I'm not big on hammering coaches, but the fact that Chapman and Alexi touched the floor last night is a pretty big boost the OP's case.
Thanks Indy, I agree. Penders gets dumped for the dumb stuff he did and he deserves it. But, he put Texas on the map and pulled us out of the Dark Ages. He deserves a lot of respect for that. Plus, at least his teams shot the ball well and didn't stand around like a bunch of clowns. From my view, Barnes does well when one extraordinary talent lifts the rest of the team. (Ford, Aldridge, Durant, Augustine)
Penders was very inclusive of the fans, whereas Barnes has never done so. After the games, win or lose, Penders would come to the club downstairs, usually with a couple of the players, to do a Q&A with the fans. Barnes dumped that immediately, saying he needed to "be with his team" after each game. Right. He can't spare fifteen minutes. Just get in the seats and scream, but don't ask questions.
I'm speechless. Even suggesting that Bob Weltlich was a better coach at Texas than Rick Barnes is .... this is something out of a Hollywood sci-fi movie or something. Barnes started out with a team so bereft of scholarship talent that he advertised in the Daily Texan for walk ons to come out and give it a go. His team won the Big XII that first year. Sure, right now it's a bit ugly. He's having a slump trying to figure out how to deal with this team. But Jeez, Louise, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Give him a little time. Barnes, IHMO, deserves based upon his tenure at UT a little slack. He has taken UT basketball into the level where it's not unusual for the regular talking heads on TV to have Texas in the mix for a basketball national championship. Penders came close, but Barnes' teams are in the discussion new pretty much every year. I'm still on the wagon, hoping that this really good collection of individual talent comes together soon. It could be next year before that happens and that's okay by me if the Horns get into the dance, win a game or two and get ready for next year. Hook 'em
It looks like Texas players have utterly lost confidence in themselves and in their coach. That is a coaching problem. Texas' bus is careening down a mountainside out of control, the brakes are out and Barnes seems to have no clue as to what to do. It is too late to avoid the impending smashup; I just hope everyone survives.
Bob, I think you are giving Barnes too much credit. But still, if this was really his thought process, it was very short-sighted.
Well, how so? We know how bad those guys were defensively, and shot selection is an issue. How should Barnes have dealt with that?
He was caught with two very good seniors coming back after putting feelers out in the NBA and no experienced perimeter guys with any offensive skill. He should have started Brown from the beginning and, instead, thought he could get by with Dogus and then have Lucas come in December and play back-up PG and provide some offense. He should have forced Bradley to be a leader on this team (or at least take a backup leadership role to James, like Augustine did with Durant). I know you cannot force leadership, but there are ways to put guys into positions to turn them into leaders. Further, instead of trouncing teams early, he should have focused on getting Brown, Bradley, and Hamilton involved and taking leadership roles instead of continuing to go with Dogus and Mason. The 3 freshman look lost out there and have no idea what it means to play in a big game and deal with adversity. Dogus and Mason are tested, but just do not have the talent, and Barnes continues to stubbornly go with these guys. Barnes created this situation and just appears lost at how to fix it. As I have stated many times previously, I have called Barnes out before (again, not seeking his removal, but just requesting that our fans turn up the heat a little bit to make him sweat) and Barnes has turned things around. He still has time this year, but it appears he has not been able to make the same turnaround this year. Perhaps the turnarounds in the past were just tweaking one or two things and this may need to be a complete overhaul. I am not sure. But this is just not working. It is easy to sit here and second guess after the fact and I realize this is not fair. But it is also not fair for us to have the most (or one of the most) talented teams in the country and be staring at a 7-8-9 seed. Just unbelievable. Every time I think about it, it makes me sick.
But Barnes sees them practice 2 1/2 hours a day. If anything, he knew what he would be getting if he started those guys from day one. Bradley started and played because he came with the defensive mindset installed. It should speak volumes that Barnes, having torn down Mason's game and not reassembled it, and limiting Balbay's offensive contributions, still wouldn't give Brown, and especially Hamilton, major minutes. Instead, he started Balbay and Mason, knowing full well what he wouldn't get from them. It definitely was a gamble. But he judged that against the gamble of Brown and Hamilton not making enough progress offensively to make up for what they give away at the other end. So, yeah, he lost on the gamble of "getting by" with Mason and Balbay playing starter's minutes. That doesn't mean that Hamilton and Brown would have been at the place they need to be now, if they played significant minutes from the beginning. The reason he can't be sure about what to do is that the gulf between what Mason and Balbay contributed defensively and what Hamilton and Brown contribute offensively is so wide. I was at the game Monday and watch Hamilton quite a bit on the defensive end. Paraphrasing the country song, he's not as lost as he once was, but he was lost more than once as he ever was. Brown at PG may work right now because he's getting comfortable with what it will take to get to the lane and how to score when he gets there. And I agree with you, it better start working soon.
... dig this you ********, and dig it good. Barnes has been shot seven times and he ain't dead, does that mean anything to you, huh? Barnes ain't meant to die! The only thing that can kill Barnes is Barnes.
Brown was averaging more turnovers than assists in his first few games and now as armchair quarterbacks, Barnes should have given him more minutes. As for free throws, last I saw Barnes is working with less practice time than Penders was and if free throws came about from just "practice", I'm sure Dwight Howard would be good at them (or are you suggesting that all the poor free throw shooters in the NBA don't practice ) Oh, and let's conveniently forget the entire Penders/Axtell fiasco (where Mihm, Muoneke, Axtell and Bernard Smith told Penders they didn't have faith in them). Some of you need to learn your UT b-ball history before putting Penders before Barnes.
Remember Psychology 101 and positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment? Remember which of those gets the behaviors desired over time? And which one is the least effective in getting desired behaviors? Well, positive reinforcement is best at getting desired behaviors and punishment is the worst. Ever heard what Rick's practices are like? And ever watch his substitution/bench warming approach? Barnes is a punishment-oriented guy, and, as a result, it gets him sub-optimal behavior from his players. I'd say it's time to raffle off Barnes to the highest bidder. Problem is an elementary school in East Austin would be the only one interested in buying a ticket. So, we're probably stuck with this coach that recruits well but coaches sub-optimally -- the one that HASN'T won any national championships.
I had a friend that worked at the Dillards at Barton Creek Mall. He said that Penders came in and bought men's thong underwear.
Pancho Negro... I didn't say that it had anything to do with his coaching ability. I just said what I said. Now, please tell me what Barnes has done, similar to Penders (which I was discussing) where he has reached out to us? I've been a season ticket guy for over twenty years, and I guess I have missed the love fest.
After I heard what I did at lunch today its hard to blame Barnes. I was sitting near a table with about 5 of our younger guys. All they could talk about is how they were ranked too low, they were getting too much disrespect, and how their stats compared to others for the season. They seemed to think that even though they have lost some terribly played games lately that they deserved a top 10 ranking. This explains the shoot first play like a team never gameplan we see from week to week. Its hard to blame Barnes when you got guys with attitudes like that. You can bench them but when it is this many that think this way what can you do? Go to a six man rotation with Mason and Balbay at guard the whole game? The attitude of some of these young guys is terrible right now and that is a big piece of our problem. They think it doesn't matter what happens they should just be given a top 10 ranking and a 1 seed. After hearing this I can understand why Barnes would try starting Balbay and Mason. He tried to send a message to these guys but they just aren't getting it. There were four guards present at this lunch table and with all of them thinking like that we are in trouble.
Does anyone remember the team pre-Barnes? And for that matter, pre-Penders? I will never, ever question Barnes..spoiled mf'ers
