We've had this conversation woven into several threads but I'd like to see the wise folks on this site (no sarcasm - the analysis on this site is quite a bit better than most sites I read) make a separate arguments for Mason, Ward, and Balbay to be the primary ballhandler. I leave out AJ because the consensus seems to be that he should be at SG. If I left out someone who is a good candidate (Harrison Smith?) feel free to include him.
Ideally it would be Balbay, but that would put either Abrams or Mason on the bench most of the time. I'm sure they'll all rotate, depending on the match-ups.
I don't think that Ward is even an option as a primary ballhandler at this point. As for the other two, I would imagine that both Mason and Balbay will be primary guys with the ball, which basically means... When the shot clock is winding down, one of those two will attempt to break down their defender via a pick and roll or isolation play to try to create a scoring opportunity. Otherwise, there really isn't the necessity in our "halfcourt" offense for one specific true point guard like some other teams would need.
tim, i'm fond of your brother jim. abrams will play some point, unless RB has lost some blinders with AJ.
I too am fond of my brother. Unless he has had some sort of epiphony-style game change, AJ will not be a "primary" ball handler in Barnes's offense. That being said, I think it will actually be somewhat common to see him lead the break or even set up our half court offense. But two things are going against Abrams as it pertains to our current offense. First, he has shown a pretty consistent unwillingness to feed the post which this year will be an especially negative proposition considering our depth and talent in the post. Second, he has shown a lack of ability to take drives into the lane and initiate/take contact with opposing bigs leading to either a finish or a drawn foul. Don't misunderstand me, I am a big AJ fan, but AJ's game has a ways to go to be the halfcourt point guard that current Texas teams need.
I can't imagine Abrams will run the point very much. He is our most effective offensive weapon off the ball. He is always creating problems for defenses by his constant motion. When he finally gets the ball, he has the quickest trigger on the team and a damn high scoring percentage at that. Mason could run the point, but again, he is most effective when he is not running the court. We don't know jack about Smith because Rick Barnes rarely plays him. Every time he comes on the court, it is trash minutes. He seems to have a knack for getting to the basket, but who knows how good he really is. I trust Barnes knows better than us. I've seen some footage of Balbay from his Turkish league days. He seems pretty good, but again, it is difficult to measure his ability. I have a good gut-feeling about this kid. Even if he is an average college point gaurd, he has enough talent around him that we'll be pretty darn good.
Back when Tech had their great season in the 90's, they had a pg (can't remember his name...maybe martin) who couldn't shoot, but I thought was their mvp. He wasn't a great passer and was just an adequate defensive player, but he ran the offense efficiently and they won 30 games coming out of nowhere. If Balbay can fulfill that role, then Texas will be very good. All the parts are there for Texas to excel offensively--great outside shooters, functional post players and chemistry. I would love to see the Texas team that played at the beginning of last season. Atchley, Mason and James were a big part of that scheme using outside shooting, backdoor cuts and transition offense to get easy scores. Abrams filled a role as a killer shooting decoy. Augustin dominating the ball wasn't emphasized until Atchley and Mason went into shooting funks and Barnes stopped playing the frosh bigs.
Couldn't find any new videos. I fail at Google. Also, how do you pronounce Dogus? Wikipedia shows it at Doðuþ (Douh-oosh) Balbay (Ball-by). I have no idea what Douh-oosh sounds like. I tried to make it out and only came up with "Douche." Opposing fan poster material, IMO.
The Texas media guide will have pronunciations. They don't come in until November, but TexasSports might have something online already. Time lapse..... The prospectus has the info - Dohge BAL-bay The Link
So the "ogus" part should rhyme with the "og" part of ogre, right? Gotta love the international flavor. Maybe we can get him to go by Doug. Always liked the name Doug. "Hi I'm Doug Balbay and I like to win championships." Yeah, Doug would work. Go Doug Balbay, go!
I think conventional wisdom seems to dictate that Balbay will be running the point the majority of the time. well...maybe not conventional wisdom, but that certainly seems to be the consensus in these parts. personally, I think we'll see Mason with the ball in his hands a whole bunch. he was the one playing on the ball quite a bit down the stretch for us last year...when DJ Augustin was still on the team. I understand why that occurred and why the same justification might not be there for Balbay to play off the ball. that said, I still think Mason might end up with the ball in his hands. also, I agree with the sentiment that AJ won't be "running the show." however, I do think that he will be the guy that has the ball in his hands when someone needs to create his own opportunity. his floater became pretty reliable (at times) last year and he seems to be able to get in the paint with ease. couple that with his stellar FT% and I think you'll see him with the ball in his hands quite a bit. not running the point, per se, but certainly creating offense...albeit for himself. from what I've read, I don't expect Smith to play PG. on Ward, I think he'll play off the ball...at least initially.
I just got through watching offensive and defensive clips of Balbay in his game against Australia for the FIBA U19 World Championships. He had a good game and basically canceled out with Patrick Mills. Balbay is good with the ball and makes smart decisions on the pick and roll. He was the primary ball handler for his team and really didn't look to score except once off the pick and roll and then in transition. What's odd is that he is right hand dominant on the dribble yet he shoots left handed. Based on my observations, I think he will do a good job running the point at Texas. He doesn't play scared either, which is always a good trait.
From everything I've read, it sounds like Balbay's biggest weakness is his scoring potential. Analysts claim he totally lacking a perimeter shot and needs serious improvement in his jump shot. I'm sure he has been working on that over the last year... Should be a fun season to follow the team's growth.
Bob, thanks for the link. Reading Coach Barnes' reply made me ponder soemthing. With Balbay in, it appears that the tempo goes way up. Is this team prepared to run up tempo? I guess by that i mean are the big men conditioned to run a lot?
There are so many bigs on this team (and none of them of the premier title yet- just all above average) that I wouldn't think conditioning would be a big problem and I'd think they'd be interchangeable. Note when I say bigs I'm not refering to Damion who I think of for this years team as a 3.
But we still have the option to play Damion or Gary Johnson at the 4 for a little bit if it's needed to give our other posts a short rest.
Sure- but what I'm saying is that with 6 bigs to play 2 spots we better not run into fatigue or have to play Damion at the 4 b/c of any reason other than a matchup reason. I'm really excited about this bball team. I think that they are top 10 good and should draw a protected seed (i.e. 1-4) in the tourney.
