Did Dogus Balbay just take over the starting point guard job after last night's game against Pittsburgh? It certainly appeared to me that he did. Of course, whether he is awarded the job or not is up to Rick Barnes. But I have to say that when Balbay had control of the ball last night, I had the sense that the game was under control and well in hand. I do not get that sense with the other point guards at this point. Also, Balbay's stat line was not bad either. He played 28 minutes, scored 10 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Also, he looked great on defense. But more than that, he was the quarterback of this team. Here is the box score from the Texas-Pittsburgh game: Box Score With all the big name freshmen coming in, especially Avery Bradley and J'Covan Brown, it was starting to seem like Balbay's time on the court might be reduced substantially this year. But last night, he looked like the man in command. He was the sarge in charge. I would like to see the Horns run with Balbay at the point for the foreseeable future. When he is running the point, he gives this team a certain sense of cohesiveness, orchestration and calm that really seems to make them a lot better.
Balbay has been the most effective PG every game this year. Nevertheless, I think that Barnes likes him as a 6th man, and may keep bringing him off the bench. But I certainly wouldn't be surprised if he consistently got the most minutes.
Balbay looked like the most talented player on the court last night. Now if he could just learn to shoot.
I am guessing Barnes knows this, but really wants to use these pre-conference games to gauge the upside he sees in J'Covan Brown and, to a lesser degree since he saw plenty last year, Ward. With Ward's injury, Doge will be forced to play more minutes, which isn't a bad thing since he has the strong tempo and ability to break a defense down that we need.
Balbay was fantastic last night. Seemed to get a hand on every pass that came near the player he was guarding. The rebound stat is a little misleading - happen to grab a lot of balls tipped by our bigs - but he was still in postion and active enough to get them. I said it after the first game and am still saying it. Brown should be playing off-guard. When Lucas is cleared to play, he and Doge will be getting the lion's share of time at the point.
He was fantastic. Played with the confidence you want to see at QB. Exciting prospects for the future. Hook'em!!!
dogus will play a bunch in crunch time if he can hit free throws. if not, it will be j'covan. free throw shooting always seems to be a liability of the horns.
Dogus has some serious hops for a 6'1" player. Seeing him do this in person vs. Rice, really shows how athletic he is.
Dogus Balbay did not start the game against Rice on Sunday at point guard. However, he was brought in to replace J'Covan Brown 69 seconds into the game. That was one of the fastest substitutions I have ever seen. J'Covan is clearly a better scorer than Dogus, but at this point, Dogus is clearly the better point guard.
He is not suddenly going to learn to shoot. Especially over the course of this season. Doge brings a lot to the table, but if you can't at the very least hit free throws you are simply a liability.
I figured that J'Covan started to show respect for Varez Ward (#50), but that Balbay was slated to be the real starter.
dogus was great, but i agree with mars. he's got to at least be able to hit free throws. also, he is much less effective when his ability to drive to the basket is taken away. i have flashbacks to last season when teams would play 10 feet off of him daring him to shoot.
It appears that Dogus Balbay is now the starting point guard for the Texas Longhorns. He played well last night against USC. Here is the box score from last night's game: Box Score I just wish he could shoot a bit better. Perhaps from now and next year, he will improve some in this area.
