academic success, football performance and community leadership. Those fans who have followed, Griffin over the years know that there is not a more deserved winner than him. Congrats, Dallas.

The Ewing Theory, Durant Style

If you are at all a reader of ESPN's Bill Simmons, then you're familiar with the famous " The Ewing Theory." Here, The Ewing Theory is explained quite simply:

1. A star athlete receives an inordinate amount of media attention and fan interest, and yet his teams never win anything substantial with him (other than maybe some early-round playoff series).
2. That same athlete leaves his team (either by injury, trade, graduation, free agency or retirement) -- and both the media and fans immediately write off the team for the following season.

And inexplicably, the team left without the superstar somehow accomplishes more the following season. Thus was the fate for Ewing's New York Knicks when they had their most successful season while their best player was injured. Some other famous examples of said theory include:

-Tennessee wins a national championship after Peyton Manning graduates
- Kentucky basketball wins a national championship after the loss of Rick Patino, Ron Mercer and Derek Anderson

But the more you think about it, the more the theory makes sense in the context of the 2008 Texas basketball team. As great as Kevin Durant was (evidenced by my man-crush) it seemed the team liked to watch him as much as the fans did. It wasn't even that Durant was a me first player; in fact he most certainly was not. But, with him on the floor, everyone seemed to feel like it was going to be up to Durant in the end.

The 2007 Texas team was as hyped as any team the Longhorns have ever fielded. With Durant, everyone expected that he would single handedly lead Texas to the Final Four. Well, its not that easy. With Durant in the mix, most players (other than DJ Augustin) never really found their place in the offense. Damion James was the most notable victim. Everyone knew James was an incredible talent, but for whatever reason, he just never seemed to be able to do the things he wanted to. With so much of the offense flowing through Durant, James never knew when it was his turn; and in turn this left him an indecisive and therefore ineffective offensive threat.

In 2007, Kevin Durant was the slasher, Durant was the shooter, Durant was the body inside. This left Augustin and Durant with defined roles and the other three on the court to adjust their game every night. For this year's team Augustin distributes, Justin Mason slashes to the basket, AJ Abrams is the spot up shooter and Damion James is the muscle inside. Never underestimate the value of a team where every player knows their role every night. If nothing else, these teams are consistent. And with the amount of talent on this Texas team, they are going to be consistently solid in every game this year.

So don't get me wrong, Kevin Durant took the Longhorn basketball program to new heights of exposure and prominence, even if he only took them to the 2nd round in the NCAA Tournament. The ironic difference is, that without Durant, this is a more complete Texas team, and therefore more built for a long run into March Madness. With wins over Tennessee and UCLA, Texas is already showing what type of team fans can expect this year. It's a team that relies on everyone to perform. Some nights, Abrams may hit 7 threes, others DJ may need to score 20 or have 15 assists, or James may be asked to hit his jumper all night. The nice thing for Rick Barnes is that, this year, they can.

Damion James Names Big 12 Player of the Week

Texas sophomore frontman, Damion James, was named as the Big 12 player of the week. In two games, James averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds. James had, arguably, his best game as a Longhorn as he scored 19 points and 10 boards in the Longhorn win against UCLA. James also slammed home the game winning basket, as Texas upset the #2 Bruins.

James seems to be benefiting from the departure of Kevin Durant, as he seems to have found his place in the offense and is more comfortable with the ball. Against UCLA, James consistently hit his mid-range jumpers, which will be a huge key to the success of the Texas offense. James came to Texas with huge expectations, and now starting to live up to the hype so far this year.

Andy Katz Shows Texas Some Love

ESPN's Andy Katz, named Texas his "Team of the Week." And how could you not? Texas is undefeated and just knocked off the #2 UCLA Bruins, in Los Angeles. Though it is a long season, Katz even speculated that Texas seems to have all the pieces in place for a Final Four run. It's time to forget about football, folks...

Andy Katz

Longhorns #4 in AP, # 5 in Coaches Poll

After the big upset of #2 UCLA, Texas has been rewarded with a jump in the rankings. Texas is now in the top 5 in both of the college basketball polls. Texas even received 2 first place votes in the AP poll. After their loss to Arizona, Texas A&M dropped to #16 and 14 in the respective polls. The Kansas Jayhawks are now #3 in both polls.

AP Top 10
1. North Carolina (45) 7-0 1,769
2. Memphis (22) 6-0 1,717
3. Kansas (2) 7-0 1,630
4. Texas (2) 7-0 1,549
5. Georgetown (1) 5-0 1,527
6. Duke 8-0 1,429
7. UCLA 7-1 1,373
8. Washington State 7-0 1,348
9. Michigan State 6-1 1,094
10. Tennessee 7-1 1,012

Coaches Top 10
1. North Carolina (23) 7-0 753
2. Memphis (6) 6-0 746
3. Kansas (1) 7-0 717
4. Georgetown (1) 5-0 670
5. Texas 7-0 620
6. Washington State 7-0 599
7. Duke 8-0 594
8. UCLA 7-1 587
9. Pittsburgh 7-0 477
10. Michigan State 6-1 437

Horns Headed to Holiday

The Texas Longhorns are headed back to the Holiday Bowl for the 4th time in Mack Brown's 10 year tenure. One things the Holiday Bowl has symbolized for the Horns is a season of unfulfilled expectations.

In 2003, Texas went into the season ranked in the top 5, but after losses to Arkansas and Oklahoma, Texas faced a far inferior Washington State team, and proceeded to lose in an uninspired 28-20 game. While Texas won an exciting game in 2001 against Washington, this is the season of the "What could have been?", as Texas was upset in the Big 12 Championship game by Colorado. Win would have secured a spot in the National Championship game. Again, in 2000, Texas came into the season ranked #3 and was promptly upset by Stanford and then suffered a blowout loss to OU. The nationally snubbed Oregon Ducks finished off the Horns in a hard fought Holiday Bowl.


This year, Texas faces a solid #11 Arizona State Sun Devil (10-2) squad, whose only losses are to USC and a Dennis Dixon led Oregon Duck team. As the game gets closer, Drinking the Forty will be doing some more in depth analysis.

TEXAS LONGHORNS BEAT BRUINS!!!!!!!!

#8 TEXAS 63
#2 UCLA 61

That's right folks, Texas has pulled off the upset of the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion! DJ and Damion James both poured in 19, and James had the game winning dunk, as Texas stays undefeated. More analysis later, but just sit back and enjoy the season, basketball fans!