College Hoops: Texas Longhorns Fall To Texas A&M Aggies

There are certain things I can take and some things I can’t.

For instance, when my kids don’t eat their dinner because it’s meatloaf, I get that. I understand. Meatloaf, for the most part, sucks out loud.

But when my kids ask me to order a pizza that costs $25 and then decide they’re not hungry, or decide they’d rather eat Sponge Bob Square Pants snack packs instead of this supreme pizza, I get a bit nonplussed by their decision. Candidly, it farking pisses me off.

I’m at that point with the 2010 Texas Longhorn Basketball team.

I’m pissed.

It’s not the fact that we’re losing basketball games that pisses me off, though, it’s how we’re losing them. Although reasonable people can disagree on the matter, I’m of the opinion that we’ve got supreme pizza type talent and we refuse to use it.

Take Syracuse as an example. They’re arguably the best team in America and they’re meatloaf from a talent standpoint in comparison to what the Horns are putting on the floor.

That’s right, the Orange don’t have one top 100 player on their roster while we have four. The Cuse backcourt is comprised of Brandon Triche and Andy Rautins, and I’m deeply sorry if you think these two guys are more talented or even as talented as Avery Bradley and J’Covan Brown.

It’s pizza vs. meatloaf and I’m sick of watching one outperform the other.

And, it’s not like I’m asking the Horns to knock off the best backcourt in America like Syracuse did tonight. I’m simply asking that the Horns play competitively against a solid Aggie squad missing its best player. Just be competitive.

Is that too much to ask?

Let’s talk players.

Damion James

Probably the worst game Damo has played all year with one single rebound and an anemic 12 points of offense. Maybe Bryan Davis and David Loubeau are that good, but I doubt it. Still, I give DJ a pass since he’s been carrying this feckless squad all year.

Dexter Pittman

I’ll get flayed for this, but I still think we do very little to help Dex’s cause in any given game. Watch Syracuse’s Arinze Onuaku and then tell me if you think he’s as talented as Dexter Pittman. It’s not like Arinze has this big bag of post moves. The Cuse center is a catch and dunk guy just like Dex and he shoots a similar percentage from the foul line.

The difference is Syracuse runs stuff to get Arinze easy seals and point blank looks. We telegraph help with our personnel. That typed, Dex played passively even though he had four rebounds in just 13 minutes.

Jordan Hamilton

He’s the only player on this squad that can get his own shot. That considered, with the Horns stuck on 11 points through 15 minutes of play, Jordan Hamilton was sitting the bench. To compound my anger, after one ill-advised shot early in the second half, Barnes pulls Hamilton in favor of Jai Lucas to send a message to the talented freshman. Keep in mind this is at a point in the game when Texas is sitting somewhere around the 30 point mark down by double digits to the Ags.

Really Rick?

We need to teach Hamilton a lesson with the garden gnome serving as your stick? If you’re scoring at home, Jai finished with one turnover in seven minutes. That’s it. Hamilton finished with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 24 minutes of play. But he took a bad shot. We should waterboard him.

Gary Johnson

Another “worst game of the season” declaration for Gary. The junior forward played selfish basketball and missed four of six shots for good measure. Still, at least he was out there competing.

J’Covan Brown

I hope the young man is alright, but he can’t be on the floor as the lead guard if we want to win games. He has no concept of spacing, timing, and decision making, which are crucial components for a guard running the show. Plus, he can’t stay in front of most dribblers and he’s constantly whining at referees to the detriment of our transition defense.

Justin Mason

I thought the senior played as good as can be expected, especially considering the mental gymnastics the coach puts his personnel groups through. Mason can’t shoot, but at least he brings energy on defense and leadership to the floor.

Avery Bradley

His worst game of the year as well. The kid had that deer in the headlights look handling the ball vs. the Aggie pressure. It’s sad really considering this kid was holding his own against John Wall a few short months ago. Pizza to meatloaf, imo.

Alexis Wangmene

The lone bright spot for the Horns, Alexis came in and gave Texas seven relatively productive minutes with three boards and two points. Problem is, Alexis has hands like Malcolm Williams.

Overall, this team, and its coaching staff need to take a good, long look in the mirror and figure out what this season means to them. I mean, what are we trying to accomplish? Are we trying to put kids in the league, win college basketball games, or both? Are we ordering pizza only to eat Little Debbie Snack Cakes?

I’m starting to think so. Fran would be proud.

This article was written by Trips Right of Barking Carnival

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