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2 years ago
Are you watching closely?
I’m finally starting to get settled into my new city and my new job, so I’m back into the blogosphere. Over the last three weeks we’ve seen the rise of the Aggies and the dominance of the Jayhawks. We’ve seen the Big East (or to the casual Big 12 fan, “The other good conference”) become a bubblicious battle involving somewhere around 23 teams at last count. And we’ve seen the Big Ten continue to show their combined genius by orchestrating a beautifully elaborate series of upsets in an effort to get as many teams in as possible. (expect Minnesota to win out.) However the best story of college hoops of the last few weeks is one I haven’t mentioned yet, and it’s the focus of this week’s blog:
In “The Prestige” Christopher Nolan taught us the parts to a great magic trick. It starts with the pledge, showing the audience something normal, something everyday, something… familiar. Then comes the turn, in which the object becomes supernatural. It does something unfamiliar. The audience is unsure if they believe what they are seeing, and in some cases, we’re not really sure we want to…
We were all there for the pledge, and of course it was ordinary. The Texas Longhorns were dunking, defending, and destroying everything in their path. We’ve seen it before. Texas is one of the great programs in college basketball. The team was so deep that at times it looked like you could form another top ten team out of their bench. We were told that they were the best in the country, and we believed it.
Then came the turn. Texas fell at Kansas State. The once unbeatable juggernaut had been cut. But hey, this is basketball, everyone loses. A few days later the ‘Horns came out firing and led Uconn by 8 at the half, and all seemed right in the world again. But then it happened. Where once stood an unstoppable offensive giant we saw an awkward and confused half court turnover machine. Uconn blitzed Texas in the second half and went on to win by 14. Texas was able to rebound at home against Texas Tech, but they followed up that win with a loss that two weeks prior would have been completely inconceivable. A loss, at home, to Baylor. Texas was then fortunate enough to get one of the most inconsistent teams in the country in Oklahoma State, and was able to pull out a win. But again, they followed up that win with a loss against one of the conferences worst teams at Oklahoma. And so they went into Big Monday, a game that just a few short weeks ago was billed as maybe the biggest game in Big 12 history, no longer the nation’s best, no longer the conference’s best, and maybe not even the state’s best. And that’s what we’re not used to seeing. We’re not accustomed to seeing Texas struggle. And struggle is exactly what we saw. They looked disorganized. They looked apathetic. They looked… well… terrible.
But here’s where the magic really happens. In the film we learn that the third and final part of a magic trick is the most important. “The prestige” is where the magician makes sense of all. We’re brought back full circle to where we started, and left unsure of what we have just gone through. This is the challenge Rick Barnes is facing, and this is where one of the best stories of the closing weeks will take place.
Depth was once considered a strength of the Longhorns, but now appears a weakness. They don’t have a “go to” lineup. Half the team likes to run, but doing so leaves one of their biggest offensive weapons, Dexter Pittman, gasping for air and unable to play many minutes. Slowing down in the half court exposes their lack of a point guard. Rick Barnes is stuck between a point guard that can’t score in Dogus Balbay, and one that can’t pass in J’Covan Brown. The only consistent thing Texas has going for them is Damion James, who did his best to keep the Longhorns from getting completely blown out Monday night. Avery Bradley has seemingly hit a wall and Jordan Hamilton has forgotten how to do anything besides shoot threes. To bring the audience back in, Texas is going to need to change their approach. They need to play fewer players for more minutes, and they can’t rely as much on Damion James. I have a feeling that as bad as Texas looks right now, we’re going to hear from them again before the 3rd weekend in March rolls around. If there was a time to start the ascension back to the top, it’s tomorrow. The ‘Horns play Nebraska before heading on the road for huge challenges in Missouri and Texas Tech.
Texas has two paths. They can accept their fall into mediocrity and limp their way into the NCAA tournament and an early exit, or they can get back up and make a run to close the season. They can decide to take the problems they’ve faced and be better for it. Whichever way they decide to go, we’ll all be watching.
“Don’t Blow It” Watch - I’m looking at you Texas A&M. If the Aggies can win tomorrow in Lubbock it will set up a huge battle for Monday night in College Station when the #1 Jayhawks come to town.
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